Whitireia Park - Porirua Harbour - New Zealand
Porirua Harbour was formed by river valleys which were cut four to six million years ago, when the sea level was much lower than it is today. The sea level rose after the glaciations of the Pleistocene Period one to two million years ago and flooding the river valleys, creating the harbour.
Earthquakes since then have raised Whitireia head four to five metres above sea level. The most recent uplift of around a metre was in January 1855. It created the marshland at Te Onepoto Bay and the beach along the western coastline. Porirua Harbour was also rendered too shallow for sailing ships by the 1855 earthquake.
Whitireia Park has a long history of Maori occupation. From the mid-1820s the area was dominated by the Ngati Toa tribe of Te Rauparaha who had come south from Kawhia and conquered the area. Evidence of Maori occupation, in the form of kumara-growing terraces above the cliffs, can still be seen today.
The anchor stone of the canoe of legendary Maori explore Kupe is believed to have lain near Paremata for centuries. Kupe left the stone, named Maungaroa, to mark the spot where his canoe returned after floating out to sea. The stone was respected by Maori tribes over the centuries, but during the 1840s British troops stationed at Porirua broke chips off it. When some of them later drowned in the harbour it was seen by some Maori as punishment for their act of sacrilege. The stone is now housed in the National Museum in Wellington.
Te Onepoto Bay provides good habitat for many water birds, the estuary being a rich feeding ground. Kingfishers frequent the bay, eating insects, crabs and small fish and shellfish which are exposed at low tide.
White-faced herons can usually be seen around Te Onepoto Bay. They were rarely seen in New Zealand before 1940 but, like the kingfisher, have thrived in the landscape created by the European and are now the most common heron in the country. Little shags, black shags and black backed gulls are also commonly seen around the coastline and harbour.
Whitireia Park is administered by the Whitireia Park Board as a recreation reserve, allowing for walking, swimming and quiet enjoyment of the coast rather than major development.
The park was set up by land acquisition from the Otaki and Porirua Trust Board and the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand with the generous co-operation of the Raukawa Trustees and the Ngati Toa people. A substantial donation by Smith and Smith Ltd, celebrating their centenary in 1975, enabled the purchase and development of the park to proceed, and it was established in 1976.
Since then Trust Porirua has contributed funding for track upgrades, and the Defence Force has removed abandoned motor vehicle bodies from the park.
Radio New Zealand controls 53 hectares of the park for its radio station there. The station was established in 1936. Its main mast is 220 metres high. Radio New Zealand leases part of its land to the park board which in turn leases much of the park for grazing, to keep the land in pasture and reduce the fire risk.
Whitireia Park - Porirua Harbour - New Zealand
Porirua Harbour was formed by river valleys which were cut four to six million years ago, when the sea level was much lower than it is today. The sea level rose after the glaciations of the Pleistocene Period one to two million years ago and flooding the river valleys, creating the harbour.
Earthquakes since then have raised Whitireia head four to five metres above sea level. The most recent uplift of around a metre was in January 1855. It created the marshland at Te Onepoto Bay and the beach along the western coastline. Porirua Harbour was also rendered too shallow for sailing ships by the 1855 earthquake.
Whitireia Park has a long history of Maori occupation. From the mid-1820s the area was dominated by the Ngati Toa tribe of Te Rauparaha who had come south from Kawhia and conquered the area. Evidence of Maori occupation, in the form of kumara-growing terraces above the cliffs, can still be seen today.
The anchor stone of the canoe of legendary Maori explore Kupe is believed to have lain near Paremata for centuries. Kupe left the stone, named Maungaroa, to mark the spot where his canoe returned after floating out to sea. The stone was respected by Maori tribes over the centuries, but during the 1840s British troops stationed at Porirua broke chips off it. When some of them later drowned in the harbour it was seen by some Maori as punishment for their act of sacrilege. The stone is now housed in the National Museum in Wellington.
Te Onepoto Bay provides good habitat for many water birds, the estuary being a rich feeding ground. Kingfishers frequent the bay, eating insects, crabs and small fish and shellfish which are exposed at low tide.
White-faced herons can usually be seen around Te Onepoto Bay. They were rarely seen in New Zealand before 1940 but, like the kingfisher, have thrived in the landscape created by the European and are now the most common heron in the country. Little shags, black shags and black backed gulls are also commonly seen around the coastline and harbour.
Whitireia Park is administered by the Whitireia Park Board as a recreation reserve, allowing for walking, swimming and quiet enjoyment of the coast rather than major development.
The park was set up by land acquisition from the Otaki and Porirua Trust Board and the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand with the generous co-operation of the Raukawa Trustees and the Ngati Toa people. A substantial donation by Smith and Smith Ltd, celebrating their centenary in 1975, enabled the purchase and development of the park to proceed, and it was established in 1976.
Since then Trust Porirua has contributed funding for track upgrades, and the Defence Force has removed abandoned motor vehicle bodies from the park.
Radio New Zealand controls 53 hectares of the park for its radio station there. The station was established in 1936. Its main mast is 220 metres high. Radio New Zealand leases part of its land to the park board which in turn leases much of the park for grazing, to keep the land in pasture and reduce the fire risk.