Aotea Harbour () is a settlement and smallest of three large natural inlets in the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

coast of the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It is located between Raglan Harbour to the north and

Kawhia Harbour Kawhia Harbour () is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, Ne ...

to the south, 30 kilometres southwest of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

Geography

Aotea Harbour is a drowned valley system following the post glacial Aranuian sea level rise of over 100m in the last 14,000 years, but its level may also be influenced by the Makomako and Te Maari faults. It has a high-tide area of and a low-tide area of . Most higher ground around the harbour is formed from

Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ...

era graywacke stone, while the Aotea Harbour north head were formed from

Quaternary The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), as well as the current and most recent of the twelve periods of the ...

marine deposits, wind blown north-east from the Tasman Sea. 54% of the area around the harbour is in sheep and beef grazing. Since 1850 native forest cover has declined from 98% to 28%, about 18% managed by the Department of Conservation. Waireinga/Bridal Veil Falls is located on Pakoka River, and Lake Disappear is on Pakihi Stream, both of which flow into Aotea Harbour.

Wildlife

Most of the land surrounding the Aotea Harbour is grassland with occasional

pōhutukawa Pōhutukawa (''Metrosideros excelsa''), also known as the New Zealand Christmas tree, or iron tree, is a coastal evergreen tree in the Myrtus, myrtle family, Myrtaceae, that produces a brilliant display of red (or occasionally orange, yellow o ...

trees; however, archaeological charcoal evidence shows the presence of some tawa,

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...

and kanuka trees, alongside '' Hebe'' and ''

Coprosma ''Coprosma'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It is found in New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Borneo, Java, New Guinea, islands of the Pacific Ocean to Australia and the Juan Fernández Islands. Description The name ''Copros ...

'' shrubs. In the present day, some common plants found around the harbour are ''

Cotula coronopifolia ''Cotula coronopifolia'' is a species of flowering plant in the aster family (Asteraceae). Commonly known as brass buttons, golden buttons, and buttonweed, it is native to South Africa and New Zealand. Description The flower heads are bright ye ...

'', '' Sarcocornia quinqueflora'', '' Avicennia marina'', '' Apodasmia similis'', '' Selliera radicans'', '' Plagianthus divaricatus'', ''

Paspalum vaginatum ''Paspalum vaginatum'' is a species of grass known by many names, including seashore paspalum, biscuit grass, saltwater couch, silt grass, and swamp couch.Samolus repens'', '' Juncus kraussii'', '' Zostera novazelandica,

Austrostipa stipoides ''Austrostipa stipoides'', commonly known as prickly spear-grass or coast spear-grass, is a kind of tussock grass native to the coasts of south-eastern Australia and of New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwest ...

, Isolepis cernua,

Spartina anglica ''Sporobolus anglicus'' (common cordgrass) is a hybrid-derived species of cordgrass that originated in southern England in about 1870 and is a neonative species in Britain. It was reclassified as ''Sporobolus anglicus'' after a taxonomic revi ...

, Schoenoplectus pungens, Baumea juncea,

Cordyline australis ''Cordyline australis'', commonly known as the cabbage tree, or by its Māori language, Māori name of ''tī'' or ''tī kōuka'', is a widely branched monocotyledon, monocot tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows up to tall with a s ...

, Olearia solandri,

Dacrycarpus dacrydioides ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of over a life span of 600 years. It was firs ...

Leptospermum scoparium ''Leptospermum'' is a genus of shrubs and small trees in the myrtle family Myrtaceae commonly known as tea trees, although this name is sometimes also used for some species of '' Melaleuca''. Most species are endemic to Australia, with the gre ...

'', '' Bolboschoenus fluviatilis'', '' Coprosma propinqua'', ''

Cortaderia selloana ''Cortaderia selloana'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Poaceae. It is referred to by the common name pampas grass, and is native to southern South America, including the Pampas region after which it is named. It is widely distri ...

'', '' Cortaderia jubata'' and '' Typha orientalis''. Birds recorded in the harbour include white faced heron, South Island oyster catcher,

godwit Godwits are a group of four large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly bird migration, migratory waders of the bird genus ''Limosa''. Their long bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and mollusca, molluscs. In their ...

pied stilt The pied stilt (''Himantopus leucocephalus''), also known as the white-headed stilt, is a shorebird in the Family (biology), family Recurvirostridae. It is widely distributed with a large total population size and apparently stable population tr ...

, black backed gull, red billed gull,

swan Swans are birds of the genus ''Cygnus'' within the family Anatidae. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe (biology) ...

Canada goose The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), sometimes called Canadian goose, is a large species of goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North A ...

spur-winged plover The spur-winged lapwing or spur-winged plover (''Vanellus spinosus'') is a lapwing species, one of a group of largish waders in the family Charadriidae. Taxonomy The spur-winged lapwing was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturali ...

, New Zealand dotterel,

Royal spoonbill The royal spoonbill (''Platalea regia''), also known as the black-billed spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. (In New ...

kingfisher Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species living in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania, ...

, pied shag, fernbird, paradise duck,

Caspian tern The Caspian tern (''Hydroprogne caspia'') is a species of tern, with a subcosmopolitan but scattered distribution. Despite its extensive range, it is monotypic of its genus, and has no accepted subspecies. The genus name is from Ancient Greek '' ...

white-fronted tern The white-fronted tern (''Sterna striata''), also known as tara, sea swallow, black-billed tern, kahawai bird, southern tern, or swallow tail, was first described by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789. A medium-sized tern with an all-white body inclu ...

and

gannet Gannets are seabirds comprising the genus ''Morus'' in the family Sulidae, closely related to boobies. They are known as 'solan' or 'solan goose' in Scotland. A common misconception is that the Scottish name is 'guga' but this is the Gaelic n ...

. The commonest fish species in the harbour are

anchovy An anchovy is a small, common forage fish of the Family (biology), family Engraulidae. Most species are found in marine waters, but several will enter brackish water, and some in South America are restricted to fresh water. More than 140 speci ...

flounder Flounders are a group of flatfish species. They are demersal fish, found at the bottom of oceans around the world; some species will also enter estuary, estuaries. Taxonomy The name "flounder" is used for several only distantly related speci ...

and yellow-eyed mullet. Shellfish species found in the harbour include Pipi and cockles.

Orca The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...

, bottlenose and

common dolphin The common dolphin (''Delphinus delphis'') is the most abundant cetacean in the world, with a global population of about six million. Despite this fact and its vernacular name, the common dolphin is not thought of as the archetypal dolphin, wit ...

occasionally enter the harbour.

History

According to traditional history, the harbour is the final landing place for the '' Aotea'' waka. Migrants from the Aotea waka are said to have brought karaka trees to the area when they settled. People aboard the

Tainui Tainui is a tribal waka (canoe), waka confederation of New Zealand Māori people, Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki Māori, Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapo ...

'' waka settled around the Aotea Harbour,

and Whaingaroa Harbour ( Raglan Harbour) in approximately 1350. Over 100

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

archaeological sites are found around the harbour, dating to the 15th and 16th centuries. Many found on the Aotea Harbour north head, such as Koreromaiwaho Paa, were covered with Aeolian sand, blown due to the prevailing south-westerly wind. The people who settled around Aotea Harbour traditionally cultivated kumara, while collecting

tuatua ''Paphies subtriangulata'' is a species of edible bivalve clam known as tuatua in the Māori language, a member of the family Mesodesmatidae and endemic to New Zealand. It is found on all three of the main New Zealand islands, buried in fine cle ...

from the Tasman Sea, and pipi and cockles from the harbour. The harbour was the site of a seven generational war between Ngāti Māhanga and Ngāti Tū-irirangi. By the early 1800s, the Aotea Harbour area had been settled by Tainui iwi including Ngāti Māhanga, Ngāti Te Wehi,

Ngāti Mahuta Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe (or hapū) of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato tribe (or iwi) of Māori people, Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia Harbour, Kawhia and Huntly, New Zealand, Hunt ...

Ngāti Koata Ngāti Koata or Ngāti Kōata is a Māori iwi of New Zealand, originating on the west coast of Waikato, but now mainly at the northern tip of South Island. Ngāti Koata whakapapa back to Koata who lived near Kāwhia in the 17th century. She ha ...

and

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, also called Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori people, Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and the northern South Island of New Zealand. Ngāti Toa remains a small iwi with a population of ...

. Conflict between Tainui iwi led by

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...

and Ngāti Toa, led to Ngāti Toa settling

Kapiti Island Kapiti Island (), sometimes written as Kāpiti Island, is an island nature reserve located off the west coast of the lower North Island of New Zealand and within the Kāpiti Coast District. Parts of the island were previously farmed, but it is ...

and the

Kāpiti Coast Kapiti or Kāpiti may refer to: * Kapiti (New Zealand electorate), a former Parliamentary electorate *Kāpiti Coast District, a local government district *Kapiti Island * Kapiti Coast Airport * Kāpiti College *Kāpiti Expressway * Kapiti Fine Food ...

in the 1820s, while their allies, the Ngāti Koata, settled around the northern shore of the South Island (in the Tasman,

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and

Marlborough Marlborough or the Marlborough may refer to: Places Australia * Marlborough, Queensland * Principality of Marlborough, a short-lived micronation in 1993 * Marlborough Highway, Tasmania; Malborough was an historic name for the place at the sou ...

regions). In the 1880s described as the north-western edge of the Te Rohe Pōtae (King Country lands).

Marae

Several

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

are located around Aotea Harbour. Te Tihi o Moerangi Marae and meeting house are affiliated with

and Ngāti Te Weehi. Mōtakotako Marae and Te Ōhākī a Mahuta meeting house are affiliated with

, Ngāti Te Weehi and Tainui Hapū. Te Papatapu or Te Wehi Marae and Pare Whakarukuruku meeting house are affiliated with

and Ngāti Te Weehi.

Demographics

The meshblocks around the edge of the harbour had these census results - Spoonbills_at_Aotea_Harbour

The population was once much larger. For example, about 200 lived at Makaka in 1880.

Roads

The harbour has few roads giving access to it. Aotea village and Okapu have a road linked to SH31, near Kawhia. A

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. Gravel roads are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and ...

links SH31 to Makomako. Just north of Makomako, at Maari Stream, two roads link to Te Mata; Te Papatapu Rd follows the edge of the harbour for over . Kawhia Rd runs east via Lake Disappear and Waireinga/Bridal Veil Falls. Phillips Rd branches from Te Papatapu Rd, giving access to some areas north of the harbour. The beaches were initially a main route and were linked by boat across the harbour entrance. About 1880 Te Papatapu Rd was built from Te Mata, but from Te Papatapu the route was across the harbour at low tide. The bridges over the Maari and Makomako streams were built about 1918, though the road linking Kawhia and Te Mata was not usable until about 1926. They were replaced by concrete bridges in 1970. When Makomako School was built in 1925, timber and other supplies were taken by road to Pakoka landing, but then rafted across the harbour and up the stream to a point near the school. The roads were

metalled A road surface (British English) or pavement (North American English) is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, macadam, ho ...

in the 1930s. From 1938 to 1952 public buses linked Kawhia and Raglan.

Education

Makomako School was just above the junction of Makomako Road and the Te Mata-Kawhia Road. It was open from 26 October 1925 (with an initial roll of 31 girls and 16 boys) to 1981, or 1983. Makomako and the area north of it are now in the catchment area for Te Mata School, though the school buses only reach to Te Papatapu Road. From 1899 to 1904 there was a school at Raoraokauere mission station.

References

External links

history, geology, flora, fauna, environment and planning

1:50,000 map

The southern part of the Province of Auckland showing the routes and surveys by Ferdinand von Hochstetter, 1859 from the original drawings, by Stokes and Drury, compiled by A. Peterman, 1864
* 1925 1:63,360 geology maps
north
an
south
(to enlarge follow the 'original record' link)
Landcare Research map of original vegetation, etc.

vegetation around the edge of the harbour

archaeology map

1854 direction for ships finding the harbour

water quality

toxic elements are low

{{Authority control Waikato District Ōtorohanga District Populated places in Waikato Ports and harbours of New Zealand