Manukau Heads
Encyclopedia
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...
that form the entrance to the Manukau Harbour
Manukau Harbour
Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and is an arm of the Tasman Sea.-Geography:...
- one of the two harbours of Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
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...
. The southern head is simply termed "The South Head", whereas the northern head is named "Burnett Head" (the term North Head
North Head, New Zealand
North Head is a volcanic cone forming a headland within North Shore City, New Zealand, in the suburb of Devonport at the east end of the Waitemata Harbour ....
is used to indicate a promontory in the nearby Waitemata Harbour
Waitemata Harbour
The quite famous Waitemata 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 only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...
). Both heads are hilly areas of land that rise steeply from the water to over 240m within less than 400m of the shoreline.
There is a pronounced sand bar across the harbour mouth which has limited shipping into the harbour since European vessels arrived in the area which had enough draught to be affected by such shallows. This limitation (which ensured an effective maximum ship size of about 1,000 tons in pre-modern times), was no barrier to early success of shipping to local ports in the harbour - but eventually meant that the Waitemata Harbour
Waitemata Harbour
The quite famous Waitemata 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 only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...
overtook the Manukau Harbour in prominence as a port location.
New Zealand's worst maritime disaster occurred just offshore in 1863 when HMS Orpheus
HMS Orpheus (1861)
HMS Orpheus was a Jason-class Royal Navy corvette that served as the flagship of the Australian squadron. Orpheus sank off the west coast of Auckland, New Zealand on 7 February 1863: 189 crew out of the ship's complement of 259 died in the disaster, making it the worst maritime tragedy to occur in...
ran aground on the Manukau Bar and sank with the loss of 189 lives. The area remains dangerous for watercraft, with one death each in 2005 and 2010 when pleasure craft capsized or were swamped near the bar.