Moturoa (island)

Moturoa is a steeply sloped island off the coast of Taranaki, New Zealand. It is the easternmost and largest of the Sugar Loaf Islands, hence its name, which is Māori for "long island".[1] Moturoa is 120 metres long at its longest point, and around 100 metres wide. It is separated from the Taranaki coast of the North Island mainland by an 800-metre (2,600 ft) wide channel. The entrance to Port Taranaki lies just to the east.[2]

This article is about the island off the coast of New Plymouth. For Moturoa / Rabbit Island in the Tasman Region, see Moturoa / Rabbit Island.
Moturoa
Moturoa Island
Motumahanga and Moturoa
Geography
Locationnear Port Taranaki
Coordinates39°02′55″S 174°01′40″E
ArchipelagoSugar Loaf Islands
Length120 m (390 ft)
Width100 m (300 ft)
Highest elevation81 m (266 ft)
Administration
Demographics
Population0

The island has lent its name to Moturoa, a suburb of New Plymouth, which lies on the mainland 1.5 kilometres to the southeast.

A cluster of smaller islands, of which Whareumu (Lion Rock) is the largest, lies some 60 metres off the island's southwest coast.

Habitation

Moturoa is uninhabited, but it and several of the other Sugar Loaf Islands were hunting, fishing and gathering grounds and places of refuge for local inhabitants and the Taranaki and Te Āti Awa for hundreds of years.[3][4]

Blasting Moturoa and Whareumu

In the early 20th century Moturoa and Whareumu were blasted with explosives in the hope to connect the islands to Mikotahi and the growing port at Moturoa on the mainland. After this was abandoned focus turned to mining Paritutu, west of New Plymouth.[5][6]

The appearance of the two islands was changed greatly as a result of this work.[7]

See also

References
  1. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  2. Moturoa NZTopomap. Retrieved 31 August 2019.
  3. "Mikotahi | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  4. "Richard (Dicky) Barrett and Wakaiwa Rawinia (Lavinia)". Barrett Honeyfield Tupuna / Ancestry: their lives, the times and their legacy. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  5. ""Blasting Moturoa Island for rock"". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  6. "Port Taranaki – Peter Peryer". Retrieved 30 August 2019.
  7. "Moturoa Island". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
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