Great Barrier Island: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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[[Image:Kauri Dam on Great Barrier Island 1966.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Kauri Dam on Great Barrier Island. 1966 photo.]] |
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The remote north of Great Barrier Island was the site of the sinking of the [[SS Wairarapa]] on [[29 October]] [[1894]]. This tragedy was one of New Zealand's worst ever shipwrecks, with 135 lives lost. |
The remote north of Great Barrier Island was the site of the sinking of the [[SS Wairarapa]] on [[29 October]] [[1894]]. This tragedy was one of New Zealand's worst ever shipwrecks, with 135 lives lost. |
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Kauri timber getting was a profitable industry in the early days. The kauri forests 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, sixteen miles away in the case of the dam illustrated. |
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==Local government== |
==Local government== |
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Revision as of 20:07, 4 May 2006
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Great Barrier Island is an island in the north of New Zealand, situated 88 km to the north-east of central Auckland in the outer Hauraki Gulf. In the Maori language, it is called Aotea, meaning white cloud. Its official name is Great Barrier Island (Motu Aotea).
Physical geography
With a maximum length (north-south) of some 43 kilometres, it protects the gulf from the storms of the Pacific Ocean to the east. Entrance to the 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.
With an area of 285 square kilometres (110 square miles), 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, Mt Hobson or Hirakimata, is 621 metres above sea level.
Population and communications
It has a permanent population of around 900, primarily in coastal settlements such as Tryphena, Okupu, and Whangaparapara and at Claris and Kaitoke.
There are airfields at Claris (Kaitoke) and Okiwi and natural harbours at Port FitzRoy, Tryphena, Whangaparapara, and Okupu. During the summer there are regular passenger ferries to Tryphena and a regular freight barge service all year to Tryphena and once a week to Port FitzRoy. Aircraft reach Claris' grass airfield in about 30 mins from Auckland airport and Northshore airport while the fast ferries take about three hours from Auckland. The barge service takes approximately 8 hours from downtown Auckland to Tryphena, and returns to Auckland from Port FitzRoy.
The largest settlement on Great Barrier is in Tryphena Harbour, at the southern end of the island.
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.
Education
There are 3 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.
History
The remote north of Great Barrier Island was the site of the sinking of the SS Wairarapa on 29 October 1894. This tragedy was one of New Zealand's worst ever shipwrecks, with 135 lives lost.
Kauri timber getting was a profitable industry in the early days. The kauri forests 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, sixteen miles away in the case of the dam illustrated.
Local government
Although technically part of Auckland City, it shares with some other islands a certain relaxation in some of the rules governing daily activities. 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. See New Zealand Gazette 14 August 2003.
Neighbourhood
Dragon Island is found just off the east coast of Great Barrier Island, between it and Rakitu Island .