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Sugar Loaf Islands

Coordinates: 39°2′58″S 174°1′40″E / 39.04944°S 174.02778°E / -39.04944; 174.02778
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Sugar Loaf Islands
Ngā Motu ("The islands" in Māori)
A view from land of two of the close Sugar Loaf Islands in the foreground, with the closest, Round Rock, a sea stack, not separated from the land by water. A third island, Saddleback (Motumahanga), is visible in the distance out to sea.
Seagull Rock and Round Rock, with Saddleback in the background
Map
Geography
Locationnear Port Taranaki
Coordinates39°2′58″S 174°1′40″E / 39.04944°S 174.02778°E / -39.04944; 174.02778
Administration
Demographics
Population0

The Sugar Loaf Islands (often Sugarloaf; Māori: Ngā Motu, lit. 'the islands') are a collection of five small uninhabited islands and several sea stacks near Port Taranaki, New Zealand.

The largest, Moturoa Island, covers approximately 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres). Motumahanga is the island farthest from shore, at approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles).

Ngā Motu was one of the first areas inhabited by descendants of Te Whiti o Rongomai, and the islands and reefs were all named by the Ngāti Te Whiti iwi.[1] The island group was given its English name in 1770 by James Cook because they reminded him of the way sugar was stored in heaps in Europe.[2]

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 Council unanimously agreed to gift the protected area back to the government for treaty settlement negotiations with Taranaki and Te Āti Awa iwi.[2]

Islands

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The Sugar Loaf Islands can be divided into inner and outer island groups.[3]

The inner islands comprise Mataora (Round Rock), Pararaki (Seagull Rock) and Motuotamatea (Snapper Rock). Mataora connects to the mainland at low tides as a tombolo, 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).

Name Coordinates
Māori English
Inner islands Mataora Round Rock 39°03′35″S 174°01′13″E / 39.059683°S 174.020326°E / -39.059683; 174.020326
Motuotamatea Snapper Rock 39°03′41″S 174°01′02″E / 39.061316°S 174.017193°E / -39.061316; 174.017193
Pararaki Seagull Rock 39°03′34″S 174°01′10″E / 39.059400°S 174.019425°E / -39.059400; 174.019425
Outer islands Motumahanga Saddleback Island 39°02′43″S 174°00′53″E / 39.045403°S 174.014688°E / -39.045403; 174.014688
Moturoa Island 39°02′57″S 174°01′39″E / 39.049115°S 174.027461°E / -39.049115; 174.027461
Stacks Tokomapuna Barrett Reef 39°03′00″S 174°01′16″E / 39.050115°S 174.021066°E / -39.050115; 174.021066
Tokatapu 39°03′24″S 174°00′01″E / 39.056801°S 174.000306°E / -39.056801; 174.000306
Waikaranga Seal Rocks 39°03′23″S 174°00′11″E / 39.056367°S 174.003149°E / -39.056367; 174.003149
Whareumu Lion Rock 39°03′03″S 174°01′36″E / 39.050785°S 174.026763°E / -39.050785; 174.026763

Mikotahi

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Mikotahi was formerly a tidal island,[4] with a historic pā.[5][6] In 1865 the Alpha well[7] was drilled near Mikotahi.[8] This was the first oil well in what is now the Commonwealth and one of the first in the world. The earth works to reclaim land for the New Plymouth Power Station[9] 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 cooling water inlet and land reclamation for the power station.[10]

Blasting and mining

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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.[11][12]

The appearance of the two islands was changed greatly as a result of this work.[13]

Human habitation

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Mataora, Motu-o-Tamatea, Moturoa Island, and Mikotahi were hunting, fishing and gathering grounds and places of refuge for local inhabitants and the Taranaki and Te Āti Awa for hundreds of years.[14][15]

Marine protected area

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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 1991 Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Park Act. An area of 752.5 hectares (1,859 acres), including 5.3 hectares (13 acres) of land, encompassing the islands and surrounding seabed and ocean spanning from Port Taranaki in the north to Herekawe Stream in the south, was protected from commercial and recreational fishing and from 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.[16][17] Reef heron, little blue penguin, New Zealand fur seal, and orca are monitored species in the area.[18] The islands are on migration routes for oceanic birds, whales, and dolphins.[19]

In 2008, the 1,404-hectare (3,470-acre) Tapuae Marine Reserve was established adjacent to the Sugar Loaf Island Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA).

Geology

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Map
The andesite (red shading) of the larger Sugar Loaf Islands and Paritutu Rock on the land is in centre of map. To their south-south-east off the default map are younger and presently larger andesitic direct deposits of the other volcanoes of the Taranaki Volcanic Lineament. Clicking on the map enlarges it, and enables panning and mouseover of volcanic feature name/wikilink and ages before present. The key to the other volcanics that are shown with panning is basalt - brown, monogenetic basalts - dark brown, undifferentiated basalts of the Tangihua Complex in Northland Allochthon - light brown, arc basalts - deep orange brown, arc ring basalts -orange brown, dacite - purple, andesite - red, basaltic andesite`- light red, rhyolite - violet , ignimbrite (lighter shades of violet), and plutonic - gray.

The Sugar Loaf Islands, along with onshore pinnacles such as Paritutu (153 m (502 ft)), represent the oldest volcanic activity on the Taranaki peninsula. Dating between 1.7[20] and 1.74[21] million years of age, the islands are believed to be the remains of a ring fracture or feeders to eroded volcanic vents,[20] and are composed of a porphyritic hornblende andesite.[22] 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, Taranaki (last erupted in 1755).[21]

The Sugar Loaf Islands are the type locality of taranakite,[23] a phosphate mineral that forms from the reaction of bird guano with the aluminous rocks comprising the islands. This was the first new mineral species to be discovered in New Zealand.[24]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "About Us – Ngāti Te Whiti". Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  2. ^ a b "Council to hand back Sugar Loaf Islands". 13 March 2013.
  3. ^ "Key Native Ecosystems: Inventory of sites with indigenous biodiversity values" (PDF). Taranaki Regional Council. May 2006. p. 228. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  4. ^ "The Siege of Miko-Tahi, Sugar-Loaf Islands. — 1833 | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  5. ^ Miko-tahi.
  6. ^ "View of Magazine and Mikotahi". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  7. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Alpha well, Moturoa". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  8. ^ Citation error. See inline comment how to fix. [verification needed]
  9. ^ "Preparing the site for the power station".
  10. ^ "View of Fishing Rock and Mikotahi from the base of Paritutu". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  11. ^ "Blasting Moturoa Island for rock". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  12. ^ "Port Taranaki – Peter Peryer". Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  13. ^ "Moturoa Island". Puke Ariki Museum Libraries Tourist Information Taranaki New Zealand. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  14. ^ "Mikotahi | NZETC". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 2019-08-29.
  15. ^ "Richard (Dicky) Barrett and Wakaiwa Rawinia (Lavinia)". Barrett Honeyfield Tupuna / Ancestry: their lives, the times and their legacy. 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  16. ^ "Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area Act 1991" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  17. ^ "Ngā Motu/Sugar Loaf Islands". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
  18. ^ "Nga Motu Marine Reserve Society - Report Hotspot sightings". www.seasense.org.nz. Archived from the original on 2016-01-21.
  19. ^ "Protecting our coast - Experiencing Marine Reserves".
  20. ^ a b Price, R. C; R. B. Stewart; J. D. Woodhead; I. E. M. Smith (1999). "Petrogenesis of High-K Arc Magmas: Evidence from Egmont Volcano, North Island, New Zealand". Journal of Petrology. 40 (1): 167–197. doi:10.1093/petrology/40.1.167.
  21. ^ a b Locke, Corinne A.; John Cassidy (1997). "Egmont Volcano, New Zealand: three-dimensional structure and its implications for evolution". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 76 (1–2): 149–161. Bibcode:1997JVGR...76..149L. doi:10.1016/S0377-0273(96)00074-1.
  22. ^ Hutton, Colin Osborne (1944). "Some Igneous Rocks from the New Plymouth Area". Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 74: 125–153.
  23. ^ "Taranakite". mindat.org. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  24. ^ Nathan, Simon (2007-11-21). "Rock and mineral names". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2009-01-28.
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