Torpedo Bay () is a bay on the southern coast of Devonport, New Zealand between North Head (Maungauika) and Devonport Beach, close to the mouth of the

Waitematā Harbour The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...

. The bay is home to the

Torpedo Bay Navy Museum The Torpedo Bay Navy Museum is the official museum of the Royal New Zealand Navy. Located in Devonport, Auckland, it opened in 2010 to replace an earlier naval museum. History The first Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN) museum was established in ...

History

Early history

There have been people in Torpedo Bay as early as 925 CE, as the area is believed to have been a landing point of

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 ...

and his waka. They spent some time in the bay and the people who were left there by Kupe when he returned to

Hawaiki (also rendered as in the Cook Islands, Hawaiki in Māori, in Samoan, in Tahitian, in Hawaiian) is, in Polynesian folklore, the original home of the Polynesians, before dispersal across Polynesia. It also features as the underworld in man ...

are considered the first settlers of New Zealand. In about 1150, Toi te Huatahi, following Kupe's directions, also landed there. Uika, Toi te Huatahi's grandson, also landed there, and settled permanently on North Head (''Maungauika''). By the late 18th century,

Ngāti Paoa Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

had established a

kāinga A kāinga ( southern Māori: ''kaika'' or ''kaik'') is the traditional form of village habitation of pre-European Māori in New Zealand. It was unfortified or only lightly fortified, and over time became less important than the well-fortified ...

at Torpedo Bay. The settlement existed into the mid-19th century, and was known for potato gardens, cabbages, pig farming, and as a place where shark meat was suspended to dry.

Early European history

In 1827, French explorer

Jules Dumont d'Urville Jules Sébastien César Dumont d'Urville (; 23 May 1790 – 8 May 1842) was a French List of explorers, explorer and French Navy, naval officer who explored the south and western Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica. As a botanist an ...

, anchored the ''

Astrolabe An astrolabe (; ; ) is an astronomy, astronomical list of astronomical instruments, instrument dating to ancient times. It serves as a star chart and Model#Physical model, physical model of the visible celestial sphere, half-dome of the sky. It ...

'' at Torpedo Bay, becoming the earliest known European to visit the area. Lottin, the ship's surveyor, climbed Takarunga / Mount Victoria, and noted the pā fortifications, huts and stonefield gardens in the area. On 9 July 1863, due to fears of the

Māori King Movement Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, Governor Grey proclaimed that all Māori living in the

South Auckland South Auckland ( or ) is one of the major geographical regions of Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand. The area is south of the Auckland isthmus, and on the eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour. The area has been populated by Tāmaki M� ...

area needed to swear loyalty to the Queen and give up their weapons, immediately prior to the

Invasion of the Waikato The invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

. European residents reported that the kāinga at Torpedo Bay was evacuated overnight. The Duder Brothers owned Duder's Wharf at Torpedo Bay, where goods, including coal for their brickworks, were shipped by scow. This area was the commercial centre of Devonport until the late 1860's. Duder's Wharf also functioned as a major ferry terminal until 1904, the wharf closed in 1907 or 1908.Verran, David (2010). ''The North Shore An Illustrated History''. Random House New Zealand. p. 181. .

History

Early history

Early European history

References

Further reading