White Island, Otago
Encyclopedia
White Island is the name of two islands off the New Zealand
coast. The smaller and less well known lies 2500 metres (2,734 yd) off the coast of Otago
, within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin
.
The island is 80 metres (87.5 yd) in length and 30 metres (32.8 yd) wide at its widest point, covering 1600 square metres (1,913.6 sq yd) and rising to a height of approximately 15 metres (49 ft). A rocky reef, parts of which break the surface at low tide, extends for 100 metres (109.4 yd) from the western end of the island.
The island is uninhabited, and is a well-known landmark visible from the city's two inner city beaches at St. Clair
and St. Kilda
.
The island's Māori name is Ponuiahine also given as 'Pomuiahine'. It has been translated, probably too literally, as 'The girl's great night' giving rise to witty suggestions as to why that might be. Goodall and Griffiths suggested it should be understood as 'Pou-nui-a-Hine, referring to a post being a memorial to some significant event involving Hine'. They observe 'Hine' can be a man's name but clearly this suggestion leaves open the original ribald speculations. As a place for a lovers' tryst it seems unpromising.
White Island may be the 'Ragged Rock' where the Sydney
sealer
Brothers, chartered by Robert Campbell
and under the command of Robert Mason landed three men out of a gang of eleven in November 1809. William Tucker
who later settled at Whareakeake (Murdering Beach), near Otago Heads, was in the gang. Alternatively Ragged Rock may be Green Island
.
On May the first 1826 Thomas Shepherd, keeping a journal as he approached this coast as nurseryman to the first New Zealand Company
's settlement expedition in the Rosanna, accompanied by the Lambton, said he 'saw two remarkable Sugar loaf Rocks in the sea near the shore about 100 feet (30.5 m) high'. A man was sent ashore and came back with a Māori man called Tatawa who 'said he belonged to Otago'. Shepherd later confirmed this was the part of the coast he was talking about. There is a reef south of White Island where the sea may be seen breaking. Presumably in the 1820s it too rose well above the sea. By the time of Dunedin's settlement in 1848 there was only the single island visible now.
Following the Russian scare in the early 1880s an Armstrong Disappearing gun like the one still at Taiaroa Head
was installed at Forbury Head above St. Clair. Apparently White Island was used for target practice which may have reduced it and made it more rugged than it was before.
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...
coast. The smaller and less well known lies 2500 metres (2,734 yd) off the coast of Otago
Otago
Otago is a region of New Zealand in the south of the South Island. The region covers an area of approximately making it the country's second largest region. The population of Otago is...
, within the boundaries of the city of 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...
.
The island is 80 metres (87.5 yd) in length and 30 metres (32.8 yd) wide at its widest point, covering 1600 square metres (1,913.6 sq yd) and rising to a height of approximately 15 metres (49 ft). A rocky reef, parts of which break the surface at low tide, extends for 100 metres (109.4 yd) from the western end of the island.
The island is uninhabited, and is a well-known landmark visible from the city's two inner city beaches at St. Clair
Saint Clair, New Zealand
St Clair is a leafy residential suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. It is located on the Pacific Ocean coast five kilometres from the city centre on the southwesternmost part of the coastal plain which makes up the southern part of the urban area, and also climbs the slopes of Forbury Hill...
and St. Kilda
Saint Kilda, New Zealand
St Kilda is a suburb of the New Zealand city of Dunedin. A densely populated residential suburb, it lies on the southern part of the city's central plain, to the southwest of the head of the harbour and immediately north of Ocean Beach, parts of which are within the suburb and form its major...
.
The island's Māori name is Ponuiahine also given as 'Pomuiahine'. It has been translated, probably too literally, as 'The girl's great night' giving rise to witty suggestions as to why that might be. Goodall and Griffiths suggested it should be understood as 'Pou-nui-a-Hine, referring to a post being a memorial to some significant event involving Hine'. They observe 'Hine' can be a man's name but clearly this suggestion leaves open the original ribald speculations. As a place for a lovers' tryst it seems unpromising.
White Island may be the 'Ragged Rock' where the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
sealer
Seal hunting
Seal hunting, or sealing, is the personal or commercial hunting of seals. The hunt is currently practiced in five countries: Canada, where most of the world's seal hunting takes place, Namibia, the Danish region of Greenland, Norway and Russia...
Brothers, chartered by Robert Campbell
Robert Campbell
-Politicians:*Robert Campbell , Australian merchant/politician from New South Wales*Robert Campbell , New South Wales politician, son of the above*Robert Campbell , New York politician...
and under the command of Robert Mason landed three men out of a gang of eleven in November 1809. William Tucker
William Tucker (settler)
William Tucker was a British convict, a sealer, a trader in human heads, an Otago settler, and New Zealand’s first art dealer....
who later settled at Whareakeake (Murdering Beach), near Otago Heads, was in the gang. Alternatively Ragged Rock may be Green Island
Green Island, New Zealand
Green Island is an island off the coast of Dunedin, New Zealand, also the name of one of the city's suburbs. The suburb is not on the sea — formerly a borough, it took its name from the Green Island bush, uncleared native forest extending from the valley where the town is centred over the hills...
.
On May the first 1826 Thomas Shepherd, keeping a journal as he approached this coast as nurseryman to the first New Zealand Company
New Zealand Company
The New Zealand Company originated in London in 1837 as the New Zealand Association with the aim of promoting the "systematic" colonisation of New Zealand. The association, and later the company, intended to follow the colonising principles of Edward Gibbon Wakefield, who envisaged the creation of...
's settlement expedition in the Rosanna, accompanied by the Lambton, said he 'saw two remarkable Sugar loaf Rocks in the sea near the shore about 100 feet (30.5 m) high'. A man was sent ashore and came back with a Māori man called Tatawa who 'said he belonged to Otago'. Shepherd later confirmed this was the part of the coast he was talking about. There is a reef south of White Island where the sea may be seen breaking. Presumably in the 1820s it too rose well above the sea. By the time of Dunedin's settlement in 1848 there was only the single island visible now.
Following the Russian scare in the early 1880s an Armstrong Disappearing gun like the one still at Taiaroa Head
Taiaroa Head
Taiaroa Head is a headland at the end of the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand, overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour. It lies within the city limits of Dunedin...
was installed at Forbury Head above St. Clair. Apparently White Island was used for target practice which may have reduced it and made it more rugged than it was before.