Everything about Stewart Island Rakiura totally explained
Stewart Island/Rakiura is the third-largest island of
New Zealand. It lies 30
km south of the
South Island, across
Foveaux Strait. Its permanent population is slightly fewer than 400 people, most of whom live in the settlement of
Oban.
History and naming
Captain Cook was the first European to sight the island, in
1770, but he thought it was part of the South Island so he named it South Cape.
The island was named for William W. Stewart who was first officer on the ship
Pegasus, which visited from Port Jackson (Sydney), Australia, in 1809 on a sealing expedition. Stewart charted the large south-eastern harbour which now bears the ship's name (Port Pegasus), and determined the northern points of the island, proving that it was an island. He made three further visits to the island through the 1820s to the 1840s.
The original
Maori name,
Te Punga o Te Waka a Maui, positions Stewart Island/Rakiura firmly at the heart of Maori mythology. Translated as
The Anchor Stone of Maui’s Canoe, it refers to the part played by the island in the legend of
Maui and his crew, who from their canoe, the South Island, caught and raised the great fish, the North Island.
Rakiura is the more commonly known and used
Maori name. It is usually translated as
Glowing Skies, possibly a reference to the sunsets for which it's famous or for the
Aurora Australis, the southern lights that are a phenomenon of southern latitudes.
For some, Rakiura is the abbreviated version of Te Rakiura a Te Rakitamau, translated as "great blush of Rakitamau", in reference to the latter's embarrassment when refused the hand in marriage of not one, but two daughters, of an island chief. According to Maori legend, a chief on the island named Te Rakitamau was married to a young woman who became terminally ill and implored him to marry her cousin after she died. Te Rakitamau paddled across Te Moana Tapokopoko a Tawhiki (Foveaux Strait) to the South Island where the cousin lived, only to discover she was recently married. He blushed with embarrassment so the island was called Te Ura o Te Rakitamau.
In 1841, the island was established as one of the three
Provinces of New Zealand, and was named
New Leinster. However, the province existed on paper only and was abolished after only five years, and with the passing of the
New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 the province became part of
New Munster, which included the entire South Island. When New Munster was abolished in 1853, Stewart Island became part of
Otago Province until 1861 when
Southland Province split from Otago. In 1876 the provinces were abolished altogether.
Geography
The island has an area of 1,746 km². The north is dominated by the swampy valley of the
Freshwater River. The river rises close to the northwestern coast and flows southeast into the large indentation of
Paterson Inlet. The highest peak is
Mt Anglem, close to the northern coast, at a height of 979
metres. It is one of the peaks in a rim of ridges that surround the Freshwater valley.
The southern half is more uniformly undulating, rising to a ridge that runs south from the valley of the
Rakeahua River, which also flows into Paterson Inlet. The southernmost point in this ridge is
Mt Allen, at 750 metres. In the southeast the land is somewhat lower, and is drained by the valleys of the
Toitoi,
Lords and
Heron rivers.
South West Cape in the southwest, is the southernmost point of the main islands of New Zealand.
Mason Bay, on the west side, is notable as a long sandy beach on an island where beaches are typically far more rugged. One suggestion is that the bay was formed in the aftershock of a meteoric impact in the Tasman Sea.
Three large and numerous small islands lie around the coast. Notable among these are
Ruapuke Island, in Foveaux Strait 32 km northeast of Oban;
Codfish Island, close to the northwest shore; and
Big South Cape Island, off the southwestern tip. The
Titi (Muttonbird) Island groups are between Stewart Island/Rakiura and Ruapuke Island, around Big South Cape Island, and off the southeastern coast. Other islands of interest include
Bench,
Native, and
Ulva Island, all close to the mouth of
Paterson Inlet, and
Pearl,
Anchorage, and
Noble Island, close to
Port Pegasus in the southwest.
Two groups of tiny above-water rocks south of Stewart Island/Rakiura are still on the
continental shelf:
North Trap, a reef of above and below-water rocks at fronts the southern shore, about 28.2 km southwest by south of the mouth of the Lords River. A 1.5-m high rock near the western end and a 0.9-m high rock near the eastern end give it the appearance of an overturned boat.
South Trap, a reef of above-water rocks 1.2 to 1.8 m high and below-water rocks at, lies about 16.9 km south by west of North Trap.
Settlements
The only town is
Oban, on
Half Moon Bay.
A previous settlement,
Port Pegasus, once boasted several stores and a post office, and was located on the southern coast of the island. It is now uninhabited, and is accessible only by boat or by an arduous hike through the island.
Communications and economy
A regular passenger ferry service runs between
Bluff and Oban.
There is an air link by
Stewart Island Flights from
Ryans Creek Aerodrome to
Invercargill Airport. Planes also land on the sand at Mason Bay.
Although some tourism, forestry, and farming takes place on Stewart Island/Rakiura, the main industry is
fishing. Over 80% of the island is set aside as
Rakiura National Park, New Zealand's newest national park.
Government
In
local government terms, the island is part of Southland District. However, it shares with some other islands a certain relaxation in some of the rules governing daily activities. For example, every
transport service operated solely on
Great Barrier Island, the
Chatham Islands, or Stewart Island/Rakiura is exempt from Transport Act 1962, the requirement for commercial drivers to maintain a driving-hours logbook, but they must keep a record of their driving hours in some form. See
New Zealand Gazette 14 August 2003.
On
1 April 2005,
TV3's
Campbell Live show reported that the New Zealand government planned to sell a large part of the island to the United States, to host an air base supporting their operations in Antarctica. In the following show, the presenter
John Campbell said that confused staff at the Prime Minister's office had contacted them after receiving several complaints from the public about these plans. Campbell confirmed that the story was an
April Fool's Day hoax.
From 1841 to 1853 the island was governed as
New Leinster, then as part of
New Munster. From 1853 it was part of
Otago Province.
Fauna
There are many species of birds on Stewart Island/Rakiura that thrive because of the isolation and protection from predators. These include the
Kakapo,
Weka,
Kākā,
Albatrosses,
Penguins,
Tokoeka,
Silvereyes,
Wrens,
Flycatchers, and rare
Yellowheads. The large colonies of
Sooty Shearwaters, or muttonbirds, are subject to a
sustainable harvesting program managed by Rakiura Maori.
Stewart Island/Rakiura supports a large population of
whitetail (Virginia) deer in coastal areas, which are hunted for meat and sport. There is also a small population of
red deer confined to the inland parts.
Geo-magnetic anomaly
Owing to an anomaly in the magnetic latitude contours, this location is well placed for observing
Aurora australis.
Rakiura sky images
Image:AuroraAustralisDisplay.jpg|Aurora Australis latitude 41 degrees South. A typical auroral display, although taken approx 1,000 km north, at Titahi Bay, Wellington, New Zealand.
Image:AuroraAustralisPaulMoss.JPG|Aurora Australis latitude 47 deg South. Taken at Bluff, New Zealand, looking toward Stewart Island/Rakiura. The Crux (Southern Cross) is clearly visible.
Further Information
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