Bulli Point (Māori: Te Pōporo, officially gazetted as Te Pōporo / Bulli Point) is a point on Lake Taupō, in the central North Island of New Zealand. The point is a popular spot for rock jumping.[1][2]

Bulli Point
Te Pōporo (Māori)
Headland
Looking down into Lake Taupō from Bulli Point
Looking down into Lake Taupō from Bulli Point
LocationLake Taupō, New Zealand
Native nameTe Pōporo (Māori)
Map
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1.5km
1mile
Te Pōporo / Bulli Point
Te Pōporo / Bulli Point
Ohoumahanga Point
Ohoumahanga Point
Motutere Point
Motutere Point
Jellicoe Point
Jellicoe Point
Te Pōporo / Bulli Point and surrounding features.

Location

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Bulli Point sits in Motutere Bay on the eastern side of Lake Taupō. It lies close to State Highway 1, less than one kilometre east of Motutere.

Naming

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The name Te Pōporo is a Te Reo Māori name taken from the that once stood on the hill above the point.[3] It was one of several important pā located between Motutere and Hatepe. The pā may have been named after Pōporo, a Māori name for Solanum aviculare and Solanum laciniatum, a local shrub with white to blue-purple flowers, and yellow to orange fruit,[4] sometimes called bullibulli.[5] A point on the western side of the lake, Te Poroporo Point,[6] also contains a word for the same shrub, Poroporo.[7]

The origin of the name Bulli Point is unclear. Toitū Te Whenua's New Zealand Gazetteer suggests it may be a contraction of Bull Island Point, as this is what it was recorded as on NZMS 3 N102-6 Te Rangiiti.[8]

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  • Lorde mentions jumping off of Bulli Point in her song "Oceanic Feeling".[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Scenic route: Rock jumping at Bulli Point". Stuff. 29 June 2016. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  2. ^ "CULTURAL PROTOCOLS FOR LAKE TAUPŌ Kawa Tikanga o Taupō Moana" (PDF). Retrieved 8 November 2021.
  3. ^ Hoeta Te Hata (translated by H. J. Fletcher) (1916). "Ngati-Tuharetoa occupation of Taupo-nui-a-tia". Journal of the Polynesian Society. 25 (99): 104–116.
  4. ^ "Pōporo". Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  5. ^ "NZPCN Solanum laciniatum". www.nzpcn.org.nz. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  6. ^ "Te Poroporo Point". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Poroporo". Te Aka Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Te Poporo / Bulli Point". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
  9. ^ "'I'm beginning a journey': The inside story of Lorde's surprise mini-album in te reo Māori". thespinoff.co.nz. Retrieved 21 January 2022.

38°52′57″S 175°58′01″E / 38.8824°S 175.9669°E / -38.8824; 175.9669