Karitane
Encyclopedia
The seaside settlement of Karitane is located within the limits of the city of Dunedin
in New Zealand
, 35 kilometres to the north of the city centre.
Set in rolling country near the mouth of the Waikouaiti River
, the town is a popular holiday retreat for Dunedinites.
Close to the settlement is the site of Huriawa Pā
, which was a major fortification in pre-European New Zealand set in a strong position on a rocky promontory above the coast.
Sir Truby King
, founder of the Plunket Society
. Karitane's name is echoed in many New Zealand child-related services and products:
Truby King also worked at nearby Seacliff Lunatic Asylum
.
The site of the present settlement of Karitane includes that of the pre-European Māori kaik, or undefended village, and also that of the whaling
station set up by Long, Wright and Richards in 1837. That was known as Waikouaiti, but the name later became transferred to the present township of that name
established by Johnny Jones as a farming settlement in 1840, on the north side of the estuary.
In 1838 Jones acquired the Karitane whaling station. After sending pioneers to start his farming settlement he sent a Wesleyan
missionary
to join them in May 1840, James Watkin, the first in the South Island
. However Watkin set up his mission station at Karitane. He was living there with his wife and children in a purpose-built house by late 1842. In 1867 George O'Brien
painted a memorable view looking north from the Karitane waterfront, now in the Otago Settlers Museum
, Dunedin.
Dunedin
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...
in New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, 35 kilometres to the north of the city centre.
Set in rolling country near the mouth of the Waikouaiti River
Waikouaiti River
240px|thumb|Waikouaiti River estuary at [[Karitane]]; fishing wharf and channel to the [[Pacific Ocean]] at right, [[Matanaka]] headland at left background....
, the town is a popular holiday retreat for Dunedinites.
Close to the settlement is the site of Huriawa Pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
, which was a major fortification in pre-European New Zealand set in a strong position on a rocky promontory above the coast.
Karitane, Plunket and Truby King
To many New Zealanders, the name Karitane is inextricably linked with pioneering paediatrician and psychiatristPsychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Sir Truby King
Truby King
thumb|Sir Frederic Truby KingSir Frederic Truby King CMG , generally known as Truby King, was a New Zealand health reformer and Director of Child Welfare. He is best known as the founder of the Plunket Society....
, founder of the Plunket Society
Plunket Society
The Royal New Zealand Plunket Society is an incorporated society in New Zealand which provides a range of health services to healthy babies and young children...
. Karitane's name is echoed in many New Zealand child-related services and products:
- Plunket set up a string of neonatal care institutions known throughout the country as Karitane Hospitals, starting here in Truby King's house, Kingscliff
- A type of infant formulaInfant formulaInfant formula is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepared for bottle-feeding or cup-feeding from powder or liquid . The U.S...
, Karicare, now made by Nutricia, as well as earlier brands Karilac and Kariol made by the Karitane Products Society are named after the town - Karitane Nurse (historically) a type of nurse in New Zealand specialising in infant care
- Community Karitane, a type of community worker in New Zealand advising on parentingParentingParenting is the process of promoting and supporting the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development of a child from infancy to adulthood...
issues such as breastfeedingBreastfeedingBreastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
, nutritionNutritionNutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
, sleepSleepSleep is a naturally recurring state characterized by reduced or absent consciousness, relatively suspended sensory activity, and inactivity of nearly all voluntary muscles. It is distinguished from quiet wakefulness by a decreased ability to react to stimuli, and is more easily reversible than...
and behaviour - Karitane yellow, an informal name for a (baby-excrement-coloured) unpleasant shade of yellowYellowYellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
Truby King also worked at nearby Seacliff Lunatic Asylum
Seacliff Lunatic Asylum
Seacliff Lunatic Asylum was a psychiatric hospital in Seacliff, New Zealand. When built in the late 19th century, it was the largest building in the country, noted for its scale and extravagant architecture...
.
History
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
station set up by Long, Wright and Richards in 1837. That was known as Waikouaiti, but the name later became transferred to the present township of that name
Waikouaiti
Waikouaiti is a small town in East Otago, New Zealand, within the city limits of Dunedin. The town is close to the coast and the mouth of the Waikouaiti River....
established by Johnny Jones as a farming settlement in 1840, on the north side of the estuary.
In 1838 Jones acquired the Karitane whaling station. After sending pioneers to start his farming settlement he sent a Wesleyan
Wesleyanism
Wesleyanism or Wesleyan theology refers, respectively, to either the eponymous movement of Protestant Christians who have historically sought to follow the methods or theology of the eighteenth-century evangelical reformers, John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley, or to the likewise eponymous...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to join them in May 1840, James Watkin, the first in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
. However Watkin set up his mission station at Karitane. He was living there with his wife and children in a purpose-built house by late 1842. In 1867 George O'Brien
George O'Brien (painter)
George O'Brien was an engineer of aristocratic background who turned to art in 19th century Australasia, dying in poverty but leaving a body of remarkable work.-Biography:...
painted a memorable view looking north from the Karitane waterfront, now in the Otago Settlers Museum
Otago Settlers Museum
The Otago Settlers Museum is a regional history museum in Dunedin, New Zealand. Its brief covers the territory of the old Otago Province, that is, New Zealand from the Waitaki River south. It is New Zealand's oldest and most extensive history museum...
, Dunedin.