Native name: Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe | |
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Geography | |
Location | Auckland |
Coordinates | 37°03′02″S 174°30′13″E / 37.050449°S 174.503682°E |
Adjacent to | Manukau Harbour, Tasman Sea |
Highest elevation | 29 m (95 ft) |
Administration | |
New Zealand |
Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock is an island at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour, at Whatipu in the Waitākere Ranges area.
The island is a volcanic plug of the Miocene era Waitākere Volcano, composed of stratified rudite and intrusive andesite. [1] The rock is what remains of one of the volcano's funnel-shaped vents on the eastern side of the mountain, which was uplifted from the sea between 3 and 5 million years ago. [2] The island is a volcanic plug of the Miocene era Waitākere Volcano, composed of stratified rudite and intrusive andesite. [1] The rock is what remains of one of the volcano's funnel-shaped vents on the eastern side of the mountain, which was uplifted from the sea 17 million years ago. [2] As the volcano aged and eroded, the vent filled with collapsed lava, scoria and volcanic bombs, until it formed into its modern-day shape. [3]
The traditional name for the rock, Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe, refers to the Polynesian navigator Kupe. According to Te Kawerau ā Maki oral history, Kupe chanted a karakia (ritual song) and cast his marowhara (traditional clothing) into the sea, causing the Tasman Sea to become too rough for his pursuers to catch up to him. [4] [5]
The island was referred to by various variations of the name Ninepin Rock by European settlers, including Ninepins Rock and The Nine Pins. [5] In the mid-19th century, Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock was an island at high tide, however over time joined the mainland, due to the changing sand dunes of Whatipu. [6]
In the 1860s, a signal mast was constructed on Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock, to aid the logging communities of the area, [7] and ships that navigated the mouth of the Manukau Harbour. The island is now the location of a trig station. [8]