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Added information about Kati mamoe and Kai Tahu and Pukekura.
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Added information about Tarewai, and Europeans up to 1823
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Southern Maori oral tradition tells of five successively arriving peoples and while the earliest, Kahui Tipua, appear to be fairy folk modern anthropological opinion is that nevertheless they represent historical people who have become encrusted with legend.(Anderson, 1993 p.7 & 1998 p.13.) Te Rapuwai were next and seemed to be succeeded by two Waitaha tribes but it has been suggested this was really one with 'Waitaha' also being used as a catchall name for all earlier peoples by some later arrivals. 'Te Rapuwai' may perhaps also have been used like this. (Anderson, 1993 p.7.) Nevertheless some middens such as the old ones on the Otago Peninsula, have been identified traditionally with Te Rapuwai. On Anderson's interpretation the later or tribal Waitaha would have arrived in the south in the 15th century. |
Southern Maori oral tradition tells of five successively arriving peoples and while the earliest, Kahui Tipua, appear to be fairy folk modern anthropological opinion is that nevertheless they represent historical people who have become encrusted with legend.(Anderson, 1993 p.7 & 1998 p.13.) Te Rapuwai were next and seemed to be succeeded by two Waitaha tribes but it has been suggested this was really one with 'Waitaha' also being used as a catchall name for all earlier peoples by some later arrivals. 'Te Rapuwai' may perhaps also have been used like this. (Anderson, 1993 p.7.) Nevertheless some middens such as the old ones on the Otago Peninsula, have been identified traditionally with Te Rapuwai. On Anderson's interpretation the later or tribal Waitaha would have arrived in the south in the 15th century. |
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Moa and moa hunters went into decline but a new Classic Maori culture evolved, characterised by the construction of pa, fortified villages, and new peoples arrived on the Otago Peninsula. Kati Mamoe ('Ngati Mamoe' in modern standard Maori) arrived in the late 1500s. Kai Tahu ("Ngai Tahu' in modern standard Maori) came about a hundred years later. Pukekura, a fortress on Taiaroa Head, was built about 1650. Nearby villages on Te Rauone Beach perhaps date from |
Moa and moa hunters went into decline but a new Classic Maori culture evolved, characterised by the construction of pa, fortified villages, and new peoples arrived on the Otago Peninsula. Kati Mamoe ('Ngati Mamoe' in modern standard Maori) arrived in the late 1500s. Kai Tahu ("Ngai Tahu' in modern standard Maori) came about a hundred years later. Pukekura, a fortress on Taiaroa Head, was built about 1650. Nearby villages on Te Rauone Beach perhaps date from the same time. Many traditions survive from this period concerning figures such as Waitai and Moki II who at different times both lived at Pukekura pa. One of the best known concerns Tarewai who is difficult to place chronologically but was of Kai Tahu descent, gained possession of Pukekura, was in conflict with Kati Mamoe at Papanui Inlet and made a famous escape back into Pukekura by a cliff still known as Tarewai's Leap. |
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James Cook was off the coast in February 1770 and named Cape Saunders for the Secretary of the Admiralty. His chart showed a bay at what is Hooper's Inlet which may have been explored and named by Charles Hooper chief officer on Daniel Cooper's English sealer, Unity, in the summer of 1808-9. Sealers used the harbour from about this time, probably the anchorage at Wellers' Rock, modern Otakou, where there was an extensive Maori settlement or settlements. The Sealers' War (also known as the War of the Shirt) was sparked by an incident on the Sydney Cove in Otago Harbour late in 1810 while her men were sealing at Cape Saunders. This incidentally produced [[James Kelly]]'s attack on 'the City of Otago', probably the Te Rauone settlement(s) in December 1817 after [[William Tucker]] and others had been killed at Whareakeake (Murdering Beach) a few miles north. Peace was re-established by 1823. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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The Otago Peninsula is a long, rugged indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. The peninsula lies due east of Otago Harbour, and runs parallel to the mainland for 30 km. Its maximum width is 12 km. It is joined to the mainland at the south-west end by a narrow isthmus a little over 1 km in width.
The peninsula was formed at the same time as the hills which face it across the harbour, as part of the crater wall of a large - now long-extinct - volcano. Several of the peninsula's peaks (notably the aptly-named Harbour Cone) clearly show these volcanic origins in their form. These rocks were built up between 13 and 10 million years ago.
Much of the peninsula is steep hill country, with the highest points being Mount Charles (408 m), Harbour Cone, and Sandymount. Two tidal inlets dominate the Pacific coast of the peninsula, Hoopers Inlet and Papanui Inlet. Between them is the headland of Cape Saunders. Nearby natural features include the 250-m-high cliffs of Lovers' Leap and The Chasm.
At its western end, the Otago Peninsula is suburban, containing several of Dunedin's inner suburbs (such as Vauxhall and Shiel Hill). For much of its length, however, only the strip adjacent to the Otago Harbour is heavily populated, with several small communities dotting its length. Largest of these are Macandrew Bay, Portobello, and Otakou, which was the site of the first permanent European settlement on the Harbour, and the site of an early whaling station (comemmorated at nearby Weller's Rock).
At the entrance to the Otago Harbour the peninsula rises to Taiaroa Head, noted for a breeding colonyofNorthern Royal Albatrosses, the only colony of albatrosses to be found on an inhabited mainland. The viewing centre for the albatross colony is one of the peninsula's main ecotourism attractions, along with other wildlife such as seals and Yellow-eyed Penguins. Much of the peninsula's land under the auspices of the Otago Peninsula Trust, and is maintained as a sanctuary for wildlife. Many species of seabirds and waders in particular may be found around the tidal inlets, including spoonbills, plovers, and herons.
The Pacific coast of the peninsula includes several beaches which are far enough removed from Dunedin city to be sparseply populated even in mid-summer. these include Allan's Beach, Victory Beach and Sandfly Bay.
Victory Beach, named for the 19th century shipwreck of the Victory close to this coast, features a rock formation known locally as "The Pyramids" for their resemblance to the ancient Egyptian buildings. Sandfly Bay (named not for the insect but for the sand blown up by the wind in this area) is reached via a path through some of New Zealand's tallest sand dunes, which rise for some 100 metres above the beach.
Other tourist attractions on the peninsula include Larnach Castle, a restored Armstrong 'disappearing' gun coastal defence post, and a war memorial cairn. Impressive views of the city and surrounding country can be gained from Highcliff Road, which runs along the spine of the peninsula.
Dann, C. & Peat, N. (1989). Dunedin, North and South Otago. Wellington, NZ: GP Books. ISBN 0-477-01438-0.
Modern archaeological opinion favours a date for New Zealand's first human settlement around 1100 AD with people concentrated on the east coast of the South Island. In Archaic (or moa hunter) times the Otago Peninsula was a relatively densely occupied area at the centre of the country's most populated region.
A map of recorded Maori archaeological sites of all periods for the Otago Conservancy shows many more on the Otago Peninsula than anywhere else in the region. (Hamel 2001 fig. 1) Another showing only those of the Archaic period shows sites clustered on the Peninsula but also along the coast across the harbour to the west and north. (Hamel, 2001 fig. 2) This was one of three more or less distinct clusters on the South Island's south east coast: one from about Oamaru south to Pleasant River; another from Waikouaiti south which includes the Otago Peninsula and tails off about the Kaikorai estuary; another extending south from the Clutha mouth. The clusters contain a few larger sites. On the Otago Peninsula one at Little Papanui is of middle size while that at Harwood Township is of the largest.
Whale ivory chevron pendants found at Little Papanui were made by the site's early occupants and are now in the Otago Museum, Dunedin. The site's lowest levels have been estimated to have been first occupied some time between 1150 and 1300 A.D. Another Peninsula site at Papanui Inlet has been thought first occupied in the same period as has the extensive one at Harwood Township. (Anderson, 1983, p.7.) Little Papanui and Harwood are considered to have been permanent settlements, not temporary camps. A single radio carbon date for Harwood suggests it was also occupied in 1450. (Entwisle, 1976 p.8.) Three magnificent greenstone adzes, said by H.D. Skinner to be the finest of their sort were found nearby and are dated to the same time. They represent a form already archaic when they were made. They too are now in the Otago Museum. Relating any of these sites to the earliest traditions is difficult.
Southern Maori oral tradition tells of five successively arriving peoples and while the earliest, Kahui Tipua, appear to be fairy folk modern anthropological opinion is that nevertheless they represent historical people who have become encrusted with legend.(Anderson, 1993 p.7 & 1998 p.13.) Te Rapuwai were next and seemed to be succeeded by two Waitaha tribes but it has been suggested this was really one with 'Waitaha' also being used as a catchall name for all earlier peoples by some later arrivals. 'Te Rapuwai' may perhaps also have been used like this. (Anderson, 1993 p.7.) Nevertheless some middens such as the old ones on the Otago Peninsula, have been identified traditionally with Te Rapuwai. On Anderson's interpretation the later or tribal Waitaha would have arrived in the south in the 15th century.
Moa and moa hunters went into decline but a new Classic Maori culture evolved, characterised by the construction of pa, fortified villages, and new peoples arrived on the Otago Peninsula. Kati Mamoe ('Ngati Mamoe' in modern standard Maori) arrived in the late 1500s. Kai Tahu ("Ngai Tahu' in modern standard Maori) came about a hundred years later. Pukekura, a fortress on Taiaroa Head, was built about 1650. Nearby villages on Te Rauone Beach perhaps date from the same time. Many traditions survive from this period concerning figures such as Waitai and Moki II who at different times both lived at Pukekura pa. One of the best known concerns Tarewai who is difficult to place chronologically but was of Kai Tahu descent, gained possession of Pukekura, was in conflict with Kati Mamoe at Papanui Inlet and made a famous escape back into Pukekura by a cliff still known as Tarewai's Leap.
James Cook was off the coast in February 1770 and named Cape Saunders for the Secretary of the Admiralty. His chart showed a bay at what is Hooper's Inlet which may have been explored and named by Charles Hooper chief officer on Daniel Cooper's English sealer, Unity, in the summer of 1808-9. Sealers used the harbour from about this time, probably the anchorage at Wellers' Rock, modern Otakou, where there was an extensive Maori settlement or settlements. The Sealers' War (also known as the War of the Shirt) was sparked by an incident on the Sydney Cove in Otago Harbour late in 1810 while her men were sealing at Cape Saunders. This incidentally produced James Kelly's attack on 'the City of Otago', probably the Te Rauone settlement(s) in December 1817 after William Tucker and others had been killed at Whareakeake (Murdering Beach) a few miles north. Peace was re-established by 1823.
