The Sugar Loaf Islands (often Sugarloaf; mi, Ngā Motu, ) are a collection of five small uninhabited islands and several

sea stack A stack or sea stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and water, processes of coastal geomorpholog ...

s near

Port Taranaki Port Taranaki is a port complex located in New Plymouth, New Zealand. It is the only deep water port on the west coast of New Zealand, and is owned by the Taranaki Regional Council. The port handles a wide range of coastal and international ...

, New Zealand. The largest,

Moturoa Moturoa is a coastal suburb of New Plymouth, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the west of the city centre, bordering Port Taranaki and the Sugar Loaf Islands. One of the islands, Moturoa, the largest, shares its nam ...

Island, covers approximately . Motumahanga is the island furthest from shore, at approximately . Ngā Motu was one of the first areas inhabited by descendants of

Te Whiti o Rongomai Te Whiti o Rongomai III (–18 November 1907) was a Māori spiritual leader and founder of the village of Parihaka, in New Zealand's Taranaki region. Te Whiti established Parihaka community as a place of sanctuary and peace for Māori many ...

, and the islands and reefs were all named by Ngāti Te Whiti. The island group was given its English name in 1770 by James Cook because the reminded him of the way sugar was stored in heaps in Europe. The Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA) was established in 1991 to protect the area from oil exploration. This strengthened the protection that had been in place since the formation of a marine park in 1986. In 2013 New Plymouth district councillors unanimously agreed to gift the protected area back to the government for treaty settlement negotiations with

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

and

Te Āti Awa Te Āti Awa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Taranaki and Wellington regions of New Zealand. Approximately 17,000 people registered their affiliation to Te Āti Awa in 2001, with around 10,000 in Taranaki, 2,000 in Wellington and arou ...

iwi.

Islands

The Sugar Loaf Islands can be divided into inner and outer island groups. The inner islands comprise Mataora (Round Rock),

Pararaki Raukokore is a small settlement close to the East Cape in the northeastern North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 35, close to the mouth of the Raukokore River, 40 kilometres to the west of Hicks Bay. Raukokore's most nota ...

(Seagull Rock) and Motuotamatea (Snapper Rock). Mataora connects to the mainland at low tides as a

tombolo A tombolo is a sandy or shingle isthmus. A tombolo, from the Italian ', meaning 'pillow' or 'cushion', and sometimes translated incorrectly as '' ayre'' (an ayre is a shingle beach of any kind), is a deposition landform by which an island bec ...

, as does Motuotamatea on very low spring tides. Pararaki is separated from Mataora by a 20 meter wide channel. The outer islands comprise Motumahanga (Saddleback Island) and Moturoa. Several small rock outcrops are included in the island group. Waikaranga (Seal Rocks), and Tokatapu are several hundred meters offshore. Close to Moturoa lie Whareumu (Lion Rock), a vegetated stack and two barren rocks, and Tokomapuna (Barrett Reef).

Mikotahi

Mikotahi was formerly a half tide island, with a historic

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

. In 1865 the Alpha well was drilled near Mikotahi. This was the first oil well in what is now the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with " republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from th ...

and one of the first in the world. The earth works to reclaim land for the

New Plymouth Power Station The New Plymouth Power Station (NPPS) was a 600 MW thermal power station at New Plymouth, New Zealand. Located at Port Taranaki, it was dual fuelled on natural gas and fuel oil. Constructed at a time of major hydro and HV transmission development ...

reduced the island's size and permanently connected it to the mainland. There is a trig site on what remains to this day
Mikotahi point
Mikotahi had a neighbouring stack that was connected to the mainland at the base of Paritutu. The people from Moturoa called it Fishing Rock. With caves, rockpools and surrounding beaches it was mostly destroyed from excavations for the power station cooling water inlet and land reclamation for the site.

Blasting Moturoa Island and Wharemu (Lion Rock) for rock.

In the early 20th century Moturoa and Whareumu (Lion rock) were blasted with explosives in the hope to connect the islands to Mikotahi and the growing port at Moturoa. After this was abandoned focus turned to mining Paritutu. The appearance of the two Islands was changed greatly as a result of this work.

Human Habitation

Mataora, Motu-o-Tamatea, Moturoa Island and Mikotahi were hunting, fishing and gathering grounds and places of refuge for local inhabitants and the

and

for hundreds of years.

Marine protected area

In 1986, an area encompassing the Sugar Loaf Islands was protected as a marine park. Concern over oil exploration led to strengthening of the protection, through the enacting of the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Park Act in 1991. An area of , including of land, encompassing the islands and surrounding seabed and ocean spanning from

in the north to Herekawe Stream in the south, was protected from commercial, recreational fishing and mining. The act deemed Moturoa Island, Motumahanga, Waikaranga, and Whareumu as sanctuary areas (requiring a permit for entry), with the remaining area a conservation park. Reef heron,

Little blue penguin The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name . The Australian l ...

New Zealand Fur Seal ''Arctocephalus forsteri'' (common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New ...

, and

Orca The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black-and-white ...

are monitored species. The islands are on migration routes for

oceanic bird Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places *Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, B ...

s and

cetacean Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...

s (whales and dolphins). In 2008, the 1404 ha Tapuae Marine Reserve was established adjacent to the Sugar Loaf Island Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA).

Geology

The Sugar Loaf Islands, along with onshore pinnacles such as Paritutu (), represent the oldest volcanic activity on the Taranaki peninsula. Dating between 1.7 and 1.74 million years of age, the islands are believed to be the remains of a ring fracture or feeders to eroded

volcanic vent A volcano is a rupture 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 found where tectonic plates ar ...

s, and are composed of a

porphyritic Porphyritic is an adjective used in geology to describe igneous rocks with a distinct difference in the size of mineral crystals, with the larger crystals known as phenocrysts. Both extrusive and intrusive rocks can be porphyritic, meaning a ...

hornblende Hornblende is a complex inosilicate series of minerals. It is not a recognized mineral in its own right, but the name is used as a general or field term, to refer to a dark amphibole. Hornblende minerals are common in igneous and metamorphic ro ...

andesite Andesite () is a volcanic rock of intermediate composition. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between silica-poor basalt and silica-rich rhyolite. It is fine-grained (aphanitic) to porphyritic in texture, and is composed predomina ...

. Volcanic activity in Taranaki subsequently shifted to Kaitake (580,000 years ago), then migrated southeast to Pouakai (230,000 years ago) and the current centre of activity,

(last erupted in 1755). The Sugar Loaf Islands are the

type locality Type locality may refer to: * Type locality (biology) * Type locality (geology) See also * Local (disambiguation) * Locality (disambiguation) {{disambiguation ...

taranakite Taranakite is a hydrated alkali iron-aluminium phosphate mineral with chemical formula . It forms from the reaction of clay minerals or aluminous rocks with solutions enriched in phosphate derived from bat or bird guano or, less commonly, f ...

, a phosphate mineral that forms from the reaction of bird

guano Guano (Spanish from qu, wanu) is the accumulated excrement of Seabird, seabirds or bats. As a manure, guano is a highly effective fertilizer due to the high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, all key nutrients essential for plant ...

with the aluminous rocks comprising the islands. This was the first new mineral species to be discovered in New Zealand.

References

External links

Map of the Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area and Tapuae Marine Reserve

DOC DOC, Doc, doc or DoC may refer to: In film and television * ''Doc'' (2001 TV series), a 2001–2004 PAX series * ''Doc'' (1975 TV series), a 1975–1976 CBS sitcom * "D.O.C." (''Lost''), a television episode * ''Doc'' (film), a 1971 Wester ...

{{Authority control Islands of Taranaki Volcanoes of Taranaki Marine reserves of New Zealand Stacks of New Zealand Uninhabited islands of New Zealand Volcanic islands of New Zealand Volcanic plugs of New Zealand Pleistocene volcanoes New Plymouth