Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock is an island at the mouth of the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...

, at Whatipu in the

Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. ...

area.

Geology

The island is a

volcanic plug A volcanic plug, also called a volcanic neck or lava neck, is a volcano, volcanic object created when magma hardens within a Volcanic vent, vent on an active volcano. When present, a plug can cause an extreme build-up of high gas pressure if risi ...

of the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first epoch (geology), geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and mea ...

era

Waitākere Volcano The Waitākere volcano, also known as the Manukau volcano, was a Miocene era volcano that formed off the west coast of the modern Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. Erupting intermittently between 23 million and 15 million years ago, ...

, composed of stratified

rudite Rudite is a general name used for a sedimentary rock composed of rounded or angular detrital grains, i.e. granules, pebbles, cobbles, and boulders, which are coarser than sand in size. Rudites include sedimentary rocks composed of both silicicl ...

and intrusive

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

. The rock is what remains of one of the volcano's funnel-shaped vents on the eastern side of the mountain, which was uplifted from the sea between 3 and 5 million years ago. The island is a

of the

era

, composed of stratified

and intrusive

. The rock is what remains of one of the volcano's funnel-shaped vents on the eastern side of the mountain, which was uplifted from the sea 17 million years ago. As the volcano aged and eroded, the vent filled with collapsed lava, scoria and volcanic bombs, until it formed into its modern-day shape.

History

The traditional name for the rock, Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe, refers to the Polynesian navigator

Kupe Kupe was a legendary Polynesian explorer who, according to Māori oral history, was the first person to discover New Zealand. He is generally held to have been born to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raiatea, and probably spoke a ...

. According to

Te Kawerau ā Maki Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Predominantly based in West Auckland (Hikurangi also known as Waitākere), it had 251 registered adult members as of J ...

oral history, Kupe chanted a

karakia Karakia are Māori incantations and prayer used to invoke spiritual guidance and protection.Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

to become too rough for his pursuers to catch up to him. The island was referred to by various variations of the name Ninepin Rock by European settlers, including Ninepins Rock and The Nine Pins. In the mid-19th century, Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock was an island at high tide, however over time joined the mainland, due to the changing sand dunes of Whatipu. In the 1860s, a signal mast was constructed on Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock, to aid the logging communities of the area, and ships that navigated the mouth of the

. The island is now the location of a trig station.

References

{{Waitākere Ranges Local Board Area Islands of the Auckland Region Manukau Harbour Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Rock formations of the Auckland Region Volcanic plugs of New Zealand Volcanic islands of New Zealand West Auckland, New Zealand Tidal islands of New Zealand