Humpback Whales in Southern Pacific Seas

Hump Back Whales in Tonga Waters - photo Chris R Ball August 2015

29 September 2015 Today John Key ( Prime Minister of New Zealand ) announced plans for the Kermadec Trench to become an  Ocean Sanctuary. Several weeks ago we returned from a Tongan Holiday which included whale watching - Humpback whales who migrate from their Antarctic summer feeding areas warmer tropical waters such as Tonga for Winter calving. They travel long distances up largely  the Eastern Coast of New Zealand and through Cook Strait and along the West Coast. Following calving they return with their young to the Antarctic via along largely the West Coast of  New Zealand.

 

 The Kermadec from North Island New Zealand to Tonga provide a migratory corridor for humpback whales. The Kermadec Trench one of the planet Earth's  deepest trenches and its continuation - the Tongan Trench with its subduction is home to many fish, turtles and mammals such as Humpback Whale. From time way back and in the history of settlement in New Zealand they have been part of the many stories passed down.

 

Humpback Whale - Photo Chris R Ball August 2015

 

Anyway on with this Humpback Whale tale.  Saw Tom at the Supermarket after our return from Tongs.  Now Tom is a very keen fisherman off the shores of Coromandel's Eastern Seaboard. On hearing of our fortune seeing Humpback Whales with Deep Blue Diving in Tonga, Tom shared a sighting when fishing a couple of months ago, of a Humpback whale close to Whangamata Shores. Don't know whether this was one of those we saw at Tonga. However for the three of us it  recalled recent past history memories.

 

 A dead Humpback Whale being washed up on the Whangamata's Main  Surf Beach back in December 2011. There was another whale stranding on the South Beach, Whangamata back in the late 1990's near Hinemoa Street. Both the whales from these events were buried where found. Likewise for those that did not survive in the large pilot whale stranding further up the coast from Whangamata at Ohui near Opoutere in 2004. I remember that stranding very well and the joy felt when the surviving whale took the encouraging help and headed back out to sea on their journey towards Tuhua ( Mayor Island).

 

Island off Ohui Coromandel's Eastern Seaboard 1980's - Photo JM Stewart

Another such Humpback  was reported stranded and washed up on the Kapiti Coast at Waikanae Beach  in October 2014. Since people settlement on the coasts of New Zealand, strandings, wash ups or presence of large sea creatures such as whales, dolphins and sea elephants has always attracted great interest. In July 2014 a Humpback Whale visited   Reotahi reserve in Whangarei Harbour feeding on sprats - typical of Humpback for keeping close to the shoreline on their migratory route they feed on small fish, krill and plankton.

 

Humpback Whale seen from Deep Blue  Diving Tonga - photo Chris R Ball August 2015

Looking back in New Zealand's  papers online - Papers Past  New Zealand National Library one can find a number of articles on Humpback Whales.

 

Courtesy Papers Past, National Library NZ

Gone in recent times of New Zealand's past history  are the days of whalers and sealers who plied these coasts. Now it is people like us whale watching and in event of stranding or being washed up, community taking care of these whales.

 

 

Humpback Whale - photo Chis R Ball August 2015

 

My mother a DOC Wildlife Ranger with DOC ,organised in 1993 , a mammal  rescue seminar at Whangamata. We learned during this seminar the skills of assisting whales to survive and return to their sea travels. A rescue group was set up after this seminar, headed by coordinator Nobby Coxhead. No doubt some will have stories of this to pass down families - a relevant part of the Past NZ History on these coasts of New Zealand.

Mammal Rescue Seminar at Whangamata 1993  - photo HM Stewart

 

                                             Humpback Whale from Deep Blue Diving - Photo Chris R Ball August 2015

 

 Reference Source:

 

• Ball, E Anne , " This and That. Stories of People and a Growing Town," 2001 & 2005, p 52
• Pew Trusts NZ

  http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/global-ocean-legacy-kermadec/about
• GNS Science NZ

  http://www.gns.cri.nz/Home/Learning/Science-Topics/Volcanoes/New-Zealand-Volcanoes/Volcano-Geology-and-Hazards/Kermadec-Islands-Geology
• Encyclopaedia Britannica - description of Kermadec Trench

  http://www.britannica.com/place/Kermadec-Trench
• Marine NZ

  http://www.marinenz.org.nz/index.php/the_undersea_world/marine_reserves/Kermadec%20Marine%20Reserve
• Oceanic Society http://www.oceanicsociety.org/expeditions/tonga-snorkeling-with-humpback-whales--72
• Deep Blue Diving Tonga
• NZ Tourism - Whale Watching http://www.newzealand.com/int/whale-watching/

 

Ponui Passage - Lighting the Way

NEW ZEALAND LIGHTHOUSES (No. 4) .—The lighthouse in Ponui Passage, at the entrance to Auckland Harbo... [truncated] Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 10, 11 July 1931, Page 23 Papers Past, National Library New Zealand 

Ponui Passage Lighthouse A Screw pile light, this was the other of the two sea wave - washed lighthouses that James Stewart , Civil Engineer, was involved with in design and superintending construction. The location of this lighthouse was on a flattish table bank of a sandbank known as “sandspit” to shipping which travelled to and from Thames in the Hauraki Gulf and Auckland on the Waitemata Harbour.

 

Map not drawn to scale and only approximate to show Lighthouse locations  ASB 2010

 

Determining the position, Stewart, just as with Bean Rock Lighthouse, enlisted the expertise of Captain Burgess, Chief Harbour-master, Auckland, before and during construction, with careful soundings being made to determine the geological composition of the sandspit. Imbedded timber at the bottom of the sandspit was a fear when screwing down the piles.

 

Mr. Heron’s (of Shortland) tender of £2,300 was the successful one for the construction of the Sandspit Lighthouse in the Ponui Passage. William Hammond ( AKA Toss ) in an article in the Ohinemuri Journal, writes of his father and Messrs Flatt, Heron, Morton, Craigie building this lighthouse.( Hammond, 1964)

 

Reading the description of the labour required to complete construction of the lighthouse in various articles and Stewart's own paper to the Auckland Institute reads like heavy labour ( none of the construction technology that is available today in 2014).

To effect the screwing down of the cast iron piles with a capstan, a temporary platform was built. The Daily Southern Cross reported the following on the method:

…”The plan adopted was to prepare long poles with a peculiar kind of screw thread, and screw them into the ground. The thread of the screw began at the point with nothing, and increased to l4 in. This, its greatest width, was attained in two and a-half turns, and then one full turn was given after it had attained that distance in the solid. The power to screw them down was applied by men with a capstan….” AUCKLAND INSTITUTE. Daily Southern Cross, Vol. 29 August 1871, P 3

 

Stewart estimated that the total weight of the lighthouse structure was about 60 tons and wrote that:-

 

….” The interiors of the piles are filled with good cement mortar, to preserve the iron from rust, and the heads and nuts of the joint bolts are imbedded in the same. Tubular cast iron braces, and the lower timber frame, three feet above high water, complete the foundation which has answered all expectations in the recent exceptionally stormy season…” ( J Stewart,1871)

Stewart was to write and read a paper to the Auckland Institute on the foundations of the lighthouse in Ponui Passage.  In this, he described the determining of a suitable site with Captain Burgess, Chief Harbour Master and screwing down the piles with the aid of a capstan and winch handles worked by four men.

 

 

James Stewart , Civil Engineer
The Cyclopaedia of New Zealand, Vol 2, Auckland Province. Christchurch: Cyclopaedia Company Limited, 1902.
 

 Both Bean Rock and the lighthouse at Sandspit in the Ponui Passage were completed in 1871, Messrs Fraser & Tinne having provided the ironwork. Both lighthouses were completed with a hexagonal shaped wooden tower which formed a cottage and storeroom for the Light house keeper.

 One of the first lighthouse keepers at Ponui Passage lighthouse, or Sandspit as it sometimes was known, was Daniel Macfarlane ( Archives NZ, ACFM 8180 46 870/76). MacFarlane - in some records spelled McFarland or McFarlane – common variance with this surname) was followed by Charles H.O. Robson as Principal Light house keeper and then John Marsh.

 

 

In those days before automation, lighthouses were manned by Lighthouse Keepers. One of the responsibilities was to keep the lights going for what had become a busy route with “coasters” – steamers and sailing ships plying with cargo and passengers.

The early years of operation of this lighthouse saw two collisions nearby – that of the cutter “Avon” with the steamer “Golden Crown” in December 1871  and in July 1877 the ketch “Adah” with the “Southern Cross.”

From newspaper accounts in later years, it would appear that in November 1896, some damage was done to this lighthouse. Evidently the schooner Huon Belle, owned by J.J. Craig was reported to have run aground against the lighthouse causing damage to two of the iron piles and the lamp glasses. The Huon Belle had been purchased by Joseph J Craig  to carry Portland Cement from Whangarei to Coromandel Peninsula for the new industrial mine batteries being constructed.

 



OLDEST VESSEL IN NEW ZEALAND.—The 25-ion ketch Huon Belle, bulk in Tasmania in 1864,.5ti1l plies reg... [truncated] Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 191, 14 August 1934, Page 5 Papers Past, National Library New Zealand

 

According to New Zealand Lighthouse, the lighthouse at Sandspit in the Ponui Passage became automated in 1915 or 1916, ending the era of light house keepers here. In 1938 the wooden cottage was moved to Ponui Island nearby. (Website New Zealand Lighthouse, accessed 07/04/2010) Today in 2014 it is a different vessel navigating the route – yachts and fishing boats.

 

  From Tararu, Thames, NZ looking toward coast near Ponui Passage in March 2010, CRB photo collection

Reference Source:

•  Churchman, Geoffrey B. NEW ZEALAND LIGHTHOUSES. Government Printing Office, 1989.

 •  By J. STEWART, Assoc.Inst.C.E. “ART. XI.—A Description of the Foundation of the Lighthouse in the Ponui Passage.” In Transactions and Proceedings NZ Institute, from Volume 4. 1871:

also in  Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1868-1961 

 •   Ohinemuri Regional History Journal 2, October 1964 By Wm Hammond OHINEMURI LINKS WITH THAMES

   Associated Journals House Representatives ( AJHR)  ATOLS online National Library New Zealand 

 •   AJHR 1870/ 1871, p. G.6.4 Annual Report. NZ Marine Department

 •   AJHR 1872 p G. 30. 4 Annual Report NZ Marine Department.” 

 •  AJHR 1874 p H.22, 14-18. Annual Report. NZ Marine Department P.2 

 •  AJHR 1872, Section G30, p 14

 •  AJHR 1878, Section H12, p 26

 Newspapers  Papers Past, National Library New Zealand  -

 •  Daily Southern Cross. NEW ZEALAND LIGHTHOUSES.— REPORT OF MR. BALFOUR. Daily Southern Cross, 27 September 1865, Page 6 

 •  Daily Southern Cross. PROPOSED LIGHTHOUSES AT BEAN ROCK AND THE SANDSPIT. Daily Southern Cross, 21 July 1870, Page 2  

 •  Daily Southern Cross. “THE LIGHTHOUSE TENDERS. Daily Southern Cross, 4 August 1870, Page 3.” Papers Past.

 •  Daily Southern Cross. “AUCKLAND INSTITUTE. Issue 4380, 29 August 1871, Page 3. 

 •  Thames Star, 18/11/1896: p4  

 •  OLDEST VESSEL IN NEW ZEALAND.—The 25-ton ketch Huon Belle, bulk in Tasmania in 1864,.5ti1l plies reg... [truncated] Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 191, 14 August 1934, Page 5

 

                                            

 

 

 



Islands of Coromandel's Eastern Seaboard NZ

Motuhoa ( Shoe) and Whakahau ( Slipper) - looking  out to sea from Paku - Photo C R Ball 2015

Having visited another Island of the Pacific got me thinking about the islands where we live on Coromandel's  Eastern Seaboard. The stories passed down through several generations about these, often, rocky outcrops. Their place in the history of the Coromandel Peninsula, a relevant part of the past New Zealand history. First people to the shore - Maori - named them. Captain Cook arriving on New Zealand coasts in 1769 gave them English names. ( Often saying they reminded him of something at home). Some  of those English names stuck and some have returned to their original name.

Whiritoa and Paku at Tairua are two of the few places where one gain a good view of most of the islands up and down the coast.  That is if one is on the shore and not out at sea.

These Islands have become a part of the past history of  the area with tales and stories passed down through families - memories of fishing trips, holidays at the beach, living on. The islands with the coastline are one of the first sightings Captain Cook had in  November 1769 when he made his way up to Te Whanganui-o-Hei - what has become  known as Mercury Bay  ( named such by Cook for the transit of Mercury observed by those of the ship Endeavour on 9th November 1769 ) 

In fact Cook   voyaging Northwards to Te Whanganui-o-Hei named a number of Islands on the way. One of the first of these was Whakaari which he named White Island - the reason, he wrote" because as such it always appear'd to us " (Wharton , 1893 ) Parkinson Banks' draughtsman recorded in his journal that Whakaari was " rocky, high and barren". ( Stanfield, ed.)



Whakaari - White Island in the Bay of Plenty
TAYLOR, Richard - M.A., Missionary in New Zealand. 1870. Image taken from page 275 of '[Te Ika a Maui, or, New Zealand and its Inhabitants ... Second edition, etc. London: British Library HMNTS 10491.dd.8." p 275.
FLIKR

Sometimes on a clear day from the shore one can see the smoke plumes  of  Whakaari (White Island )  down in the Bay of Plenty (Te Moana a Toi ). Very occasionally in the right place onshore, Whakaari can be seen. Hence including it in the islands of the Eastern Seaboard Coast. 

On Whakaari looking towards Coromandel Peninsula -November 2015  photo courtesy Chris Ball

In 1914 one of New Zealand's worst Industrial disasters occurred when there was a landslide killing 10 men of the Sulphur Works which was on Whakaari then. The camp cat was a survivor. According to various accounts "Peter the Great" was found three weeks later. Reminders of Tarawera eruption and another cat at Te Wairoa that survived a disaster.

In 1936 George Raymond Buttle bought Whakaari and today the island remains privately owned by descendants of  George Buttle's  family. Whakaari is  a private scenic reserve ( on 3 December 1953) , a tourism venture with tours  by boat and helicopter to the island  and an active volcano.

Whakaari from the tour boat November 2015  photo courtesy Chris Ball

Most of the islands of the Eastern Seaboard are privately owned - Tuhua or Mayor Island administered by the Tuhua Trust Board. Tuhua is the Maori name for obsidian, thus describing aptly the Island for this dark volcanic glass that was here in quantities was sought after by Maori in pre European days for some sharpening tools and working with other tools.

Tuhua ( Mayor Island ) from Whiritoa - Photo C R Ball 2010

Mayor Island as it has become known ( a name Captain Cook gave the island  back in November 1769 when sheltering overnight on the North East corner) is home of the Mako Shark. According to Goldsmith  in a paper he read to the Auckland Institute in 1884 Mako " is found off this island and nowhere else in the world " ( Goldsmith 1884)

Today there is a Marine Reserve around the Northern end of Tuhua ( Mayor Island ).  The waters near Tuhua ( Mayor Island ) have became popular recreational fishing spots for  big Game Fishing - Tuna, Marlin and King fish, especially during the 1930's and  1940's.

WHEN THE FIGHT IS ON A striped marlin swordfish broaching in an endeavour to secure its freedom on t... [truncated] New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22028, 7 February 1935, Page 8 courtesy Papers Past National Library NZ 

In past history, it was not just the game fishing that Tuhua ( Mayor island) was renown for.  Back in 1922 pioneer film maker Rudall Hayward, backed by a syndicate of 20, produced  the film " My Lady of the Cave. A newspaper serial, written by nearby Waihi School Master H T Gibson, was used. Mayor Island ( Tuhua ) was the scene of film shots for six weeks of filming out of seven. The film was said to be amongst stunning scenery and the film set in 1890's Bay of Plenty, a romantic drama. Camera man, Frank Stewart, was kept busy with even a  " shoot- out amongst moonshiners.'

  On up the Coast are reminders of volcanic activity in the rocky outcrops along the coastline. Northwards from Whiritoa is  Petley’s Rock – named for Mr. Petley, a Whangamata Fisherman of renown. Distinct craggy outcrops worn by the sea and storm  - known as the  “Pinnacles” –  grown up with, in sight from Otahu and Whangamata – reminders of what was the Tunaiti Caldera.

Looking towards Pinnacles from South Beach - photo C R Ball 1997

On up to South Beach Whangamata and the main surf beach  three Islands lying offshore from Whangamata – Hauturu (Clark Island) Whenuakura (called Doughnut Island sometimes because of its cave and hole near the middle), and Rawengaiti where it has been known to catch the odd strange fish nearby. These islands were once home of Tuatara, our quaint New Zealand lizards from prehistoric times - unfortunately in 2015 -gone.

Maukaha  Rocks, Whenuakura, Rawengaiti - photo C R Ball 2000



Hauturu ( Clark Island ) from Whangamata Peninsula - Photo C R Ball 2010

Lillian Clark , of Whangamata in the 1940's ,would have probably been the first conservationist of forest, seashore and beach life. A reminder to visiting holidaymakers to respect and not destroy. 

Government legislation records that Whenuakura, Rawengaiti Islands and Maukaha rocks lying to the northwest of Whenuakura Island were declared Wildlife Sanctuaries in 1976. This was the Wildlife Sanctuary (Whangamata Islands) Order 1976 and was declared sanctuaries because of the presence of Tuatara. This order was made pursuant to section 9 of the Wildlife Act 1953 and administered by the Wildlife Department of Internal Affairs - later Department of Conservation in April 1987.

Further up the coast from  Opoutere one can sight Hikunui Island near the Wharekawa Entrance, From Onemana, Opoutere, Ohui and Pauanui , one can sight Whakakau (Slipper Island) - home for many years of the Normans latterly of Opoutere and then the Needham family.  Both farmed this Island and there are memories of the barge to Tairua return used for supplies and livestock.

Whakahau ( Slipper Island ) Rabbit and Penguin  Whites Aviation photo 1959 J M Stewart photo collection

Also seen is Motuhoa (Shoe Island) which is at the Tairua River Entrance – the scene of the shipwreck of the cutter “Glance” in 1877. 

Motuhoa ( Shoe Island) from Main Surf Beach Tairua - photo C R Ball 2011

Looking back over history of Slipper Island many were the vessels and people that sheltered at Whakahau (Slipper Island) including the Tauranga Rugby Team aboard s s Fingal in 1907 - on their way to a rugby match against the Mercury Bay team at Whitianga.

Whakahau ( Slipper )- view through pines on main beach Pauanui - C R Ball 2014

From early European settlement days   waters around Whakahau (Slipper)  had gained a reputation for good fishing grounds. However fishing also had its dangerous moments as was reported in 1936. The Auckland Star reported on a fisherman's injury in 1936:- 

"  As the result of a fight with a shark which had a large hook fastened in its tail Mr. William Clarkson, a fisherman, of Whangamata, suffered a severe injury to his left hand on Sunday morning when fishing off Slipper Island, near Whangamata. When the shark was hooked it put up a lively fight and it was some time before it was brought alongside the boat. Mr, Clarkson then attempted th seize the struggling fish by the tail, but was astonished when he found that his left hand, between the thumb and the first finger, had been penetrated by a hook which evidently at some time had become fastened in the shark's tail"   ( Auckland Star, 6 /10/ 1936, P 11)

My own memories of  my father aboard Clio in  Eastern Seaboard Waters are the damage sharks did to the nets which had to be constantly repaired. Other memories are of a white pointer shark in the  Channel between Rabbit and Penguin Island. That was back in the late 1970's just after the movie Jaws had been released. Don't think the one at Whakahau ( Slipper), was as big as the 35 foot Great White Shark of the movie, however it did give moments of disquiet.  The Slipper Island version was real - not the robotic version of the movie which 40 years later still remains terrifying

Looking further out to sea in the distance are the  Ruamāhua (Aldermen Islands ) - a wildlife sanctuary since 1933. Named by Captain Cook in 1769 because their rocky caps reminded him of a court of Aldermen. Captain Cook having sheltered overnight at what he named Mayor ( Tuhua ) on heading up the coast wrote

 :-

" The Cluster of Islands and Rocks just mentioned we named the Court of Aldermen; they lay in the Compass of about half a League every way, and 5 Leagues from the Main, between which and them lay other Islands. The most of them are barren rocks, and of these there is a very great Variety, some of them are of as small a Compass as the Monument in London, and Spire up to a much greater height; they lay in the Latitude of 36 degrees 57 minutes, and some of them are inhabited. "  ( Wharton 1893)

Looking out to the Aldermen islands from Opoutere/ Pauanui Forestry Road - photo courtesy Sam Ball  August  2015

Within this group is seen Hongiora (Flat Island) home breeding ground of grey faced petrel – sometimes washed up on our beaches in storms. Also the rocky caps of Ruamahuaiti, Middle and Ruamahuanui Islands. In 1933 the area was declared to be a bird sanctuary.

ISLANDS OFF THE COROMANDEL PENINSULA TO BE OBTAINED FOR A BIRD SANCTUARY A deep-sea fishing launch p... [truncated] New Zealand Herald, Volume LXX, Issue 21422, 21 February 1933, P 6 courtesy Papers Past National Library NZ 

Yes we are fortunate to have these Islands of Coromandel's Eastern Seaboard, with their tales of flora, fauna and people through the years - a part of past New Zealand history.

Reference Source:

•  Ed. Captain W.J.L. Wharton R.N., F.R.S. 1893. CAPTAIN COOK'S JOURNAL DURING HIS FIRST VOYAGE ROUND THE WORLD MADE IN H.M. BARK ""ENDEAVOUR" 1768-71 A Literal Transcription of the Original MSS. London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/8106/8106-h/8106-h.htm

• Parkinson, Ed. Stanfield. n.d. A Journal of a Voyage to the South Seas in his Majesty’s Ship, The Endeavour .Faithfully transcribed from the Papers of the late SYDNEY PARKINSON,. London: Paternoster Row. http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/parkinson/141.html
• Taylor, Richard - M.A., Missionary in New Zealand. 1870. Image taken from page 275 of '[Te Ika a Maui, or, New Zealand and its Inhabitants ... Second edition, etc. London: British Library HMNTS 10491.dd.8." p 275. FLIKR
• White Island Tours http://www.whiteisland.co.nz/home.html
• Grenfell, Hugh. 'The 1914 White Island/Whakaari mining disaster'. Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. First published: 20 May 2015. Updated: 16 June 2015.URL: www.aucklandmuseum.com/collections-research/collections/topics/the-1914-white-island-whakaari-mining-disaster
• Transactions & Proceedings NZ Institute ( Royal Society ) Art. LIII.—Description of Mayor Island[Read before the Auckland Institute, 11th August, 1884.] By E. C. Gold-Smith District Surveyor, Tauranga., from Volume 17, 1884
• The Film Archive - My Lady of the Cave
  http://www.ngataonga.org.nz/feature-project/pages/My-Lady.php
• WHEN THE FIGHT IS ON A striped marlin swordfish broaching in an endeavour to secure its freedom on t... [truncated] New Zealand Herald, 7 February 1935, Page 8
• FIGHT WITH SHARK. Auckland Star,  6 October 1936, Page 11 
• ISLANDS OFF THE COROMANDEL PENINSULA TO BE OBTAINED FOR A BIRD SANCTUARY A deep-sea fishing launch p... [truncated] New Zealand Herald, , 21 February 1933, Page 6