Kawau Island is 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,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 ...

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 ...

. It is named after the

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 ...

word for the

shag Shag or Shags may refer to: Animals * Shag or cormorant, a bird family ** European shag, a specific species of the shag or cormorant family ** Great cormorant another species of the family Persons * Shag (artist), stage name of the American a ...

.At its closest point it lies off the coast of the

Northland Peninsula The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitemat� ...

, just south of

Tāwharanui Peninsula Tāwharanui Peninsula is a finger of land projecting into the Hauraki Gulf from the east coast of the much larger North Auckland Peninsula of New Zealand. It separates Ōmaha Bay to the north from Kawau Bay and Kawau Island to the south. The ne ...

, and about by sea journey from Sandspit Wharf, and shelters Kawau Bay to the north-east of Warkworth. It is north of

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 ...

. Almost every property on the island relies on direct access to the sea. There are only two short roads serving settlements at Schoolhouse Bay and South Cove, and most residents have private wharves for access to their front door steps. A regular ferry service operates to the island from Sandspit Wharf on the mainland, as do water taxi services. Mansion House, in the Kawau Island Historic Reserve, is an important historic tourist attraction.

Geography

The island is at its longest axes, and is almost bisected by the long inlet of Bon Accord Harbour, which is geologically a "drowned valley". For more than a century, the sheltered location of the bay has made it a favourite stopping place for yachts. The island is comprised primarily of

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke ( ) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness (6–7 on Mohs scale), dark color, and Sorting (sediment), poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or sand-size Lith ...

rocks and small

lava flows Lava is molten or partially molten rock (magma) that has been expelled from the interior of a terrestrial planet (such as Earth) or a moon onto its surface. Lava may be erupted at a volcano or through a fracture in the crust, on land or unde ...

, which formed on the sea floor before the island was uplifted by

tectonic Tectonics ( via Latin ) are the processes that result in the structure and properties of the Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of ''planetary tectonics'' extends the concept to other planets and moons. These processes ...

forces. Many of the lava flows were associated with hydrothermal springs, which precipitated metal sulphides and minerals rich in iron, manganese and copper. Approximately 17,000 years ago, 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 ...

, when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than at present, Kawau Island was connected to the

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 ...

, and surrounded by a vast coastal plain where 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,

History

Kawau, though providing little arable land, was well-favoured by Māori people, Māori for its beautiful surrounding waters, with battles over the island common from the 17th century on. Traditional stories involve the ancestor

Toi-te-huatahi Toi-te-huatahi, also known as Toi and Toi-kai-rākau, is a legendary Māori people, Māori ''tupuna'' (ancestor) of many Māori people, Māori iwi (tribes) from the Bay of Plenty area, including Ngāti Awa, Ngāi Te Rangi and Ngāi Tūhoe. The B ...

naming the island Te Kawau Tu Maro, meaning the shag (cormorant) standing watch. Kawau was occupied for generations by

Tāmaki Māori Tāmaki Māori are Māori ''iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M� ...

tribes including Te Kawerau and

Ngāi Tai 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. ...

. A defensive

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 ...

, Momona, is found on the island, located in the south-west along the ridge close to modern-day Mansion House. Entrepreneurs from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

purchased the island in 1840 and, shortly afterwards, James Forbes Beattie formed the Kawau Company, intending to mine copper on the island. Miners from

Falmouth, Cornwall Falmouth ( ; ) is a town, civil parish and port on the River Fal on the south coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. Falmouth was founded in 1613 by the Killigrew family on a site near the existing Pendennis Castle. It developed as a po ...

were brought over for the operation. After it was discovered that unsmelted ore was a fire hazard for ships, smelters from Wales were employed to run an ore-smelting operation on the island. A rival company, funded by

Frederick Whitaker Sir Frederick Whitaker (23 April 1812 – 4 December 1891) was an English-born New Zealand politician who served twice as the premier of New Zealand and six times as Attorney-General. Early life Whitaker was born at the Deanery Manor House, ...

and

Theophilus Heale Theophilus Heale (1816–1885) was a 19th-century British Pākehā settler, later a Member of Parliament from Auckland, New Zealand. Biography Heale was the captain part-owner of one of the first British migrant ships to arrive in Wellingt ...

, was granted land immediately outside of the Kawau Company's land grant, giving them control of the wharf. The rival company created shafts underneath the Kawau Company's land, which led to a confrontation when miners from the Kawau Company broke into the rival company's heading. In 1846, the rival company's grant was rejected, and the Kawau Company took full possession of the mines in 1848. In 1844/45, the island produced about of copper, which was about a third of Auckland's exports for that year. In 1862, the island was bought by

Sir George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

Governor of New Zealand A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, to be used as a private retreat. Grey extended the original copper mine manager's house, built in 1845, to create the Mansion House, which still stands, and made the surrounding land into a botanical and zoological park, importing many plants and animals. The house changed hands several times after Grey, and fell into disrepair, but has been restored and furnished to its state during Grey's time. It is now in public ownership in the Kawau Island Historic Reserve, administered by the

New Zealand Department of Conservation The Department of Conservation (DOC; Māori language, Māori: ''Te Papa Atawhai'') is the public service department of New Zealand charged with the conservation of New Zealand's natural and historical heritage. An advisory body, the New Zealand ...

. Governor Grey introduced possums to Kawau in 1868–69. The serious threat they posed to New Zealand's indigenous forest was first identified on Kawau by Ray Weaver in 1955. Since then, possums have become a major animal pest in New Zealand, compromising both forest health and the country's primary industries. The first liberation in New Zealand proper is believed to have been by Captain Howell at Riverton in the South Island in 1837. The reserve is public land and covers 10% of the Island, and includes the old copper mine, believed to be the site of New Zealand's first underground metalliferous mining venture. The ruins of the mine's pumphouse are registered as a Category I heritage structure. In 1968, the island was annexed by Rodney County. The island is home to

kiwi Kiwi most commonly refers to: * Kiwi (bird), a flightless bird native to New Zealand * Kiwi (nickname), an informal name for New Zealanders * Kiwifruit, an edible hairy fruit with many seeds * Kiwi dollar or New Zealand dollar, a unit of curren ...

s and two-thirds of the entire population of North Island weka. Among the animals that Grey introduced were five species of

wallabies A wallaby () is a small or middle-sized macropod native to Australia and New Guinea, with introduced populations in New Zealand, Hawaii, the United Kingdom and other countries. They belong to the same taxonomic family as kangaroos and som ...

, as well as

kookaburra Kookaburras (pronounced ) are terrestrial animal, terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri language, Wira ...

s. Three of the six introduced wallaby species remain and do considerable damage to the native vegetation, thus harming the habitat for the flightless birds and other native fauna. The wallabies destroy emerging seedlings which means that the present native trees are the last generation. The usual under-storey forest species are absent due to wallaby browsing and, in many cases, the ground is bare.

Possums Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum, ...

, also introduced from Australia by Grey, destroy mature native trees. The result has been a considerable

loss of biodiversity Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in biological dive ...

, with bird numbers plummeting due to shortages of both food supply and suitable habitat. Even the surrounding marine environment has been severely compromised by silt carried from the bare ground by rainwater. However, Grey's introduction of wallabies eventually had a minor indirect benefit in the early 2000s, when some were taken to Australia's

Innes National Park Innes () is a habitational surname of Scottish origin, derived from Innes in Moray. In some cases it may have originated as a shortening of MacInnes. Surname Finance * Chris Innes (born 1970), businessperson, former Global Head of Equities and ...

to boost genetic diversity.

Pohutukawa Trust New Zealand

Pohutukawa Trust New Zealand was founded in 1992 by Ray Weaver and other private landowners, who own 90% of the island, "to rehabilitate the native flora and fauna of Kawau Island". Until then, it was considered hopeless to reverse the considerable ecological damage caused by the introduced animal and plant species, and Kawau was said to be of historical rather than botanical importance. The Trust is a registered charity and has run continuously since its beginnings in 1992. It was chaired by Ray Weaver until his death in 2015, and is now chaired by his brother Carl. The Trust's plan is to eradicate all introduced animal pests in stages, starting with wallabies, possums and stoats. Pest removal and the eradication of certain weed species, and the control others, will enable sustainable land use in a restored ecological setting of native flora and fauna. The ongoing program is funded by donations and sponsors. Since 1985, both wallaby and possum numbers have been steadily reduced by sustained control, saving the coastal

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 ...

tree, a New Zealand icon. From a period when possums were at plague proportions across the island, they are now effectively absent form private landowners' properties. In the first quarter of 2024, trained detection dogs were used to establish the current status of introduced

stoat The stoat (''Mustela erminea''), also known as the Eurasian ermine or ermine, is a species of mustelid native to Eurasia and the northern regions of North America. Because of its wide circumpolar distribution, it is listed as Least Concern on th ...

s on the island. No trace of the animals was found. The Trust is not yet able to claim that the inability of the detection teams to find any stoats means that it has eradicated them, although it is possible. Stoats are one of the major predators on young kiwis, so the Trust's removal of them has been a significant contributing factor in an explosion of kiwi numbers since the early 2000s. There has been an increase in the detection of all native bird numbers such as

brown teal The brown teal (''Anas chlorotis''; ) is a species of dabbling duck of the genus ''Anas'' native to New Zealand. For many years it had been considered to be conspecific with the flightless Auckland teal, Auckland and Campbell teals in ''Anas auc ...

kaka Kaka may refer to: People Nickname or given name Sports * Kaká (born 1982), Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, Brazilian football attacking midfielder * Kaká (futsal player) (born 1987), Carlos Augusto dos Santos da Silva, Italian futsal pivot * ...

kererū The kererū (''Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae''), also known as kūkupa (Māori language#Northern dialects, northern Māori dialects), New Zealand pigeon or wood pigeon, is a species of pigeon native to New Zealand. Johann Friedrich Gmelin describ ...

, and bellbirds. The Pohutukawa Trust assisted with the capturing all the brush-tailed rock-wallabies that could be economically removed from private land, for relocation to a captive breeding program established by Waterfall Springs Conservation Association in

Wahroonga Wahroonga is a suburb on the Upper North Shore of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia, 18 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of Ku-ring-gai Council and Hornsby Shire. ...

, Australia. After that, it began to humanely eradicate the remaining wallabies, to allow

ecological restoration Ecological restoration, or ecosystem restoration, is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, destroyed or transformed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair ...

, mainly by natural regeneration. As of 2019, four wallaby species, the brush-tailed rock-wallaby,

tammar wallaby The tammar wallaby (''Notamacropus eugenii''), also known as the dama wallaby or darma wallaby, is a small macropod native to South and Western Australia. Though its geographical range has been severely reduced since European colonisation, the ...

parma wallaby The parma wallaby (''Notamacropus parma'') is a small marsupial macropod mammal native to forests and densely-vegetated areas of northeastern New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Queensland. An introduced population exists on New ...

and

swamp wallaby The swamp wallaby (''Wallabia bicolor'') is a small macropod marsupial of eastern Australia. This wallaby is also commonly known as the black wallaby, with other names including black-tailed wallaby, fern wallaby, black pademelon, stinker (in Qu ...

, all continue to threaten the native species on the island. An inventory of remaining indigenous plants and forest fragments on the island was compiled in 1996 and is being progressively enhanced to define the remnant resource still available for restoration. Several rare indigenous plant species have been discovered during the process. Following the removal of wallabies, possums and other animal pests, the Trust intends to eradicate

feral cat A feral cat or a stray cat is an unowned domestic cat (''Felis catus'') that lives outdoors and avoids human contact; it does not allow itself to be handled or touched, and usually remains hidden from humans. Feral cats may breed over dozens ...

s and

ship rats The black rat (''Rattus rattus''), also known as the roof rat, ship rat, or house rat, is a common long-tailed rodent of the stereotypical rat genus '' Rattus'', in the subfamily Murinae. It likely originated in the Indian subcontinent, but is ...

in stages as resources allow. Exotic plants unpalatable to the wallabies have become serious invasive weeds on the island, and the Trust plans to eradicate or control them as part of the ecological restoration process. The Pohutukawa Trust New Zealand received a Green Ribbon Award from the Ministry for the Environment in 2003 "for outstanding leadership and commitment to environmental protection".

Department of Conservation controlled land

About 10% of the island is under the control of the

Department of Conservation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, which tries to keep the protected areas free of invasive pests and animals. As at 2002, Kawau Island was home to the largest island population of North Island weka.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Kawau Island as a rural settlement which covers and includes

Motuora Motuora is an island nature reserve in the western Hauraki Gulf, on the north-eastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It lies some south-west of Kawau Island, east of Mahurangi Heads and north of the city of Auckland. History Although ...

, Moturekareka Island, Motuketekete Island, Takangaroa Island and Rabbit Island, all of which are uninhabited. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². The area is part of the larger Gulf Islands statistical area. Kawau Island had a population of 96 in the

2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...

, an increase of 15 people (18.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 18 people (23.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 54 males and 45 females in 60 dwellings. 3.1% of people identified as

LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

. The median age was 62.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 6 people (6.2%) aged under 15 years, 6 (6.2%) aged 15 to 29, 39 (40.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 45 (46.9%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 87.5%

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

(

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

); 12.5% Māori people, Māori; and 3.1% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA). English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori language by 3.1%, and other languages by 9.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 28.1%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, and 3.1%

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

. People who answered that they had no religion were 62.5%, and 3.1% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 12 (13.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 54 (60.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 18 (20.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $25,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 9 people (10.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those aged at least 15 was that 27 (30.0%) people were employed full-time and 15 (16.7%) were part-time.

Gulf Islands

The statistical area of Gulf Islands also includes

Rangitoto Island Rangitoto Island is a volcanic island in the Hauraki Gulf near Auckland, New Zealand. The wide island is a symmetrical shield volcano cone capped by central scoria cones, reaching a height of . Rangitoto is the youngest and largest of the appr ...

Motutapu Island Motutapu Island is a island in the Hauraki Gulf to the northeast of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. The island can be accessed via regular ferry services departing from Auckland City. ...

, Browns Island,

Motuihe Island Motuihe Island (official name: Motuihe Island / Te Motu-a-Ihenga) lies between Motutapu and Waiheke islands in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand, near Auckland. The island measures , of which around are remnants of coastal forest. The island ...

and

Rakino Island Rakino () is a rural locality (a village) in Chernushinsky District, Perm Krai Perm Krai (, ; ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a Krais of Russia, krai), located in Eastern Europe. Its administrative center is Perm, ...

, but Kawau Island has the majority of the population. Gulf Islands covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Gulf Islands had a population of 138 in the

, an increase of 27 people (24.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 18 people (15.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 72 males and 66 females in 99 dwellings. 4.3% of people identified as

. The median age was 62.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 6 people (4.3%) aged under 15 years, 12 (8.7%) aged 15 to 29, 60 (43.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 60 (43.5%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 89.1%

(

); 13.0% Māori people, Māori; 4.3%

Pasifika Pasifika may refer to: *Pacific Islander people, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands **Pasifika New Zealanders, Pacific peoples living in New Zealand *Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia *The Pasifika Festival, an a ...

; and 2.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA). English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori language by 2.2%, and other languages by 10.9%. The percentage of people born overseas was 23.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 26.1%

, and 2.2%

. People who answered that they had no religion were 65.2%, and 6.5% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 27 (20.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 69 (52.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 30 (22.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $26,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 12 people (9.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those aged at least 15 was that 39 (29.5%) people were employed full-time and 27 (20.5%) were part-time.

References

External links

Kawau Island Residents and Property Owners' Association IncorporatedPohutukawa Trust New Zealand
held in

Auckland Libraries Auckland Council Libraries, usually simplified to Auckland Libraries, is the public library system for the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It was created when the seven separate councils in the Auckland region merged in 2010. It is currently the ...

' heritage collections. {{Rodney Local Board Area Warkworth Subdivision Island restoration Islands of the Auckland Region Populated places in the Auckland Region Populated places around the Hauraki Gulf Rodney Local Board Area