Cape Egmont, splitting Northern and Southern Taranaki Bights, is the westernmost point of

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

, on the west coast of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

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 close to the

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

cone of Mount Taranaki or Mount Egmont. It was named ''Kaap Pieter Boreel'' by Dutch explorer

Abel Tasman Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch sea explorer, seafarer and exploration, explorer, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first European to reach New ...

in 1642, but renamed ''Cape Egmont'' by British explorer

James Cook Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...

in 1769. (Note: Tasman did not sight Mount Taranaki, due to bad visibility, but Cook did, and after naming the mountain Mount Egmont, bestowed the same name on the promontory, which became the enduring name). Ironically, the cape retained a Dutch name, as Cook named the mountain and cape after the

Earl of Egmont Earl of Egmont was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created in 1733 for John Perceval, 1st Viscount Perceval. It became extinct with the death of the twelfth earl in 2011. History The Percevals claimed descent from an ancient Anglo-Norman ...

, who claimed descent of the Dutch

House of Egmond The House of Egmond or Egmont (French language, French: ''Maison d'Egmond'', Dutch language, Dutch: ''Huis Egmond'') is named after the Netherlands, Dutch town of Egmond aan den Hoef, Egmond, province of North Holland, and played an important role ...

. In July 1862, Kapoaiaia near Cape Egmont was the site of a hui between 600 members of

Ngāti Ruanui Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori people, Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki Region, Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the rohe, traditional ...

Ngā Rauru Ngā Rauru (also ''Ngā Rauru Kītahi'') is a Māori iwi in the South Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 4,047 Māori claimed affiliation to Ngā Rauru, representing 12 hapū. History Early history The early history of Ngā Rau ...

and

Whanganui Māori Whanganui Māori are the Māori ''iwi'' (tribes) and ''hapū'' (sub-tribes) of the Whanganui River area of New Zealand. They are also known as Ngāti Hau. One group of Whanganui Māori, Whanganui Iwi, includes Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi and ...

iwi, discussing the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori people, Māori and the Colony of New Zealand in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Is ...

(1860–1861). There, it was agreed that the lands East and West of

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

(

Tataraimaka Tataraimaka is a rural coastal area in Taranaki, New Zealand. It is predominantly a dairy farming area, approximately south-west of New Plymouth. Tataraimaka is located south of Ōakura and north of Ōkato. The Timaru River passes through Tat ...

, Kaipopo,

Waitaha Waitaha may refer to: * Waitaha (Bay of Plenty iwi), a Māori tribe of the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand * Waitaha (South Island iwi), a historic Māori tribe of the South Island of New Zealand * Waitaha penguin (''Megadyptes waitaha''), an ...

and Waitara) were Māori lands, and that any attempt by European settlers to create a road south of Waireka Hill would be considered an act of war. The

Cape Egmont Lighthouse Cape Egmont Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Cape Egmont in the Taranaki Region of the North Island of New Zealand.

was originally constructed on Mana Island near

Porirua Porirua, () a list of cities in New Zealand, city in the Wellington Region of the North Island of New Zealand, is one of the four cities that constitute the Wellington#Wellington metropolitan area, Wellington metropolitan area. The name 'Poriru ...

but was relocated to Cape Egmont in 1877.

Climate

References

Egmont Egmont may refer to: * Egmont Group, a media corporation founded and rooted in Copenhagen, Denmark * Egmond family (often spelled "Egmont"), an influential Dutch family, lords of the town of Egmond ** Lamoral, Count of Egmont (1522–1568), the be ...

South Taranaki District {{taranaki-geo-stub