Motukorea or Browns Island is a small New Zealand island, in the

Hauraki Gulf The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Musick Point, one of the best preserved volcanoes in the

Auckland volcanic field The Auckland volcanic field is an area of monogenetic volcanoes covered by much of the metropolitan area of Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, located in the North Island. The approximately 53 volcanoes in the field have produced a divers ...

. The age of eruption is about 25,000 years ago, when the Tāmaki Estuary and the

Waitemata Harbour Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā railway station, the public transport hub in the central business district of Auckland, formerly Britomart Station * Waitematā ...

were forested river valleys. Due to centuries of cultivation, little native bush remains except on the north-eastern cliffs, leaving the volcanic landforms easily visible. It exhibits the landforms from three styles of eruption. The island consists of one main

scoria cone A cinder cone or scoria cone is a steep, conical landform of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic ash, clinkers, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or l ...

with a deep crater, a small remnant arc of the

tuff ring Phreatomagmatic eruptions are volcanic eruptions resulting from interaction between magma and water. They differ from exclusively magmatic eruptions and phreatic eruptions. Unlike phreatic eruptions, the products of phreatomagmatic eruptions cont ...

forming the cliffs in the northeast, and the upper portions of

lava flow Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a Natural satellite, moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a Fissure vent, fractu ...

s. The area was dry land when the eruptions occurred, but much of the lava is now submerged beneath the sea.

Geology

Motukorea erupted approximately 24,500 years ago. It began life with a series of wet explosive eruptions that cleared it of any debris and created a 1-kilometre shallow crater, as seen today. The ejected

magma Magma () is the molten or semi-molten natural material from which all igneous rocks are formed. Magma (sometimes colloquially but incorrectly referred to as ''lava'') is found beneath the surface of the Earth, and evidence of magmatism has also ...

, together with large amounts of ash, accumulated around the crater to form a

. At the time of the eruption, the wind was probably blowing from a southwesterly direction, and a more substantial rim built up on the downward side. Interestingly, fossils of the now Australia-based Sydney mud cockle (Anadara trapezia) have been found amongst shell beds deposited from the volcano. After dry, fire-fountaining eruptions built the several

scoria Scoria or cinder is a pyroclastic, highly vesicular, dark-colored volcanic rock formed by ejection from a volcano as a molten blob and cooled in the air to form discrete grains called clasts.Neuendorf, K.K.E., J.P. Mehl, Jr., and J.A. Jackso ...

cones around the main crater, the sea rapidly eroded the tuff on the northern side of the island, and together with shell deposited the extensive flats on the south and west of the cone. A shallow reef extends 200m offshore. During the

Last Glacial Maximum The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), also referred to as the Last Glacial Coldest Period, was the most recent time during the Last Glacial Period where ice sheets were at their greatest extent between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago. Ice sheets covered m ...

, sea levels around Motukorea dropped to 100 metres lower than present day levels, meaning Motukorea was surrounded by a vast coastal plain where the

Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Waitematā Harbour The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. 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 ...

. Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, after which Motukorea became an island separated from the rest of New Zealand.

History

Maori occupation

The history of Motukorea prior to European arrival is not well documented, and while many of the sources available speculate as to the origins of

Ngāti Tamaterā Ngāti Tamaterā is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Hauraki region of New Zealand, descended from Tamaterā, the second son of Marutūāhu. It is a major tribe within the Marutūāhu confederation and its leaders have been prominent in Hauraki ...

mana whenua and their right to sell the island in 1840, few dispute it. Phillips makes mention of 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 ...

canoe stopping at the island after leaving Wakatiwai on the

Firth of Thames The Firth of Thames () is a large bay located in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako, the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of Thames lies on its south ...

, before proceeding to Rangitoto where she met up with the Arawa canoe. In the intervening years, the general area came to be controlled by

Ngāti Paoa Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

and the lands to the west were controlled by

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

, but the island remained under the control of Ngāti Tamaterā. Opinion is divided as to why this may be, Phillips postulates that

mana Mana may refer to: Religion and mythology * Mana (Oceanian cultures), the spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe in Melanesian and Polynesian mythology * Mana (food), archaic name for manna, an edible substance m ...

may have been vested in return for assistance in battle, whereas Monin regards the occupation and sale of Motukorea as evidence of more widespread penetration of the inner Gulf by numerous Hauraki iwi and hapu. Motukorea's location at the mouth of the

Tāmaki River The Tāmaki River or Tāmaki Estuary is mostly an estuarial arm and harbour of the Hauraki Gulf, within the city of Auckland in New Zealand.

was certainly important as it effectively controlled access up the river, and as a result Te Tō Waka (the

Ōtāhuhu Ōtāhuhu is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand – to the southeast of the CBD, on a narrow isthmus between an arm of the Manukau Harbour to the west and the Tāmaki River estuary to the east. The Auckland isthmus is the narrowest connect ...

portage) and nearby Karetu portage through to the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burnett ...

. The archaeological remains suggest Motukorea was intensively occupied in pre-European times, with people engaged in stone working industry, marine exploitation, gardening of the fertile volcanic soils, and establishing open and defended settlements. Three

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

sites have been identified by Simmons. ‘Archaic’ type artifacts found on the island include worked

moa Moa are extinct giant flightless birds native to New Zealand. Moa or MOA may also refer to: Arts and media * Metal Open Air, a Brazilian heavy metal festival * MOA Museum of Art in Japan * The Moas, New Zealand film awards People * Moa ...

bone, and one-piece fishhooks. Exotic stone resources including

chert Chert () is a hard, fine-grained sedimentary rock composed of microcrystalline or cryptocrystalline quartz, the mineral form of silicon dioxide (SiO2). Chert is characteristically of biological origin, but may also occur inorganically as a prec ...

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

argillite Argillite () is a fine-grained sedimentary rock composed predominantly of Friability, indurated clay particles. Argillaceous rocks are basically lithified muds and Pelagic sediment, oozes. They contain variable amounts of silt-sized particles. T ...

and

obsidian Obsidian ( ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extrusive rock, extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth. It is an igneous rock. Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter element ...

from both local gulf island sources and as far afield as

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula () on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west from the Pacific Ocean ...

and

Great Barrier Island Great Barrier Island () lies in the outer Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand, north-east of central Auckland. With an area of it is the sixth-largest List of islands of New Zealand, island of New Zealand. Its highest point, Mount Hobson, Great Barrier ...

. The name ''Motukorea'' means "Oystercatcher Island".

Brown & Campbell

Starting from 1820, early European visitors included Richard Cruise,

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society. He played a leading role in bringing Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden w ...

and John Butler, who both traded with Maori for produce. Dumont D’Urville visited the island in 1827 and reported it abandoned, probably on account of the

musket wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...

. Being already abandoned by Ngāti Tamaterā and located a considerable distance from where they were based in Coromandel, Te Kanini of Ngāti Tamaterā and the sub-chiefs Katikati and Ngatai were willing to sell Motukorea when William Brown and Logan Campbell indicated a desire to buy the island on 22 May 1840. Brown and Campbell settled on the western side of the island from 13 August 1840, making it one of the earliest European settlements in the

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

area. They built a raupo whare and ran pigs on the island, using it as a base from which they aspired to establish and supply the town of Auckland as soon as land was available on the isthmus. Not long after Brown and Campbell had taken up residence on the island, Ngāti Whātua chief

Āpihai Te Kawau Apihai Te Kawau (died November 1869) was a paramount chief of the Ngāti Whātua Māori iwi (tribe) of Auckland (), New Zealand in the 19th century. Te Kawau's father was Tarahawaiki and his grandfather was Tūperiri, the principal leader o ...

gifted it to Captain Hobson in order to entice him to select Auckland as the new capital for the colony. A flagpole was to be erected on the summit and the island claimed for the Crown, but upon hearing what was transpiring, Brown and Campbell returned to their island and protested their right to occupy the island. The idea was abandoned, but Governor Hobson refused the application for a Crown grant made by Brown in August 1840. The official reason for the refusal was that Brown and Campbell's purchase was made after Sir George Gipps' 1840 proclamation forbidding direct land purchases from the Maori. It was not until

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy, politician and scientist who served as the second governor of New Zealand between 1843 and 1845. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of ...

assumed the role of governor in 1843 that Brown and Campbell's fortunes changed. The grant was officially made on 22 October 1844. Campbell left the island in December 1840 to set up a trading business in the newly established settlement of Auckland, while Brown remained on the island until February the following year to manage the pig farm, and likely to watch over their vested interest in the island. In 1856 both men left the colony for Great Britain, appointing a resident manager in charge of their affairs. Campbell eventually bought out Brown's share in their business, including Motukorea, in May 1873 for £40,000 when Brown refused to return from Britain to resume control of their affairs. This transaction was carried out via William Baker who appears to have acted as an intermediary, receiving Brown's share for two days while the transaction was being carried out. In 1877 Campbell proposed to transplant olive trees to Motukorea and 5000 seedlings were grown in a nursery on One Tree Hill for this purpose, but were never transplanted. Campbell eventually sold the island to the Featherstone family in 1879, who built a larger house on the north-eastern side of the island which burnt down in 1915. The derelict house was still on the island until the 1960s. Browns island 1908 postcard with ferries

Browns island 1908 postcard with ferries

Devonport Steam Ferry Company

In 1906 the island was sold to the Alison family who operated the Devonport Steam Ferry Company, and during their ownership the hulks of 4 coal powered low draught paddle steamers were abandoned on the low western end of the island. Browns Island is also significant in aviation history, with the Barnard brothers of Auckland carrying out what may have been New Zealand's first glider flights from the upper slopes of the cone in June 1909. In the 1920s the Devonport Steam Ferry Company regularly brought picnickers to the island landing them on a substantial wooden wharf about 120 ft long on the north side of the island. A 1922 survey plan shows a cottage in on the north western flat presumably built to replace the one that was lost in 1915.

Public ownership

The Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board purchased the island in 1946 proposing to build a

sewage treatment Sewage treatment is a type of wastewater treatment which aims to remove contaminants from sewage to produce an effluent that is suitable to discharge to the surrounding environment or an intended reuse application, thereby preventing water p ...

plant. Controversy surrounding the proposal forced the plan to be abandoned and the island was eventually purchased by Sir Ernest Davis, who presented it as a gift to the people of Auckland in July 1955. Ernest Davis had been the chairperson of the Devonport Steam Ferry Company for 20 years which may further explain some of his affinity with Browns Island. The Auckland City Council administered the island until 1968 when it became part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park.NZ Gazette 20/6/1968 No.38 p.1035 Management control was vested in the Department of Lands and Survey and in 1987 this was transferred to the Department of Conservation. After the demise of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park Board in July 1990, the Auckland City Council was again the designated administering body, and passed back the responsibility for management to the Department of Conservation.

Features

Browns Island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. There are three pa sites on the island, with the largest occupying the slopes of the main scoria cone. The island's highest point is above sea level. The mineral motukoreaite was discovered in 1977 on the island and named for it. Other features include a collapsed

Lava cave A lava cave is any cave formed in volcanic rock, though it typically means caves formed by volcanic processes, which are more properly termed volcanic caves. Sea caves, and other sorts of erosional and crevice caves, may be formed in volcanic rock ...

depression which can be seen on the northwestern flats of the island.

Access

The island is not served by

ferries A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus. ...

, so private boats and seaplanes are the only means of access. There is no wharf or easy access to the island for larger vessels. For small craft the best landing is on the more sheltered northern side of the island where there is a long beach, backed by a steep cliff. Navigation is difficult as there is a long rock reef parallel to the beach. The reef is marked by a beacon. Inside the reef there are small isolated rocks but there is sufficient water between them for a small (up to ) craft to move. A crew member should be placed in the bow to give instructions to the skipper. Access to the rest of the island is via a steep, unformed path up the small headland at the north end of the beach. The path is only suited to fit, agile walkers. The flatter areas to the west have very large part submerged

mussel Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...

beds which extend out from the shore preventing easy landing. The closest mainland boat ramps are at Bucklands Beach or Half Moon Bay Marina.

Notes

References

*Bercusson, L. 1999 ''The Hauraki Gulf: From Bream Head to Cape Colville", Shoal Bay Press *Brassey, R. 1996. Motukorea (Browns Island) unpublished MS *Bush, G. 1980. The Brown's Island Drainage Controversy. Dunmore Press, Palmerston North *Campbell, J.L. 1881. Poenamo: Sketches of the Early Days of New Zealand, Romance and Reality of Antipodean Life in the Infancy of a New Colony. Williams and Norgate, London. pp. 229–253, 300-308 *Cruise, R.A. 1823. Journal of a Ten Month's Residence in New Zealand. Longmans, London *Elder, J. R. (ed) The Letters and Journals of Samuel Marsden 1765-1830. Otago University Council, Dunedin *Frederickson, C. 1991. Description of a lithic assemblage from Motukorea (Brown's Island). Archaeology in New Zealand 34(2):91-104 *Homer, L., Moore, P. and L. Kermode. 2000. ''Lava and Strata: A guide to the volcanoes and rock formations of Auckland'', Landscape Publications and the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences (pages 28–29) *Maffey, N.A.. 1972. Auckland Maritime Society Excursion to Brown's Island – 2 December 1972. MS in Auckland Public Library *Monin, P, 1996. ‘The Islands Lying Between Slipper Island in the South-East, Great Barrier Island in the North and Tiritiri–Matangi in the North-West’, report commissioned by the Waitangi Tribunal *Phillips, F.L. 1989. Nga Tohu a Tainui. Landmarks of Tainui: Historic Places of the Tainui People. Volume 2. Tohu Publishers, Otorohanga *Rickard, V. 1985. Motukorea Archaeological Survey. Unpublished report to the Department of Lands and Survey, Auckland. Archaeological and Historical Reports No.11 *Stone, R.C.J. 1982. Young Logan Campbell. Auckland University Press, Auckland *Wright, O. 1950. New Zealand 1826-27. Wellington *''Volcanoes of Auckland: A Field Guide''. Hayward, B.W.; Auckland University Press, 2019, 335 pp. .

External links

Browns Island (Motukorea)
Department of Conservation (includes link to map)
Aerial photo

GNS Science GNS Science (), officially registered as the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Limited, is a New Zealand Crown Research Institute. It focuses on geology, geophysics (including seismology and volcanology), and nuclear science (partic ...

.
Details of motukoreaitePhotographs of Brown's Island
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Protected areas of New Zealand Auckland volcanic field Islands of the Hauraki Gulf Islands of the Auckland Region Volcanoes of the Auckland Region Volcanic islands of New Zealand Regional parks of the Auckland Region Uninhabited islands of New Zealand