Karepiro Bay is a bay of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana in the Auckland Region, New Zealand. It found between the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and North Shore, and is the mouth of the Weiti River and Ōkura River.

Karepiro Bay
Location within the Auckland Region
Location within the Auckland Region
Karepiro Bay
Location within the Auckland Region
LocationAuckland Region, New Zealand
Coordinates36°39′14″S 174°44′13″E / 36.654°S 174.737°E / -36.654; 174.737 (Karepiro Bay)
River sourcesWeiti River, Ōkura River
Ocean/sea sourcesHauraki Gulf, Pacific Ocean
SettlementsArkles Bay, Wade Heads, Weiti Station

Geography

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Karepiro Bay is a bay of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, found at the confluence of the Weiti River and Ōkura River, south of Whangaparāoa Peninsula and north of Long Bay.[1] Dacre Point is a headland found at Karepiro Bay, which is the north headland of the Ōkura River,[2] and the eastern headland of the Weiti River on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula is known as Toroa Point.[3] Much of the bay is part of the Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve.[4] The bay features a large amount of sedimentation, which increased since the 1950s.[5] The sands of the bay are home to the endangered New Zealand dotterel.[6]

History

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The Tāmaki Māori name for the bay literally means "putrid ripples", and may be a reference to the smell of mudflats.[1] The sandspits located at the bay are a traditionally significant site (wāhi tapu) called Te Ringa Kaha ō Manu.[7] The Toroa Point headland was the location of Rahohara Pa, a defensive important to Te Kawerau ā Maki, especially Ngāti Kahu, and Ngāti Pāoa, due to the nearby shark fishing grounds,[8] and Dacre Point is also a known pā site.[9] The Karepiro Bay area is a concentrated area of archaeological sites, including shellfish middens, and terraces. The terraces north of Dacre Point indicate the area had been the site of terraced gardening.[9] The kāinga located here was traditionally known by the name Otaimaro ("The Place of Taimaro"), after Te Kawerau ā Maki ancestor Taimaro, son of Tawhiakiterangi.[7]

Karepiro Bay was the site of a battle during the Te Kawerau ā Maki conquest of the northern Auckland Region.[7] During the Musket Wars, the Dacre Point pā was raided.[9]

Karepiro Bay was visited by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1827 aboard the Astrolabe, who named it Tofino Bay after the Spanish navigator and mathematician Vicente Tofiño de San Miguel.[10] In 1848, Henry Dacre and his father Captain Ranulph Dacre purchased the lands surrounding the riverŌkura River, creating the Weiti Station. Their house, the Dacre Cottage, was built circa 1855 from locally made bricks, located on the shores of Karepiro Bay.[11][12]

Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve was established at Karepiro Bay and adjacent to Long Bay in 1995.[4] Local residents have documented increased sedimentation in the 2010s leading to a loss of marine life, which led to protests in 2018.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Place name detail: Karepiro Bay". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Place name detail: Dacre Point". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Aerial view of Toroa Point and Long Bay, East Coast Bays, 1947". Auckland Libraries. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Place name detail: Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  5. ^ Swales, A.; Gibbs, M.; Ovenden, R.; Budd, R.; Hermansphan, N. (November 2008). Sedimentation in the Okura-Weiti-Karepiro Bay System (PDF) (Report). Auckland Regional Council. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  6. ^ Flaws, Bonnie (14 October 2019). "Part of Weiti Bay development in Auckland up for mortgagee sale". Stuff. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  7. ^ Grover 2008, pp. 17–30.
  8. ^ a b c Campbell, Matthew; Harris, Jaden; McAlister, Andrew (19 August 2013). Auckland Council North and North West Rural Urban Boundary options: cultural heritage overview (PDF) (Report). CFG Heritage. Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  9. ^ Grover 2008, pp. 26.
  10. ^ Cameron, Ewen; Hayward, Bruce; Murdoch, Graeme (2008). A Field Guide to Auckland: Exploring the Region's Natural and Historical Heritage (rev. ed.). Random House New Zealand. p. 132. ISBN 978-1-86962-1513.
  11. ^ Janssen, Peter (January 2021). Greater Auckland Walks. New Holland Publishers. p. 34-35. ISBN 978-1-86966-516-6. Wikidata Q118136068.
  12. ^ Hutt, Kendall (11 July 2018). "Okura community calls for council action on 'sediment stressed' marine reserve". Stuff. Retrieved 9 January 2024.

Bibliography

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  • Grover, Robin (2008). Why the Hibiscus? Place Names of the Hibiscus Coast. Silverdale Printing. ISBN 978-0-473-13484-6.