Motuarohia Island (Roberton Island) is a small island in the
Bay of Islands
The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for ...
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 ...
, located about northeast of
Russell.
The island stretches for east-west, with the south coast offering two bays backed by sandy beaches. The north coast is dominated by steep cliffs in the west, rising to , and two shallow lagoons in the west. The twin lagoons nearly reach across the island to the bay on the south coast, almost bisecting the island.
The majority of the island is in private ownership, and there is of public conservation land in the central section of the island managed by the
Department of Conservation.
The New Zealand
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...
gives a translation of "reconnoitred island" for ''Motuarohia''.
History
Motuarohia Island has a long history of human settlement, as evidenced by archaeological sites including a pa site, terraces and pits.
In 1769, Captain
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 ...
anchored just south of the island, hence one of the bays is named Cook's Cove. His reports indicated that there were 200 to 300 Maori on the island and a pa at the eastern tip of the island.
The island became also known as Roberton Island after the one-time owner who purchased it from Ngapuhi chiefs in 1839. Ownership of parts of the island changed hands later, and since 1979 the central section of the island, including the lagoons, is publicly accessible Department of Conservation land.
Conservation
As part of the Department of Conservation's Project Island Song, Motuarohia is pest-free and home to a number of endangered bird species, such as
whitehead,
brown kiwi, and
New Zealand dotterel
The New Zealand dotterel (''Anarhynchus obscurus'') is a species of shorebird found only in certain areas of New Zealand. It is also called the New Zealand plover or red-breasted plover, and its Māori names include , , and .
There are two su ...
during breeding season.
Native forest is regenerating in most parts of the island, in particular in an area of felled pine at the western end.
Recreation
The twin lagoons in the central section of the island are surrounded by kikuyu grass flats. This area is used as a stopover point by small tour boats from Paihia and Russell, although not as popular as the much larger
Urupukapuka Island nearby. At Motuarohia Island, the tour boats anchor in the bay and use a small tender to ferry passengers to the sandy beach.
A walking track leads from this area to a lookout point overlooking the twin lagoons.
There is also a walking track to the pa site, and an educational underwater trail for snorkellers.
See also
*
List of islands of New Zealand
New Zealand consists of more than six hundred islands, mainly remnants of Zealandia, a larger land mass now beneath the sea. New Zealand is the List of island countries#UN member states and states with limited recognition, sixth-largest island ...
References
{{reflist
Far North District
Islands of the Bay of Islands