Ōnahau Bay
LocationMarlborough Sounds
Coordinates41°13′47″S 173°58′13″E / 41.22972°S 173.97028°E / -41.22972; 173.97028

Ōnahau Bay is a large bay in Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, just north-east of Grove Arm and meeting it at Houhou Point.[1][2]

Naming

The meaning of the name Ōnahau is unclear. On the Western side of the bay is a hill called Ōnahau,[3] either the bay's namesake or named for it. The name is also used for Ōnahau River and Little Ōnahau River in the Tasman District.

Local geographies

Fence Bay

Fence Bay is one of three bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Waterfall Bay and Mistletoe Bay.[4] It was named for a fence that climbed a steep border between the farms of Vogel and Gullery in the middle of the 20th century.[5]

Mistletoe Bay

Mistletoe Bay is one of three bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Waterfall Bay and Fence Bay.[6][7] Mistletoe is likely a reference to one of New Zealand's nine native mistletoes, the most likely culprits being Peraxilla tetrapetala (pirirangi/pikirangi),[8] Peraxilla colensoi (pirita/pirinoa)[9] and Alepis flavida (pirita/pirinoa),[10] as they commonly grow in beech forests like the Nothofagus solandri (tawairauriki/tawhairauriki)[11] forests historically found along Queen Charlotte Sound.[12]

Waterfall Bay

Waterfall Bay is one of three bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Mistletoe Bay and Fence Bay.[13][14] The bay is home to at least one magnificent waterfall,[15] from which it draws its name. The bay is home to pūrātoke glow-worms,[16] bioluminescent plankton and stingrays.[15]

Torapapa Point

Torapapa Point is located on the eastern tip of Ōnahau Bay.[17] The point was labelled "Toropapa Point" on maps until sometime between 1949 and 1959.[18]

Dartmoor Bay

Dartmoor Bay is located near the western tip of Ōnahau Bay, just north of Houhou Point.[19]

Dartmoor Bay derives its name from a cottage built there named Dartmoor owned by Mr Herbert Yelverton Monro.[20] Herbert owned the Bankhouse run and station in the fork of the Wairau and Waihopai rivers in Marlborough.[21] The Monro family has no known connection to Dartmoor in the United Kingdom.

Postman's Rock

Postman's Rock[22] is a large rock just west of Torapapa Point. The rock is named for when the Queen Charlotte Sound mail-boat was a rowboat and would deposit mail upon it for the sound's residents to row out and pick up. Alternatively known as Post Office Rock.[23]

References

  1. ↑ "Ōnahau Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "Cruise Guide: Ōnahau Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ōnahau". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  4. ↑ "Fence Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  5. ↑ "Cruise Guide: Fence Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  6. ↑ "Mistletoe Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  7. ↑ "Cruise Guide: Mistletoe Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Perexilla tetrapetala". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  9. ↑ "Perexilla colensoi". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  10. ↑ "Alepis flavida". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "Black Beech". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  12. ↑ Furness, D.M. Tahuahua: the Story of Blackwood Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound. OCLC 153715574.
  13. ↑ "Waterfall Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Cruise Guide: Waterfall Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Stuff: Waterfall Bay". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "Perexilla tetrapetala". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
  17. ↑ "Torapapa Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "MapsPastNZ". mapspast.org.nz. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "Dartmoor Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Armed Marauder: Burglaries in the Sounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Journal of the Nelson and Marlborough Historical Societies, V1, I3, Nov 1983L Bankhouse Run No.9 (Run 15, 1849)". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  22. ↑ "Postman's Rock". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  23. ↑ Hayter, G. C. (1962). Marlborough Sounds Tasman & Golden Bays: A Guide for Tourists & Boatmen. Christchurch, New Zealand: Pegasus Press. p. 29. OCLC 41321571.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.