37-565: The Otago Heads is the historic name given to the headlands and coastal settlements close to the mouth of the long drowned volcanic rift which forms the Otago Harbour , in the South Island of New Zealand. The name has traditionally referred primarily to the settlements and headlands on the Otago Peninsula coast just inside the mouth of the harbour, from Taiaroa Head to Ōtākou , and to
74-549: A knife, a red shirt, and some other articles sparked what has been called " The Sealers' War ". A much-discussed affray in that conflict occurred after James Kelly of Hobart anchored the Sophia in the harbour in December 1817 with William Tucker on board. After a visit to nearby Whareakeake (Murdering Beach), where Tucker had been living since 1815, and where he and two other men were killed, Kelly took revenge on Māori on his ship in
111-503: A means for ships to reach the city's wharves. Though a contentious and expensive decision, it was agreed to dredge a channel along the northwestern side of the harbour. The channel was finally opened on 30 December 1881. The initial channel was narrow and shallow, and did not get off to an auspicious start, as the Union Steam Ship Company's SS Penguin , the first ship to use it, was temporarily grounded while using it. The channel
148-469: A sheltered harbour and fishery, then deep water port. The harbour was formed from the drowned remnants of the giant Dunedin Volcano , centred close to what is now Port Chalmers. The remains of this violent origin can be seen in the basalt of the surrounding hills. The last eruptive phase ended some ten million years ago, leaving the prominent peak of Mount Cargill . The ancient and modern channel runs along
185-459: Is flanked by major roads leading from Dunedin to Port Chalmers ( SH 88 ) and to Portobello and Otakou (Portobello Road). A long-distance cycleway and walkway, Te Aka Ōtākou , runs parallel to both roads along the harbour's edge for 36 kilometres (22 mi). It was completed in 2023 and links Port Chalmers and Portobello. The South Island Main Trunk railway also runs parallel to the state highway on
222-504: Is only 400 metres in width, and — with the exception of the Victoria Channel — much of the harbour is shallow. The narrowness of the harbour entrance and the large traffic it enjoyed, especially during the Otago gold rush of the 1860s, are responsible for a large number of shipwrecks and other marine incidents close to the heads. The heads are guarded by Taiaroa Head Lighthouse . The term
259-462: Is shallow and silty, and mudflats are often visible at low tide. In 1946 Otakou Fisheries was started based out of the township of the same name on the eastern side of the harbour. This was later to become a major part of the Otago fishing industry. As the city grew, and particularly with the increase in commerce that developed following the Otago gold rush of the 1860s, it became desirable to provide
296-552: Is still used today, though not as widely as it once was, and tends to refer to Taiaroa Head and the Aramoana Mole, which form the entrance to the harbour. The Otago Heads were the site of one of the southern signings of New Zealand's founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi , in 1840. 45°47′00″S 170°43′15″E / 45.78333°S 170.72083°E / -45.78333; 170.72083 Otago Harbour Otago Harbour
333-482: Is the natural harbour of Dunedin , New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, 21 km (13 mi) from the harbour mouth. It is home to Dunedin's two port facilities, Port Chalmers (half way along the harbour) and at Dunedin's wharf (at the harbour's end). The harbour has been of significant economic importance for approximately 700 years, as
370-470: Is the largest colony of little or blue penguins remaining on the Otago Peninsula. Nearby are important breeding habitats of the threatened yellow-eyed penguin . There may also be seen a number of dusky dolphins , orcas and migratory large whales such as southern rights and humpbacks . Their sightings in these areas are on the increase and Taiaroa Head may be one of the best vantage points along
407-406: Is tidal, shallow and seldom rough and for that reason is popular for water sports such as yachting and windsurfing . Substantial container port facilities exist at Port Chalmers, 9 km (6 mi) along the western shore from the harbour mouth. A channel along the western side of the harbour is regularly dredged, allowing vessels with a draught of 12.5 m to Port Chalmers, and 8 m all
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#1732851908912444-638: The Brothers , anchored in the harbour and picked him up. This is the first explicit and identifiable reference to a European ship in Otago Harbour. The court record containing it, made in 1810, refers to the harbour as 'Port Daniel', a name which stayed in use for some years. Another English sealer, the Sydney Cove , under Captain Charles McLaren, was anchored in the harbour late in 1810 when Te Wahia's theft of
481-675: The Weller brothers established their whaling station at Te Umu Kuri, Wellers Rock, at what is now called Otakou in November 1831. The busiest whaling port south of the Bay of Islands , it was also the hub of the largest European population in New Zealand after the Bay of Islands/ Hokianga district by the end of 1839. By that time whaling had collapsed and Dumont D'Urville and his officers, visiting in 1840, observed
518-553: The 1300s, soon after they first settled in New Zealand. Being too far south for the cultivation of sweet potato they adopted a hunter-gatherer society. This initially involved sealing and fishing in the harbour, with the latter dominating as seal stocks diminished. This time in the history of the harbour is recorded in place names such as Kamau Taurua (Quarantine Island), which means "a place where nets are set". Captain Cook never entered Otago Harbour, but speculated that it existed when he
555-465: The 1840s. It is associated with a daring warrior called Tarewai who was active in the 18th century. Pilot's Beach was formerly known as 'Hobart Town Beach' from the whaling tryworks established there in 1836 by the Weller brothers employing men from Hobart. Previously it was called 'Measly Beach' from its being a place where Māori went to bathe when afflicted by a measles epidemic in 1835. Historically, several commercial whaling stations established on
592-568: The Colony', John Oxley (1783/85?–1828). As noted, however, it had already been named. In 1826 Thomas Shepherd, one of a party of intending colonists, explored the site of Dunedin and left the oldest surviving pictures of the harbour and nearby coast, now in the Mitchell Library in Sydney. From its origins as a secret sealers' haven, Otago Harbour developed into a busy international whaling port after
629-664: The Otago coast. The part of Taiaroa Head where northern royal albatrosses breed is managed by the NZ Department of Conservation as a nature reserve with restricted entry. On adjacent land the Otago Peninsula Trust manage a visitor centre and run guided tours into the Nature Reserve. Pilots Beach is managed as a recreation reserve by the Dunedin City. The first albatross egg at the head was discovered in 1919, although it
666-536: The area. The outer peninsula adjacent to Taiaroa Head is one of three main congregating areas for dusky dolphins in New Zealand waters and the harbour and peninsula hosts important areas for breeding and nursing. Bottlenose dolphins and critically endangered, endemic Hector's dolphins also frequent the water. Other species such as common dolphins and orcas also visit the harbour entrance, where orcas and dusky dolphins have been seen interacting without violence. Southern right whales were historically seen inside
703-474: The channel was gradually widened and deepened, and by 1907 twice as many ships were using Dunedin's wharves as used Port Chalmers. It was only with the advent of Port Chalmers' container port in the early 1970s that the Victoria Channel again became quiet. The channel is maintained by Port Otago Ltd, which keeps it dredged to a depth of eight metres, allowing ships of up to 40,000 tonnes deadweight to travel up
740-410: The city. The flat land at the southern end of the harbour and close to the isthmus of Otago Peninsula was ideally suited for a city (and was the site for Dunedin), but the harbour itself could naturally accommodate deep-drafted ships only as far as Port Chalmers. At Port Chalmers, two islands ( Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua and Goat Island / Rakiriri ) almost bisect the harbour. Beyond them, the harbour
777-468: The entrance of the harbour possibly up to Quarantine and Goat Island / Rakiriri . They used the shallow, calm water for nursing calves before commercial whaling wiped them out locally. The number of humpback whales visiting the peninsula have increased as this species recovers much faster than the southern rights. There have also been observations of blue whales , minke whales , and long-finned pilot whales . Māori first arrived at Otago Harbour in
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#1732851908912814-454: The first European settlers in Otago and local Māori; the settlement of Ōtākou was an important settlement prior to the founding of the city of Dunedin , at the far end of the harbour, in 1848. The heads had been an important Māori site prior to the arrival of Europeans, and are of archaeological significance. At its narrowest, between the Aramoana mudflats and Harington Point , the harbour mouth
851-400: The harbour at its southern end, which along with numerous streams lowers the salinity of the harbour water. Similar to the Otago Peninsula, the harbour water is known for various rare wildlife. The area is the home of many species of wading birds. Other bird species which visit the harbour include two species of penguins, the blue penguin and the rare yellow-eyed penguin . Taiaroa Head , at
888-419: The harbour to Dunedin. Much of the channel's larger traffic in the early 21st century is oil transport to Dunedin city and chemicals and fertiliser to and from Ravensbourne 's fertiliser works. Aramoana , at the harbour mouth, has twice been projected as the site for New Zealand's second aluminium smelter. The proposals, in the mid-1970s and early 1980s, were abandoned after major public protest. The harbour
925-521: The harbour, including local chief Korako. He then burnt a harbourside village, 'the beautiful City of Otago', probably on Te Rauone Beach. Peace was achieved in 1823, and on 17 July of that year John Rodolphus Kent of the Naval cutter Mermaid from New South Wales , while in the harbour, took 'the liberty of naming it (as it has not hitherto been named) "Port Oxley", in honour of the Surveyor General of
962-555: The peninsula and the number of whales in this area were heavily exploited. Ruins of former coastal defences are located nearby, notably a restored Armstrong disappearing gun emplacement built in 1886 following a scare that New Zealand might be invaded by the Russians. A small beach, Pilots Beach, is located just inside the harbour entrance to the south of the head, and many forms of marine life, such as New Zealand fur seals and Hooker's sea lions are often to be seen. At Pilots beach
999-469: The port had become the centre of a riotous trade in liquor and prostitution. This continued until the Scottish settlers arrived in 1848 and made Port Chalmers and Dunedin the new population centres on the harbour. While Otago Harbour might have the appearance of an excellent deep-water port, it was not naturally suited to such a role, especially in the early days of settlement when ships needed to dock close to
1036-508: The settlements outside the harbour immediately to the north of its mouth, including Aramoana , Long Beach , and the former historic settlement at Whareakeake . In a broader sense, the term also sometimes included the parts of the Pacific coast of Otago Peninsula closest to Taiaroa Head, including Pipikaretu Beach, Penguin Beach, and Rerewahine Point. These sites were locations of early liaison between
1073-592: The south. The cape is home to a lighthouse, built in 1864, and a colony of over 100 northern royal albatrosses , which established itself in 1919 – the only such colony on an inhabited mainland. There is also the Royal Albatross Centre. The headland is named for Te Mātenga Taiaroa , a 19th-century Māori chief of the Ngāi Tahu iwi . Pukekura, a significant Māori pā was located on the headland, having been established about 1650 and still occupied by Māori in
1110-589: The summer of 1805 to 1806. Daniel Cooper, master of the London sealer Unity , probably did call in the summer of 1808 to 1809 when his Chief Officer, Charles Hooper, probably gave his name to Hooper's Inlet on the Otago Peninsula . William Tucker (1784–1817) was with a gang employed by Robert Campbell , a Sydney merchant, who were dropped on islands off the Dunedin coast in November 1809. Tucker and Daniel Wilson were at Otago Harbour on 3 May 1810 when Robert Mason, master of
1147-432: The tip of the Otago Peninsula, is home to the only "mainland" colony of northern royal albatrosses in the world. The bay and peninsula provides a critical habitat for Hooker's sea lions and New Zealand fur seals . Southern elephant and leopard seals are occasional visitors into the harbour. In total, four species of pinnipeds , and at least nine or more species of cetaceans are known to inhabit or migrate through
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1184-724: The way to the heart of Dunedin. New Zealand's frozen meat export trade was inaugurated at Port Chalmers in 1882. Portobello is home to one of New Zealand's leading marine research establishments, the Portobello Marine Laboratory , a department of the University of Otago . This lies at the harbour's edge on the tip of a small arm of the Otago Peninsula, the Portobello Peninsula. There are currently numerous sightseeing and fishing boats that can be chartered and one scheduled ferry from Port Chalmers to Portobello . The harbour
1221-482: The western side of the harbour, the eastern side being shallow, with large sandbanks exposed at low tide. Two islands form a line between Port Chalmers and Portobello half way along the harbour— Goat Island / Rakiriri and Quarantine Island/Kamau Taurua . The nearby smaller island known as Pudding Island (Titeremoana) lies close to the Peninsula shore and can be reached by foot at low tide. The Water of Leith flows into
1258-454: The western side of the harbour. The settlements of Otago Harbour clock wise from the harbour mouth. and starting place of Otakou Fisheries. Taiaroa Head Taiaroa Head is a headland at the end of the Otago Peninsula in New Zealand , overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour . It lies within the city limits of Dunedin . The nearest settlement, Otakou , lies three kilometres to
1295-433: Was not until 1938 that ornithologist Dr Lance Richdale saw the first live fledging. Since they first successfully raised a chick at Taiaroa Head, royal albatross numbers have increased due to intensive management by reserve rangers. As time has progressed intensive wildlife husbandry methods such as are found in any threatened species programme have been developed and refined. The one important difference has been that both
1332-519: Was off the Pacific coast in 1770. It is not known exactly when the first Europeans (likely sealers) entered the harbour, though Māori oral tradition puts it some time 'long before' 1810. Written records of this time are restricted to a handful of journals and newspaper accounts of sailors who only stayed briefly. George Bass made the Dunedin end of the harbour the north east limit of his proposed fishing monopoly in 1803. The American ship Favourite and its supercargo Daniel Whitney may have called in
1369-568: Was officially named the Victoria Channel by Keith Ramsay, chairman of the Otago Harbour Board. A significant area at the head of the harbour — much of it referred to as the Southern Endowment — has been reclaimed since the founding of Dunedin, primarily for industrial use. Smaller portions have also been reclaimed at a number of places around the harbour, including Port Chalmers, Macandrew Bay, and Broad Bay. As finance allowed,
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