Māori settlement The south side of the Moeraki Peninsula has an
Archaic Māori site at Waimataitai lagoon, which
Atholl Anderson dated as 13th century, placing it in the second wave of New Zealand's early human occupation. Gavin McLean tentatively linked its occupants to
Waitaha, conventionally the third iwi, or tribe, to arrive in southern New Zealand, after Kahui Tipua and Te Rapuwai. Waitaha's expedition leader was
Rākaihautū. However, as McLean notes, 'Waitaha' is also a name simply used to designate all the peoples preceding Kāti Māmoe and Kāi Tahu ('
Ngāti Mamoe' and '
Ngāi Tahu' in modern standard Māori) the last two arrivals before the European. It is safe to say Waimatatai is a 'Waitaha' site in that broad sense but there are no specific families it can be linked to. The Moeraki peninsula terminates to the south in Kartigi Point ("Kātiki" in modern standard Māori) where there was a
pā (fortified settlement) of the Classic period of Māori culture. Its traditional name was Te Raka-a-hineatua. Jill Hamel has reported that it was the best developed of any southern
pā, with terraces, and rectangular houses with stone fireplaces. Radio carbon dating has confirmed it was occupied in the 18th century. According to tradition it was built by
Taoka, a well-known fighting chief of the late 17th to early 18th centuries, who also built fortresses at the
Ashburton River / Hakatere and near
Timaru. Shortly after it was built it was attacked by a party from
Kaikōura who were successfully repulsed by Taoka in the battle known as Te Hakopa. Taoka was also in battle with chiefs further south at Huriawa (modern
Karitane Peninsula), Mapoutahi (modern
Goat Island Peninsula) and Pukekura (modern
Taiaroa Head). Taoka's principal opponent was Te Wera. It used to be said Moeraki, like many other places on the east coast, was not a site of permanent occupation in pre-European times, but a major study, published in 1996, shows that is unlikely. The residents of Moeraki regularly ate (
frostfish) as a supplementary food, as Moeraki was one of the most common places in New Zealand where frostfish strandings occurred.
Arrival of the Europeans Moeraki was traversed during the
Sealers' War, also known as the “War of the Shirt”, in 1814. In that year a party of eight men under Robert Brown including two other Europeans and five
lascars, or Indian seamen, came up the east coast from
Stewart Island / Rakiura looking for a group of lascars who had absconded from the
Matilda, which was commanded by Captain Samuel Fowler. According to the Creed manuscript, discovered in 2003, they camped for the night by their boat at 'the Bluff eight miles from Moeraki to the north. However they were observed and attacked by Māori. Two of the sealers escaped and fled to Bobby's Head and Goodwood, south of Moeraki, taking two days to get there and where they were later killed and eaten. They will have passed Moeraki going north and fleeing south.
Establishment of a whaling station Born in Sydney in approximately 1794 John Hughes was an experienced whaler who had first worked in New Zealand waters in 1822. In 1834 he took up an offer of employment with the
Weller brothers' at their
Otago whaling station. After completing his contract in June or July 1836 Hughes took joined on one of two American whaling ship on their way north to Peraki on Banks Peninsula. These were the
Merrimac out of Newport, Rhode Island under Captain Potter and the
Martha out of Newburyport under the command of Captain Peas. After catching a large number of whales in the waters around Banks Peninsula the two ships and sailed south, calling in at the Otago whaling station. Inspired by the money being made by the Wellers and the Americans Hughes had decided to establish his own whaling station. He purchased two boats and all of the equipment needed to catch and process whales from the Americans he recruited others to join him from Weller brothers’ workforce. During the voyage of the
Merrimac and the
Martha either on the way to Banks Peninsula or on their return down the coast they must have explored Moeraki for Hughes decided to establish his base there. Accompanied by his partners Peter Chevatt (often written as Chevat, Charbett, Chisnal, Chesval, Sivatt or Shavett) and John Thompson as well as by Richard Burn, William Issac Haberfield, John Knox and six unnamed Māori he disembarked from the 148 ton barque
Magnet on Boxing Day, 26 December 1836. By their third season the number of whalers had increased to 32 with five boats in use with a number of Māori being employed at the station. To resolve these issues work commenced in 1872 on what was estimated would be a £3,000 project to construct a larger wharf to service the increased trade now passing through the port. It was designed by the provincial engineer George Barr and instead of the traditional wooden piling used screw-in iron piles, which were prefabricated in England. It was found that the piles could not be persuaded to screw into the sea bed, which meant it was necessary to hammer them in. Dogged by construction difficulties, accidents and poor weather it took over a year to construct the wharf. Upon its completion in 1873 it was found that it was too high for use by smaller vessels, which were forced to use the existing wharf. Even so, the port was busy with materials being imported to construct the new branch railway line. In 1875 as part of the preparations to abolish the Provincial Council Moeraki was allowed to have establish its own harbour board. The station was automated, and the last keeper was withdrawn in 1975. Work was meanwhile continuing on the branch line from Hillgrove to Moeraki which was opened on 15 February 1877. The baths were constructed between the wharf and railway by enclosing a shallow part of the bay and opened on 28 December 1888./> Local children continued to use remaining parts of the facility up until the 1930s. As inter-marriage took place, the Māori women moved to join their Pākehā husbands in Onekakara which by now was being called Moeraki. Around the turn of the century, more Māori families began to move into Moeraki from the two kaiks. The original marae followed from Kaika to its hill-top site some time in the 1920s and 30s.
Development of the fishing industry Moeraki became the leading fishing port of North Otago during the 1890s with its fleet growing from five vessels in 1892 to 38 in 1898, while the number of fishermen increased from 13 to 72 over the same period with the majority of the population dependent on the fishing industry to some extent for their livelihood. The first fishing vessels were rowboats and sail-assisted dinghies. In 1895 Weir and Hull established a fish processing and packing plant which in combination with the development of faster train service, allowed fish to be sent to the Oamaru and Dunedin markets. The company purchased the diesel-powered launch
Moerangi which had been originally built by Logan Bros., of Auckland, for the Union Oil Engine Company, was powered by a 25 horse-power oil engine, with a speed of 8 knots and a holding capacity for 16 tons of fish. The vessel was largely employed to tow Moeraki fishing boats to and from the reefs or other fishing grounds, as well as trawling the coast or fishing at the reefs. Many residents grew vegetables and kept at least one cow. Most farming was on a small scale with those farmers that had milk surplus to their own domestic uses sending it to three nearby creameries, and in later years to the Taieri and Peninsula Milk Production plants at Oamaru and Dunedin. Government regulations hindered residents from further developing their agricultural activities as they were not permitted to sell eggs or milk when their livestock was unregistered. By the 1930s the fleet at Moeraki had fallen slightly to 34 vessels with groper and blue cod the main species being harvested. Jack Edmonston constructed a large fish smokehouse in the 1930s. In 1935 the
National Mortgage and Agency Company of New Zealand (NMA) established a fish processing and packing plant at Moeraki and guaranteed to take the entire catch of the fishing boats which supplied it. Previously, fishers at the port had difficulties disposing of their catch as slow transit times by rail often resulted in the fish being spoilt before it reached the market in Christchurch. The settlement celebrated its centenary on 26 December 1936, but the actual public celebrations were postponed by a year until December 1937 due to an outbreak or infantile paralysis.
1960s Following the tar-sealing of the gravel access road in the early 1960s, there was an influx of newcomers and several boarding houses opened in the village – to accommodate weekend visitors from Dunedin. In return for exclusive fuelling rights the Shell Oil Company financially assisted with the construction in the inner harbour of a fishing wharf in 1961. This was strengthened, widened and redecked in 1978 at a cost of $10,000. In the late 1960s the Dunedin-based Skeggs Foods Ltd opened up a new fish processing and packing shed on the seaward side of the iron wharf in completion to the NMA (which subsequently became Wrightson NMA) existing fishing processing and packing facility. After it began being harvested for export during the 1960s rock lobster became a valuable species, was soon providing most of the income for Moeraki-based fishermen. During the deregulation of the New Zealand fishing industry between 1966 and 1979, all fisheries became open access, and anyone could harvest fish. This resulted in a doubling of the number of fishing boats based at Moeraki and prosperous times profits from rock lobster for the community, which lasted into the 1980s. However the increased number of fishing boats caused stocks of groper, cod, and rock lobster off the coast of North Otago to be seriously decline. The government reintroduced controls in 1979 and imposed a moratorium on the issue of new licences. To manage fish stocks the Fisheries Amendment Act (1986) introduced the Quota Management System (QMS), which imposes catch limits, and regulates fishing methods, areas, and timing of those activities. At the time when the QMS was introduced there were over 30 local fishermen operating small day boats out of Moeraki Harbour, with their catch being processed locally. However, in response to the QMS the major fishing companies began purchasing as much quota as they could. Poor catches of rock lobster in the 1990s impacted on the financial viability of many Moeraki based owner-operators, who sold off their quota to fund their other fishing activities and maintain their boats. Many sold their quota of rock lobster to Ngai Tahu Fisheries which processed its catch in Dunedin, thus reducing seafood processing employment opportunities at Moeraki. After
Wrightson NMA’s parent company
Fletcher Challenge consolidated its fish processing activities at Dunedin in the 1980s Skeggs took over their facility. Following the closing of this processing facility (which was subsequently occupied by the restaurant
Fleur's Place) commercial fishermen used a holding tank to house live rock lobster and a freezer for wet fish from which the catches were collected and transported by truck to Dunedin or Oamaru for further processing. By 2000 there were only six fishing boats operating out of Moeraki. By 2020 traditional commercial fishing activity had virtually been eliminated at the port with only two fishing boats, one of which was supplying Fleur's Place. This dramatic decline in the number of commercial fishing boats operating out of Moeraki and resulting low catch led to the processing companies deciding it was no longer economic for them to collect fish and rock lobster from Moeraki. ==Geography==