Whangaroa Harbour, Neuseeland

Whangaroa Harbour is an inlet on the northern coast of Northland, New Zealand. Whangaroa Bay and the Pacific Ocean are to the north. The small settlements of Totara North and Saies are on the west side of the harbour, Waitaruke on the south side, and Whangaroa on the east. State Highway 10 runs through Waitaruke.

The name comes from the lament "Whaingaroa" or "What a long wait" of a woman whose warrior husband had left for a foray to the south.

The harbour was formed when rising sea levels drowned a river valley, about 6,000 years ago. Steep outcrops remain from ancient volcanic rocks.

There are extensive mangrove swamps at the head of the harbour.

Some of the oldest fossils in the North Island, dating to the early Permian about 270 million years ago, are found in the Whangaroa area.

History

According to Māori traditions, the waka Māhuhu-ki-te-rangi explored the Whangaroa harbour during early Māori settlement of New Zealand. The area was settled by descendants of Te Māmaru and Mataatua waka crews.

Whaling and other ships visited Whangaroa from 1805 to 1809. Ships included General Wellesley and Commerce in 1806, and Elizabeth in 1809. The visits ceased after 66 people were killed in the Boyd massacre, and didn't resume until the Dromedary arrived to load timber in 1819.

A Wesleyan mission was founded in June 1823, but following a raid by Hongi Hika on 10 January 1827, it was abandoned. In 1828, Hongi Hika died at Whangaroa, from a wound suffered 14 months earlier in the Hokianga.

Europeans settled around the harbour in the 1840s, and a Catholic mission was established at Waitaruke.

The harbour was a centre for timber milling and gum digging after the arrival of the immigrant ship Lancashire Witch in 1865. Shipyards were established in Totara North in 1872. In the early 20th century, Sea Sick Bay near the south head was a whaling station, and by the 1920s the operation had moved to Ranfurly Bay, near the north head.

The main route from Whangarei 80 to the Far North, developed in the 1960s, ran through the Mangamuka area, bypassing Whangaroa.

Education

Te Kura o Hato Hohepa Te Kamura is a full primary (years 1-8) school in Waitaruke. It has a decile rating of 1 and a roll of 18.

Totara North School is a contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a decile rating of 3 and a roll of 39.

Other schools in the area are at Oruaiti, Kaeo and Matauri Bay.