Piercy Island, also known as "The Hole In The Rock" (and by its Māori-language name ), is located off the north coast of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is at the very northern tip of

Cape Brett Cape Brett Peninsula ( mi, Rākaumangamanga) is a long peninsula in the Bay of Islands, in the Northland Region of New Zealand. The head of the peninsula is Cape Brett itself (also known by the Māori, ), a promontory which extends north into ...

in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...

. It is Māori freehold land, which is administered by the Motu Kōkako Ahu Whenua Trust for the benefit of the descendants of the

traditional owners Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

. The island is of great cultural significance to the

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

(tribe), and was historically associated with a range of sacred customary activities. Motu Kōkako was said to be the landing place of the canoe Tūnui-a-rangi before it went to Ngunguru and Whangarei. It brings to mind the (proverb) ("the rock standing in the sea"). This refers to a person who stands against all adversity, just as a rock resists the power of the sea. It is probably the most important island in the Bay of Islands in conservation terms, being in near pristine condition, with no evidence of introduced animals. A 1987 survey of the island found 99 different types of flora, and noted the presence of two types of petrels and lizards.

Captain Cook James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...

named the island "Piercy Island" in honour of one of the Lords of the Admiralty. The hole at sea level was created over centuries by wind and waves making it one of the most naturally beautiful sites in New Zealand. Being a popular tourist destination there are a multitude of tours offered and if the waters are calm and the tide is right the jet boats will go right through the hole. There are also helicopter tours to the island. The use of the island by tourist boat operators has been the subject of a long running dispute, with tourism companies taking boats through the Hole in the Rock but not paying a share of the takings to the island's owners. Apart from a short period between 1989 – 1992, the owners of the island have received no royalties from the boat operators. Offers by the operators to work together with Motu Kōkako Ahu Whenua Trust were declined. A Treaty of Waitangi claim (Wai 2022) has been lodged by the Motu Kōkako Ahu Whenua Trust and is currently being considered. There is no dispute between the owners and the helicopter tour operators Salt Air. The Trust and Salt Air have signed a joint tourism venture agreement, under which Salt Air pays a levy for each visitor to the island in recognition of the owners' rights.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Motukokako Island *http://goaustralia.about.com/cs/nznorthsights/l/blpicbay5.htm *http://stamps.nzpost.co.nz/Cultures/en-NZ/Stamps/StampsHistoricalIssues/1996/Self+-+Adhesive+Scenic+Definitives.htm Islands of the Bay of Islands Far North District Natural arches Rock formations of the Northland Region

See also

References

External links