Motuareronui / Adele Island
 | |
.svg)  Motuareronui / Adele Island | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, New Zealand |
| Coordinates | 40°58′50″S 173°03′33″E / 40.98056°S 173.05917°E |
| Adjacent to | Tasman Bay |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Length | 1.5 km (0.93 mi) |
| Width | 1.1 km (0.68 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 119 m (390 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Department of Conservation | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
Motuareronui / Adele Island is a small island off the coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is contained within Abel Tasman National Park.[1] The navigator and botanist Jules Dumont d'Urville charted the island in 1827.[2]
In the 1850s, the island and nearby Fisherman Island were purchased by a Nelson customs collector, but were later confiscated by the government due to misuse of funds. Both islands became scenic reserves in 1895.[3]
These islands shelter the waterway known as the Astrolabe Roadstead from Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, making it popular with kayakers and boaties.
Etymology
[edit]Dumont d'Urville named the island after his wife Adele Pépin, and also named the adjacent Fisherman Island, along with the Astrolabe Roadstead, which he named after his ship, the Astrolabe.[3]
In August 2014, the island name was officially altered to Motuareronui / Adele Island.[4] Motu means island, arero is a tongue and nui is big; hence, Motuareronui literally means the big island shaped like a tongue, which makes Motuareroiti / Fisherman Island (with iti meaning little) the little island shaped like a tongue; however, in his comprehensive book on natural and cultural history of Abel Tasman National Park, Philip Simpson suggests the two islands are incorrectly named, as follows:[5]
Tongues (arero) are important to Māori culture... the islands are not, however, noticeable tongue shaped. A recent official change as a result of the Treaty settlement is that Tasman Bay is shared with Te Tai o Aorere. This supports the suggestion that the two islands are incorrectly named and should be Motuaorerenui and Motuaorereiti.
References
[edit]- ^ Hoiberg, Dale H., ed. (2010). "Abel Tasman National Park". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. I: A-ak Bayes (15th ed.). Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. pp. 25. ISBN 978-1-59339-837-8.
- ^ "Dumont d'Urville, Jules Sébastien César – Dictionary of New Zealand Biography – Te Ara". 17 March 2019. Archived from the original on 17 March 2019. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
- ^ a b Simpson, Philip (2018). Down the Bay: a natural and cultural history of Abel Tasman National Park. Nelson: Potton & Burton. pp. 21–23. ISBN 978-0-947503-93-2.
- ^ "NZGB decisions". Land Information New Zealand. August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
- ^ Simpson, Philip (2018). Down the Bay. Nelson, NZ: Potton & Burton. p. 214. ISBN 9780947503932.
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