Otago Harbour
Otago Harbour | |
---|---|
Goat Island / Rakiriri , and Pudding Island | |
Settlements | Dunedin and Port Chalmers |
Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, 21 km (13 mi) from the harbour mouth. It is home to Dunedin's two port facilities, Port Chalmers (half way along the harbour) and at Dunedin's wharf (at the harbour's end).[1] The harbour has been of significant economic importance for approximately 700 years, as a sheltered harbour and fishery, then deep water port.
Geography
The harbour was formed from the drowned remnants of the giant
Biology
Seabirds
Similar to the Otago Peninsula, the harbour water is known for various rare wildlife. The area is the home of many species of wading birds. Other bird species which visit the harbour include two species of penguins, the
Marine mammals
The bay and peninsula provides a critical habitat for
The outer peninsula or adjacent to Taiaroa Head is one of three main congregating areas for
History
Māori first arrived at Otago Harbour in the 1300s, soon after they first settled in New Zealand.[10] Being too far south for the cultivation of sweet potato they adopted a hunter-gatherer society. This initially involved sealing and fishing in the harbour, with the latter dominating as seal stocks diminished. This time in the history of the harbour is recorded in place names such as Kamau Taurua (Quarantine Island), which means "a place where nets are set".[11]
The first European ships
The sealers and whalers
Another English sealer, the Sydney Cove, under Captain Charles McLaren, was anchored in the harbour late in 1810 when Te Wahia's theft of a knife, a red shirt, and some other articles sparked what has been called "
A much-discussed affray in that conflict occurred after James Kelly of Hobart anchored the Sophia in the harbour in December 1817 with William Tucker on board. After a visit to nearby Whareakeake (Murdering Beach), where Tucker had been living since 1815, and where he and two other men were killed, Kelly took revenge on Māori on his ship in the harbour, including local chief Korako. He then burnt a harbourside village, 'the beautiful City of Otago', probably on Te Rauone Beach.[19]
Peace was achieved in 1823, and on 17 July of that year
From its origins as a secret sealers' haven, Otago Harbour developed into a busy international whaling port after the
Harbour developments and alterations
While Otago Harbour might have the appearance of an excellent deep-water port, it was not naturally suited to such a role, especially in the early days of settlement when ships needed to dock close to the city. The flat land at the southern end of the harbour and close to the isthmus of Otago Peninsula was ideally suited for a city (and was the site for Dunedin), but the harbour itself could naturally accommodate deep-drafted ships only as far as Port Chalmers. At Port Chalmers, two islands (
As the city grew, and particularly with the increase in commerce that developed following the
As finance allowed, the channel was gradually widened and deepened, and by 1907 twice as many ships were using Dunedin's wharves as used Port Chalmers. It was only with the advent of Port Chalmers' container port in the early 1970s that the Victoria Channel again became quiet. The channel is maintained by Port Otago Ltd, which keeps it dredged to a depth of eight metres, allowing ships of up to 40,000 tonnes deadweight to travel up the harbour to Dunedin.[24] Much of the channel's larger traffic in the early 21st century is oil transport to Dunedin city and chemicals and fertiliser to and from Ravensbourne's fertiliser works.
Aramoana, at the harbour mouth, has twice been projected as the site for New Zealand's second aluminium smelter. The proposals, in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, were abandoned after major public protest. The harbour is tidal, shallow and seldom rough and for that reason is popular for water sports such as yachting and windsurfing.
Infrastructure and transport
Substantial container port facilities exist at Port Chalmers, 9 km (6 mi) along the western shore from the harbour mouth. A channel along the western side of the harbour is regularly dredged, allowing vessels with a draught of 12.5 m to Port Chalmers, and 8 m all the way to the heart of Dunedin.[28] New Zealand's frozen meat export trade was inaugurated at Port Chalmers in 1882. Portobello is home to one of New Zealand's leading marine research establishments, the Portobello Marine Laboratory, a department of the University of Otago. This lies at the harbour's edge on the tip of a small arm of the Otago Peninsula, the Portobello Peninsula. There are currently numerous sightseeing and fishing boats that can be chartered and one scheduled ferry from Port Chalmers to Portobello.
The harbour is flanked by major roads leading from Dunedin to Port Chalmers (
Notable ships
Image | Name | Year(s) in harbour | Type | Length (m) | Displacement(tonnes) | Crew/Passengers | Purpose | Note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Atrato[29] | 1874 | Paddle steamer | 102 | 3,184 | Old Royal Mail ship | |||
Dunedin | 1882 | Sail | 73 | 1,320 | /400 (design max) | Cargo | Refrigerated transport | |
Endeavour | 1770 | Sail (Barque) | 30 | 366 | 94/ | Exploration | Did not enter harbour | |
John Wickliffe | 1847 | sail | 662 | /97 | Colonisation | Scottish settler ship | ||
Mokoia[30] | Steam | 3502 | Wrecked at harbour mouth | |||||
Monarch | 1952 (Launched) | 16.5 | Harbour ferry | |||||
Oreti[31] | Steam | Wrecked at Quarantine Island | ||||||
Philip Laing | 1848 | /247 | Colonisation | Scottish settler ship | ||||
Rainbow Warrior[32] | 2018 | (A-frame staysail schooner) | 838 | 30 | ||||
Sootychaser[33] | 2018 | Custom built | Harbour ferry | Scheduled ferry and water taxi | ||||
Star of India | 1871-1897 | 1247 | Colonisation | 100-day voyage from England | ||||
Sydney Cove | 1810 | 28.7 | 283 | 24 (typical crew) | Sealer | Sparked the Sealers' War | ||
Waikana[31] | Steam | /800 (design max) | Harbour ferry | Wrecked at Quarantine Island |
Harbourside settlements
The settlements of Otago Harbour clock wise from the harbour mouth.
Photo | Name | Harbour side | Population[34] | Feature |
---|---|---|---|---|
Harington Point | East | |||
Weller's Rock | East | With access to the albatross colony, seal colony, and Fort Taiaroa | ||
Otakou | East | Home of the Ōtākou Rūnanga of Ngāi Tahu
and starting place of Otakou Fisheries. | ||
Harwood | East | |||
Portobello | East | 1110 | ||
Broad Bay | East | |||
Macandrew Bay | East | 1146 | ||
Challis | East | |||
Andersons Bay | East | 2478 | ||
Dunedin (Central City) | South | |||
Ravensbourne | West | 1230 | fertiliser works | |
Saint Leonards
|
West | 780 | ||
Roseneath | West | |||
Sawyers Bay | West | 1212 | with a tannery | |
Port Chalmers | West | 1365 | ||
Careys Bay
|
West | |||
Aramoana | West | 270 | Māori for "pathway to the sea" |
Gallery
- Category:Otago Harbour on Wikimedia Commons
References
- ^ Harvey, Sarah (9 August 2007). "Otago Port to get into deep water". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- ^ Coombs, D. S., Dunedin Volcano, Misc. Publ. 37B, pp. 2–28, Geol. Soc. of N. Z., Dunedin, 1987.
- ^ Coombs, D. S., R. A. Cas, Y. Kawachi, C. A. Landis, W. F. Mc-Donough, and A. Reay, Cenozoic volcanism in north, east and central Otago, Bull. R. Soc. N. Z., 23, 278–312, 1986.
- ^ "Valid Crown Protected Area Names". Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 1 September 2010.
- ^ Lineage—Scientific Methodology—Annual distribution of Dusky dolphin Archived 16 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved on 16 December. 2014
- ^ Würsig B.. Duprey N.. Weir J.. Dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) in New Zealand waters—Present knowledge and research goals. Texas A&M University. Department of Conservation. Retrieved on 16 December. 2014
- ^ Brown T. (2015). "Whale heads fair way up harbour". The Otago Daily Times. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
- ^ "Research—Acoustics". New Zealand Whale and Dolphin Trust. Archived from the original on 5 May 2014. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- ^ Monarch Wildlife Cruises. 2014. Whale of a time on Monarch yesterday!. Retrieved on 4 August 2014
- ISBN 9781927322383.
- ^ "Maori and early European history | Quarantine Island / Kamau Taurua". quarantineisland.org.nz. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ James Cook in J.C. Beaglehole (ed), The Journals of Captain James Cook, the Voyage of the Endeavour, 1768–1771, London, UK: Cambridge University Press for the Hakluyt Society, 1955, (1968), pp.257–259.
- ^ Quote from the Creed MS its text reproduced in Peter Entwisle,Taka: a Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784–1817, Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005, pp.128–131, the quote at p.128.
- ^ "New thinking on early Otago history". webenzed.com. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Robert McNab (ed) Historical Records of New Zealand, 2 vols Wellington, NZ:Government Printer, 1908 & 1914.
- ^ Peter Entwisle, Behold the Moon: the European Occupation of the Dunedin District 1770–1848, Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 1998 p.21.
- ^ Peter Entwisle, Taka: A Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784–1817, Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005, pp.53–66 & pp.110–115 for the relevant court records.
- ^ Peter Entwisle, Taka: a Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784–1817, Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005, pp.70–71.
- ^ Peter Entwisle, Taka: a Vignette Life of William Tucker 1784–1817, Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 2005, pp.94–97, quoting James Kelly in the Hobart Town Courier 12 April 1858. There has been some speculation, almost certainly inaccurate, that the site of the "city" was at Whareakeake.
- ^ John Rodolphus Kent, Journal kept from May to August 1823 on the cutter Mermaid of a voyage to New Zealand waters, manuscript ZA4037, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney.
- ^ Thomas Shepherd, [Journal], MS A1966, Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales, Sydney.
- ^ Peter Entwisle, Behold the Moon: The European Occupation of the Dunedin District 1770–1848, Dunedin, NZ: Port Daniel Press, 1998, p.83.
- ^ Olive Wright, ed & translator, The Voyage of the Astrolabe 1840, Wellington, NZ: A.H. & A.W. Reed, 1955.
- ^ ISBN 1-86958-920-3
- ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Ellison, Raniera". Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Ngai Tahu plays the long game". Otago Daily Times Online News. 6 November 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
- ^ "Manufacturing in Dunedin". Otago Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- ^ "Otago Harbour Information". Port Otago. Archived from the original on 29 April 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
- ^ "Ships in Quarantine and Passenger lists | Quarantine Island / Kamau Taurua". quarantineisland.org.nz. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- ^ Watson, Virginia. "Mokoia". diveotago.co.nz. Retrieved 24 November 2018.
- ^ a b "Attempts at farming and tourism 1924-1958 | Quarantine Island / Kamau Taurua". quarantineisland.org.nz. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ "Greenpeace's Rainbow Warrior III Vessel - Ship Technology". Ship Technology. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
- ^ Sinclair, Kay (14 September 2018). "Harbour ferry makes maiden voyage". Otago Daily Times Online News. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
- ^ "Detailed 2013 Census figures - Dunedin". Otago Daily Times Online News. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2018.