Great Barrier Island

File:Great Barrier Island Haratonga Bay.jpg

Harataonga Bay on Great Barrier Island.

Great Barrier Island is a large island of New Zealand, situated 90 km to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. With an area of 285 km² it is the fourth largest island of New Zealand's main chain of islands, though its highest point, Mount Hobson, rises only 621 m. The island is so named as it acts as a barrier between the Pacific Ocean and Gulf. The remote island, initially exploited for its kauri trees, is now inhabited by a small population of around 850 people, mostly living from farming and tourism.

For centuries, the indigenous Māori called it Motu Aotea, meaning (island [of the] white cloud) in the Māori language.

History

Location of Great Barrier Island.

Kauri dam on Great Barrier Island, 1967.

The kauri logging industry was profitable in the island's early days. Kauri forests however were well inland and there was no easy way to get the logs to the sea or other routes to saw mills. The logs were therefore dragged to a convenient stream bed with steep sides and a kauri dam was constructed of wood with a "trapdoor" near the bottom large enough for the logs to pass through. When the dam had filled (which might take up to a year) the trapdoor was opened and the logs floating above the dam were sucked down through the hole and swept down to the sea, 16 miles away in the case of the illustrated dam. The logging industry cut down large swathes of old growth forest, and most of the current growth is younger native forest as well as some remaining kauri in the far north of the island.

Another small-scale industry on the Island was gum-digging, and some smaller mining operations also existed.

The remote north of the island was the site of the sinking of the SS Wairarapa in 1894. This tragedy was one of New Zealand's worst shipwrecks, with 135 lives lost. As a result a Great Barrier Island pigeon post service was set up, the first message being flown on 14 May 1897. Special postage stamps were issued from October 1898 until 1908, when a new communications cable was laid to the mainland which made the pigeon post redundant.

The island never received many agricultural settlers, and though close to the path of ships travelling to Auckland, the local population never grew strongly. These days, much of the income of Great Barrier is earned by its inhabitants working in Auckland or further away, or by tourism. House and real estate prices have however risen due to increasing demand for holiday homes in the Auckland area.

Geography

With an area of 285 km² (110 sq mi), Great Barrier is the sixth-largest island in New Zealand, following the South Island, the North Island, Stewart Island, Chatham Island, and Auckland Island. The highest point, Mount Hobson or Hirakimata, is 621 m above sea level.

The Island's European name stems from its location on the outskirts of the Hauraki Gulf. With a maximum length (north-south) of some 43 km, it protects the gulf from the storms of the Pacific Ocean to the east. Consequently, the island boasts highly contrasting coastal environments. The eastern coast comprises long, clear beaches, windswept sand-dunes, and heavy surf. The western coast, sheltered and calm, is home to hundreds of tiny, secluded bays which offer some of the best diving and boating in the country.

Entrance to the Hauraki Gulf is via two channels, one on either side of the island. Colville Channel separates the island's southernmost point (Cape Barrier) from Cape Colville at the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula to the south, and Cradock Channel separates the island from the smaller Hauturu/Little Barrier Island to the west.

Population

Port Fitzroy from top of Kaikoura Island (previously Selwyn Island), 1967.

Settlements

Great Barrier Island has a permanent population of around 1100, primarily in coastal settlements such as Tryphena, the largest settlement, in Tryphena Harbour at the southern end of the island. Other communities are Okupu, Whangaparapara, Port Fitzroy, Claris and Kaitoke. There is no central power on the island, and houses require their own generators.

The population of the island has decreased significantly in recent years, although house values have increased. The most significant increase in values has been at Kaitoke, where the white sandy beaches (Kaitoke and Medland's), nearby hot springs, and the central location on the Island, with the adjacent airfield, have allowed for a burgeoning vacation centre. The population of the island swells substantially during the main holiday seasons, though it is still not a major tourist destination due to its relative remoteness.

From the end of February 2007, the island was seen around the world as the setting for the BBC One reality show, Castaway, which was filmed there for three months.

A ferry at the Port FitzRoy wharf, ca. 1910.

The 'Island Navigator' vehicle ferry service from Wynyard Wharf, Auckland, takes about four and a half hours, and transports tourists as well as locals working off-island.

Transport

There are airfields at Claris (Great Barrier Aerodrome) and Okiwi. Great Barrier Airlines and Mountain Air operate services from Auckland International Airport, and North Shore Aerodrome. Flight time is approximately 30 minutes.

There are two ferry services to Great Barrier Island. Fullers operate a fast ferry service over the summer and at long weekends. The Fullers ferry takes around two hours to Tryphena. SeaLink operates the 'Island Navigator', a passenger, car and freight ferry, operating from Wynyard Wharf in Auckland city to Tryphena (several times weekly) and Port Fitzroy (Tuesdays only, via Tryphena) (2007 data).

Civic institutions

There are three primary schools on the island, but no secondary schools, so students either leave the island for schooling on the mainland, or do their studies via the New Zealand Correspondence School.

Although technically part of Auckland City, a certain relaxation in some of the rules governing daily activities and applicable standards for civic works and services exists, shared with some of the other inhabited islands of the Hauraki Gulf.

For example, every transport service operated solely on Great Barrier Island, the Chatham Islands, or Stewart Island/Rakiura is exempt from section 70C of the Transport Act 1962 (the requirements for drivers to maintain driving-hours logbooks). Drivers subject to section 70B must nevertheless keep records of their driving hours in some form.

External links

• Great Barrier Island (official website with details of travel, accommodation and activities)
• Great Barrier Visitor Information Directory (comprehensive, list-for-free directory)

36°10′S 175°23′E