Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock explained

Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock is an island at the mouth of the Manukau Harbour, at Whatipu in the Waitākere Ranges area.

Geology

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.^[3] 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.^[4]

History

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.^{[5] [6]}

The island was referred to by various variations of the name Ninepin Rock by European settlers, including Ninepins Rock and The Nine Pins.^[6] 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.^[7]

In the 1860s, a signal mast was constructed on Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock, to aid the logging communities of the area,^[8] and ships that navigated the mouth of the Manukau Harbour. The island is now the location of a trig station.^[9]

Notes and References

1. 10.1080/03036758.1977.10427155. 7. 2. 123–141. Hayward. B. W. . Bruce W. Hayward. Miocene volcanic centres of the Waitakere Ranges, North Auckland, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1977.
2. Book: Hayward . Bruce . Bruce Hayward . Land, Sea and Sky . 10, 13–14 . Macdonald . Finlay . Finlay Macdonald (editor) . Kerr . Ruth . West: The History of Waitakere . Random House . 2009 . 9781869790080.
3. 10.1080/03036758.1977.10427155. 7. 2. 123–141. Hayward. B. W. . Bruce W. Hayward. Miocene volcanic centres of the Waitakere Ranges, North Auckland, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1977.
4. Book: Out of the Ocean, Into the Fire . Hayward . Bruce W. . Bruce Hayward . 2017 . 978-0-473-39596-4 . Geoscience Society of New Zealand . 116–117.
5. Book: James. Northcote-Bade . West Auckland Remembers, Volume 2 . 1992 . West Auckland Historical Society . 0-473-01587-0 . Wai Karekare - 'The Bay of the Boisterous Seas' . Graeme . Murdoch . 7–28.
6. Web site: Te Toka-Tapu-a-Kupe / Ninepin Rock . New Zealand Gazetteer . Land Information New Zealand. 21 May 2022.
7. 168–196. McLean. RF. Recent coastal progradation in New Zealand. Landform Evolution in Australasia. 1978.
8. 10.1080/0028825X.2005.9512952. 43. 1. 223–244. McK. Pegman. Andrew P.. Rapson. G. L.. Plant succession and dune dynamics on actively prograding dunes, Whatipu Beach, northern New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Botany. 2005. 85119481.
9. Web site: Ninepin . New Zealand Gazetteer . Land Information New Zealand. 21 May 2022.