Slipper Island (

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 ...

: ''Whakahau'') is located to the east of the

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 ...

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 ...

and southeast of the town of

Pauanui The town of Pauanui (, meaning "big pāua") is on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the mouth of the Tairua River on its south bank, directly opposite the larger town of Tairua. The two ...

History

Approximately 18,000 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 present day levels, Slipper Island was connected to the Coromandel by a vast coastal plain. Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, after which the island was separated from the rest of New Zealand. When sea levels were lower, the Tairua River flowed between modern Slipper Island and Shoe Island / Motuhoa, travelling eastwards towards the Pacific Ocean. There is evidence that the island was the site of early activity of New Zealand's first

settlers on their arrival around 1300AD, principally by the discovery of a tropical pearl shell lure in 2001. There are also eight

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 and other evidence of occupation such as middens. Numerous moa bone blanks used by early East Polynesian settlers for making fish hooks have also been found. The Island is considered wahi tapu, or sacred to

iwi 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. ...

, the Ngāti Maru Runanga and Ngāti Hei. Tuokiokio was the last Māori chief, or rangatira, of Whakahau. The island was used as a farm from the mid to late 19th century. More recent farm owners included the Normans, later of Opoutere, and the Needhams who purchased the island around 1970. About 217ha (95 per cent) of the island was later set up as a resort by the Needham family, Abe and Nora and their 14 children. This was sold to Auckland-based property developer Wendy Weimei Wu in 2015. The guests and tourists used the then only habitation on the island, the resort of six chalets and the family homestead.For rent: Slipper Island, New Zealand’s private island paradise
Brook Sabin, stuff.co.nz, 2018-01-05 The balance of the island, seven hectares around South Bay, has been subdivided. The television programme '' Grand Designs New Zealand'' featured the building of a new house on this land in October 2017. Several smaller islets (including Penguin Island and Rabbit Island) are found off its southern tip, and the 40-hectare Shoe Island / Motuhoa lies to the northwest.

References

External links

Official website

Slipper Island Blog
Thames-Coromandel District Islands of Waikato Private islands of New Zealand Sacred islands {{Waikato-geo-stub

History

See also

References

External links