Waitematā Harbour
Waitematā Harbour | |
---|---|
Pollen Island, Traherne Island, Watchman Island | |
Sections/sub-basins | Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, Upper Waitematā Harbour, Whau River |
Settlements | Auckland |
Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is one of two harbours adjoining the city. 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 by the shallower waters of the Manukau Harbour.
With an area of 70 square miles (180 km2),[1] it connects the city's main port and the Auckland waterfront to the Hauraki Gulf and the Pacific Ocean. It is sheltered from Pacific storms by Auckland's North Shore, Rangitoto Island, and Waiheke Island.
Etymology
The oldest Māori name of the harbour was Te Whanga-nui o Toi (The Big Bay of Toi), named after Toi, an early Māori explorer.[2]
The name Waitematā means "Te Mata Waters",[2] which according to some traditions refers to a mauri stone (a stone of Māori religious significance) called Te Mata, which was placed on Boat Rock (in the harbour south-west of Chatswood) by Te Arawa chief Kahumatamomoe.[3] A popular translation of Waitematā is "The Obsidian Waters", referring to obsidian rock (matā). Another popular translation, derived from this, is "The Sparkling Waters", as the harbour waters were said to glint like the volcanic glass obsidian.[4] However, this is incorrect,[5] as grammatically Waitematā could not mean this.[2]
Geography
The harbour is an arm of the Hauraki Gulf, extending west for eighteen kilometres from the end of the
The northern shore of the harbour consists of North Shore. North Shore suburbs located closest to the shoreline include Birkenhead, Northcote and Devonport (west to east). On the southern side of the harbour is Auckland CBD and the Auckland waterfront, and coastal suburbs such as Mission Bay, Parnell, Herne Bay and Point Chevalier (east to west), the latter of which lies on a short triangular peninsula jutting into the harbour.
The harbour is crossed at its narrowest point by the
There are other wharves and ports within the harbour, notable among them the Devonport Naval Base, and the accompanying Kauri Point Armament Depot at Birkenhead, and the Chelsea Sugar Refinery wharf, all capable of taking ships over 500 gross register tons (GRT). Smaller wharves at Birkenhead, Beach Haven, Northcote, Devonport and West Harbour offer commuter ferry services to the Auckland CBD.
Geology
The harbour is a
Approximately 17,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were significantly lower, the river flowed north-east along the Rangitoto Channel, meeting the Mahurangi River to the east of Kawau Island. The resulting river flowed further north-east between modern day Little Barrier Island and Great Barrier Island, eventually emptying into the Pacific Ocean north of Great Barrier Island.[8]
The current shore is strongly influenced by tidal rivers, particularly in the west and north of the harbour. Mudflats covered by mangroves flourish in these conditions, and salt marshes are also typical.[1]
History
Prior to European settlement, the harbour was the site of many
The harbour has long been the main anchorage and port area for the Auckland region. Well-sheltered not only by the Hauraki Gulf itself but also by Rangitoto Island, the harbour offered good protection in almost all winds, and lacked dangerous shoals or major sand bars (like on the Manukau Harbour) that would have made entry difficult. The harbour also proved a fertile area for encroaching development, with major land reclamation undertaken, especially along the Auckland waterfront, within a few decades of the city's European founding.[11]
Taking the idea of the several Māori portage paths over the isthmus one step further, the creation of a canal that would link the Waitematā and Manukau harbours was considered in the early 1900s. Legislation (the Auckland and Manukau Canal Act 1908) was passed that would allow authorities to take privately owned land where it was deemed required for a canal. However, no serious work (or land take) was undertaken. The act was repealed on 1 November 2010.[12]
In 1982, a group that included leaders of the Anglican and Catholic proposed the construction of the Christ of the Ships, a 12 m (39 ft) bronze statue of Jesus be constructed on a reef in the Waitematā Harbour. The project was cancelled after facing significant opposition by Christian leaders from other denominations.[13][14]
Sewage contamination
While the harbour has numerous beaches popular for swimming, the older-style "combined sewers" in several surrounding western suburbs dump contaminated wastewater overflows into the harbour on approximately 52 heavy-rain days a year, leading to regular health warnings at popular swimming beaches, until the outfalls have dispersed again. A major new project, the Central Interceptor, starting 2019, is to reduce these outfalls by about 80% once completed around 2024.[15]
Demographics
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
2006 | 21 | — |
2013 | 24 | +1.93% |
2018 | 84 | +28.47% |
Source: [16] |
The statistical area of Inlet Waitemata Harbour had a population of 84 at the
Ethnicities were 50.0% European/Pākehā, 10.7% Māori, 3.6% Pacific peoples, 39.3% Asian, and no other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 57.1%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 39.3% had no religion, 50.0% were Christian, and 3.6% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (10.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 3 (3.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $40,200. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 54 (64.3%) people were employed full-time, 6 (7.1%) were part-time, and 0 (0.0%) were unemployed.[16]
References
- ^ a b Waterhouse, Barry Clayton (1966). "Waitemata Harbour". In McLintock, A. H. (ed.). An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand – via Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.
- ^ a b c Nepia, E. (28 November 1931). "Waitemata: meaning and history: a popular error". Auckland Star. p. 12 Supplement. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
- ^ a b c Wilson, Karen (28 August 2018). "Brief of Evidence of Karen Akamira Wilson on Behalf of Te Ākitai Waiohua" (PDF). Ministry of Justice. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
- ^ Information plaque at the end of Princes Wharf (as of 2007[update]).
- Wikidata Q58677091.
Wai-te-mata means the 'Flint stone waters'. Te Mata is 'The flint stone' – is a pinnacle rock mid stream up harbour. It was formerly a tribal fishing boundary; as also a place whereon offerings were made by the fishers of their first catches, so as to propitiate the local deities, hence the name of the Harbour: 'Wai-te-mata'. It does not mean as is usually stated the 'sparkling' or 'flashing waters'.
- ISBN 9781869790080.
- ISBN 0-582-71784-1. Figure 5.2, Page 69.
- ^ "Estuary origins". National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- Wikidata Q58677420.
- ^ Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
- ^ References provided in the Auckland waterfront article.
- ^ "Auckland and Manukau Canal Act 1908". New Zealand Legislation. 1 November 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2017.
- ^ "Christian money for people not statue?". Press. 20 December 1982. p. 39 – via Papers Past.
- ^ Catholic Physicians' Guild (1983). "Letters..." The Linacre Quarterly. 50 (2).
- ^ Tapped In (newsletter). Watercare. Autumn 2019.
- ^ a b "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Inlet Waitemata Harbour (119300). 2018 Census place summary: Inlet Waitemata Harbour
External links
- Photographs of Waitematā Harbour held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections
- Photographs of Waitematā Harbour held at Auckland Museum