Green Island (Ōkaihae)
Māori: Ōkaihae | |
|---|---|
.svg)  Green Island | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Dunedin, Otago region |
| Area | 0.04 km2 (0.015 sq mi) |
| Length | 0.3 km (0.19 mi) |
| Width | 0.2 km (0.12 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 42 m (138 ft) |
| Administration | |
New Zealand | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
Green Island is a small, uninhabited island lying 2 km off the coast of the Otago region of New Zealand, some 13 km south-west of the city of Dunedin. The island's Māori name is Ōkaihae.
History
Green Island may be the 'Isle of Wight' where the Sydney
Green Island used to be called St Michael's Mount, suggesting it had been named after the island of that name off the Cornish coast. It is more likely it was so named after Tommy Chaseland's mother ship the St Michael when he was sealing there in the 1820s. He told Edward Shortland he lost a boat and all its hands when it was dashed on the island while trying to land. He stayed alone overnight and was picked up by another boat the following day.[2]
In the 1880s the island was mined for guano, bird dung used as fertiliser.
Important Bird Area
The island has been identified as an Important Bird Area, by BirdLife International because it is home to breeding colonies of yellow-eyed penguins and bronze shags.[3]
Legacy
The uncleared native forest on the island lends its name to similar "Green Island" native forest on the nearby mainland, on the Otago Peninsula. In turn, the name has been applied to Green Island, a community in the territorial authority called Dunedin City, on the peninsula.
See also
- List of islands of New Zealand
- List of islands
- Desert island
References
- ^ Peter Entwisle, Taka: a Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784-1817, Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005, p.54 & pp.110-115.
- ^ Edward Shortland, The Southern Districts of New Zealand; a Journal, London, UK: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans, 1851 reprinted by Capper Press, Christchurch, 1974, pp.153-4.
- ^ BirdLife International. (2012). Important Bird Areas factsheet: Gree Island (Okaihe). Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-02-04.
45°57′11″S 170°23′14″E / 45.95306°S 170.38722°E
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