Great Barrier Island

The Māori name of the island is Aotea. It received its English name from Captain Cook because it acts as a barrier between the Pacific Ocean and the Hauraki Gulf. Entrance to the Hauraki Gulf is via two channels, one on each side of the island. Colville Channel separates the southernmost point, Cape Barrier, from Cape Colville at the northern tip of the Coromandel Peninsula to the south, Cradock Channel from the smaller Little Barrier Island to the west. The island protects the Hauraki Gulf from the ocean surface waves and the currents of the South Pacific Gyre. It is not a sandbar barrier, often defined as the correct use of the term. The island's English name stems from its location on the outskirts of the Hauraki Gulf. ==Geography==

With an area of , Great Barrier Island is the sixth-largest island in New Zealand after the South Island, the North Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura, Chatham Island, and Auckland Island. The highest point, Mount Hobson or Hirakimatā, is above sea level. Great Barrier is surrounded by several smaller islands, including Kaikoura Island, Rakitu Island, Aiguilles Island and Dragon Island. A number of islands are located in Great Barrier bays, including Motukahu Island, Nelson Island, Kaikoura Island, Broken Islands, Motutaiko Island, Rangiahua Island, Little Mahuki Island, Mahuki Island and Junction Islands. With a maximum length (north-south) of some , it and the Coromandel Peninsula (directly to its south) protect the Gulf from the storms of the Pacific Ocean to the east. Consequently, the island boasts highly contrasting coastal environments. The eastern coast comprises long, sandy beaches, windswept sand-dunes, and at times heavy surf. The western coast, sheltered and calm, is home to hundreds of tiny, secluded bays which offer some of the best diving and boating in the country. The inland holds several large and biologically diverse wetlands, along with rugged hill country (bush or heath in the more exposed heights), as well as old-growth and regenerating kauri forests. Surrounding islands Surrounding islands and islets: Climate ==Geology and natural history==

Much of Great Barrier Island is formed from remnants of volcanoes associated with the Coromandel Volcanic Zone. The North Great Barrier Volcano, which was centred to the north of the modern island from Whangapoua Bay northwards, formed through events between 18 and 17 million years ago; some of the earliest vulcanism which occurred in the zone. The Great Barrier Volcano formed to the west of the modern island between 15 and 12 million years ago. Much of the modern island is this volcano's eroded eastern flanks. The third volcano, Mount Hobson, is the caldera of a complex rhyolite dome volcano, which was active between 12 and 8 million years ago. Great Barrier Island has been linked to the North Island for most of the last 18 million years, by a land bridge to the south along the Colville Channel. Approximately 17,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum, the Hauraki Gulf was a low-lying coastal plain as sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels. During this period, Great Barrier Island was bordered by the two major river systems that flowed on the plain. Over the past two million years, Great Barrier has periodically been an island and a peninsula. ==History and culture==

on Great Barrier Island, 1967. Logging was one of the early industries on the island, and this dam provided enough water to drive kauri logs to the sea. Great Barrier Island (Aotea) is the ancestral land of Ngāti Rehua Ngātiwai ki Aotea who are the mana whenua (territorial land rights holders) of Aotea. Ngāti Rehua have occupied Aotea since the 17th century after conquering Aotea from people of Ngāti Manaia and Kawerau descent. In the mid-19th century during the early Colonial era of New Zealand, extensive private and crown land purchases meant only two areas of the Hauraki Gulf remained in Māori ownership: Te Huruhi (Surfdale) on Waiheke Island (2100 acres) on Waiheke and a 3,510 acre parcel of land at Katherine Bay on Great Barrier Island. Local industries Mining Early European interest followed discovery of copper in the remote north, where New Zealand's earliest mines were established at Miners Head in 1842. Traces of these mines remain, largely accessible only by boat. Later, gold and silver were found in the Okupu / Whangaparapara area in the 1890s, and the remains of a stamping battery on the Whangaparapara Road are a remainder of this time. The sound of the battery working was reputedly audible from the Coromandel Peninsula, 20 km away. If restarted, mining at White Cliffs would occur in the same area it originally proliferated on Great Barrier. The area's regenerating bushland still holds numerous semi-collapsed or open mining shafts where silver and gold had been mined. The logging industry cut down large amounts of old growth, and most of the current growth is younger native forest (around 150,000 kauri seedlings were planted by the New Zealand Forest Service in the 1970s and 1980s) as well as some remaining kauri in the far north of the island. Another major wreck lies in the far southeast, the SS Wiltshire. feral goats, thus being a relative haven for native bird and plant populations. Rare birds found on the island include brown teal ducks, black petrels and kākā. Marae Great Barrier Island has two marae affiliated with the local iwi of Ngāti Rehua and Ngātiwai: the Kawa Marae and its Rehua meeting house, and Motairehe Marae and its Whakaruruhau meeting house. In October 2020, the Government committed $313,007 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Kawa Marae, creating 6 jobs. Dark Sky Sanctuary In 2017, Aotea / Great Barrier Island was accredited as a Dark Sky Sanctuary by the International Dark-Sky Association. This designation is given for sites in very remote locations to increase awareness of their dark sky characteristics and promote long term conservation. At the time, it was the third International Dark Sky Sanctuary to be designated, and the first island sanctuary. ==Population==

from the top of Kaikoura Island (previously Selwyn Island), 1967 Barrier Islands statistical area, which includes Little Barrier Island and Mokohinau Islands although they have no permanent inhabitants, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Barrier Islands had a population of 1,239 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 303 people (32.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 306 people (32.8%) since the 2013 census. There were 660 males, 573 females and 6 people of other genders in 681 dwellings. 3.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 51.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 162 people (13.1%) aged under 15 years, 153 (12.3%) aged 15 to 29, 603 (48.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 324 (26.2%) aged 65 or older. ==Settlements==

The population lives mostly in coastal settlements. Tryphena, in Tryphena Harbour at the southern end, is the largest settlement. Other communities are Okupu and Whangaparapara in the south-west, Port Fitzroy and Ōkiwi in the north, and Claris and Medlands in the south-east. The population swells substantially from October to May. The island has become a favourite holiday destination in the darker months, due its superbly dark sky and the astrophotography and stargazing opportunities this offers. In 2017 the island was given Dark Sky Sanctuary status by the IDA. Its relative remoteness offers solitude, and the sustainable off-grid lifestyle of its inhabitants is something many visitors like to experience. Without reticulated electricity, most houses use solar panels and a battery bank to generate and store power. Wind and water turbines and solar water heaters are also used. Diesel generators, which used to be the main power source, are now mostly used as back-up. From the end of February 2007, the island was seen around the world as the setting for the BBC One reality show Castaway, which was filmed there for three months. , Auckland. It takes about 4.5 hours, and transports tourists and locals working off-island. ==Transport==

There are two airfields on the island, Great Barrier Aerodrome at Claris and Okiwi Airfield. Barrier Air operates services from Auckland Airport, North Shore Aerodrome, and Tauranga to Claris. Flight time is approximately 30 minutes from Auckland Airport. Sunair operates between Claris and Hamilton, Tauranga, Whangārei and Whitianga. SeaLink operates a passenger, car and freight ferry. This ferry operates from Wynyard Wharf in Auckland City to Tryphena (several times weekly). Sailing time is approximately four and a half hours. Other ways to access the island include by seaplane or water taxi. ==Civic institutions==

Institutions and services are primarily provided by the Auckland Council, the local authority. Services and infrastructure like roads and the wharves at Tryphena and Whangaparapara are subsidised, with the island receiving about $4 in services for every $1 in rates. There are three primary schools: Mulberry Grove School at Tryphena, Kaitoke School at Claris, and Okiwi School. There is no secondary school, but there is a learning hub to assist students who learn through the New Zealand Correspondence School. Many children leave the island when they reach secondary school age to attend boarding school on the mainland. Previously, the lack of secondary schooling was cited as one of the reasons for a slow exodus of long-term resident families. As part of Auckland the rules governing daily activities and applicable standards for civic works and services exists, shared with some of the other inhabited islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Driving rules are the same as for the rest of NZ and registration and a Warrant of Fitness are required for all vehicles. For example, every transport service operated solely on the island, the Chatham Islands, or Stewart Island/Rakiura is exempt from section 70C of the Transport Act 1962, the requirements for drivers to maintain driving-hours logbooks. Drivers subject to section 70B must nevertheless keep records of their driving hours in some form. Rules governing dog control are the same as for Auckland. Dogs must be kept on a lead in all public places. ==Notable residents==

• Fanny Osborne (1852–1934), artist • Jamison Gibson-Park, rugby union player • • Paul Silva (1897–1974), soldier, timber worker, axeman and bridge builder ==See also==