Chatham Islands
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The Chatham Islands from space. Chatham Island is the largest, Pitt Island is the second largest, and South East Island is the small island to the right of Pitt. |
The
archipelago of the
Chatham Islands (
Rekohu in the
Moriori language and
Wharekauri in the
Māori language), consists of about 10
islands within a 40-
km radius.
The islands as a grouping are located at about , roughly 800 km east of
Christchurch,
New Zealand. The islands have officially belonged to New Zealand since 1842. They cover a total of 966 km², almost all of which is in the two main islands,
Chatham Island () and
Pitt Island ().
The two main islands are the only inhabited islands, with the smaller islands mostly conservation reserves with access restricted or prohibited.
Names of the main islands are (in English,
Māori and
Moriori):
*
Chatham Island/Wharekauri/Rekohu ()
*
Pitt Island/Rangiauria ()
*
Little Mangere Island*
Star Keys/Motuhope - a group of five islets with
Round Islet being the largest " located 12 km east of
Pitt Island*
Forty-Fours (or Forty Fours)/Motuhara - located some 50 km east of
Chatham Island*
Mangere Island (1.13 km²) - lying off
Pitt Island*
South East Island/Rangatira (2.18 km²) - located 2 km southeast of
Pitt Island*
The Sisters/Rangitatahi - located around 16 km north of
Cape Pattison (Cape Pattison is a headland in the northwestern part of
Chatham Island)
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The position of the Chatham Islands relative to New Zealand, and other outlying islands. |
Some of these islands, once cleared for farming, are now preserved as nature reserves to conserve some of the flora and fauna that are unique to the Chatham Islands.
Most of the land is fern or pasture covered, although there are some areas of forest. Of interest are the
macrocarpa trees, with branches trailing almost horizontally in the lee of the wind. The islands are hilly – Pitt more so than Chatham – with the highest point being a 286 m summit on Mangere Island. The main island of the chain is dotted with numerous lakes and lagoons, notably the large
Te Whanga Lagoon. Other lakes on Chatham include Huro and Rangitahi. The main island has streams including Te Awainanga and Tuku.
The
international date line lies to the east of the Chathams, even though the islands lie east of 180° longitude. Consequently, the Chatham Islands observe their own time, 45 minutes ahead of
New Zealand time, including during periods of daylight saving. (New Zealand Time orients itself to 180° longitude.)
The first
human habitation of the Chathams involved migrating
Polynesian
tribes who settled the islands about 1500
CE, and in their isolation became the
Moriori people. The exact origins of these people remains a matter of some dispute. Some have thought they arrived directly from more northerly
Polynesian islands, but the now more current theory sees them as
Māori from mainland New Zealand. The debate has political overtones as modern Māori inhabitants, descendants of those who invaded and conquered the archipelago in 1835, claim access to ancestral Māori fishing rights. An extensive report on these claims, "Rekohu", has been published by the
Waitangi Tribunal.[
1]
The Moriori population of the islands numbered about 2000. They lived as
hunter-gatherers, taking food from the sea and from native flora. The society lived peacefully, resolving disputes through consensus rather than warfare.
The name "Chatham Islands" comes from the ship
HMS Chatham, whose captain
William R. Broughton landed on
November 29,
1791, and claimed possession for
Great Britain.
Sealers and
whalers soon made the islands a centre of their activities. Ten to 20 percent of the native population soon died from imported diseases.
Fishing activities continue to contribute significantly to the
economy, although the sealing and whaling
industries ceased activities about 1861.
On
November 19,
1835, a ship carrying 500 Māori armed with guns, clubs and axes arrived, followed by another ship with 400 more Māori arriving on
December 5,
1835. They proceeded to enslave and kill the Moriori. A Moriori survivor recalled : "[The Māori] commenced to kill us like sheep.... [We] were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed - men, women and children indiscriminately." A Māori conqueror explained, "We took possession... in accordance with our customs and we caught all the people. Not one escaped....."
[''Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies", p. 53, Jared Diamond, 1997, New York, W.W. Norton.] The invading Māori from New Zealand – as well as European whalers – inter-married with the local indigenous population. Today, some island families still continue a Moriori lineage, and the Moriori culture continues to recover. Moriori have recently established a national
marae and united under the Hokotehi Trust.
A party of
German Lutheran missionaries arrived in 1843. They were all men, but women followed three years later. Many of the present population can trace their ancestry to German roots via the missionary families.
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Chatham Islands Flag (unofficial, but is widely used on the Islands) |
Chatham and Pitt Islands are inhabited. The population of 717 (
Census 2001) individuals has
European (70%),
Māori and
Moriori origins. The town of
Waitangi is the main settlement with some 200 residents. Other villages are at Te One and Kaingaroa (where two primary schools are located. A third school can be found on Pitt Island). There are also the fishing villages of Owenga and Port Hutt.
Waitangi facilities include a hospital with resident doctor, trading bank, several stores, and engineering and marine services. The main shipping wharf is located here.
Visitors to the Chathams usually arrive by air from
Christchurch,
Auckland or
Wellington (around 1.5 - 2 hours from Christchurch on a
Convair 580). While freight generally arrives by ship (4 - 5 days' sailing time), the sea journey takes too long for many passengers, and is not always available. For many years a
Bristol Freighter served the islands, a slow and noisy freight aircraft converted for carrying passengers by installing a passenger container equipped with airline seats and a toilet in part of the cargo hold. The air service primarily served to ship out high-value export
crayfish products.
The grass landing-field at Hapupu, at the northern end of the Island, proved a limiting factor, as few aircraft apart from the Bristol Freighter had both the range to fly to the islands and the ruggedness to land on the grass airstrip. Although other aircraft did use the landing field occasionally, they would often require repairs to fix damage resulting from the rough landing. In 1991, after many years of requests by locals and the imminent demise of the aging Bristol Freighter aircraft, the construction of a sealed runway at Karewa allowed more modern aircraft to land safely. The Chathams' own airline,
Air Chathams, now operates services to Auckland on Thursdays, Wellington on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Christchurch on Tuesdays. The timetable varies seasonally, but generally planes depart the Chathams around 10.30 am (Chathams Time) and arrive in the mainland around noon. Then they refuel and reload, depart again at around 1 pm, back to the Chathams. Air Chathams operates twin turboprop Convair 580 aircraft in combi (freight and passenger) configurations and
Fairchild Metroliners.
Reef Shipping operates shipping services from Auckland and
Napier, and Black Robin Freighters operates shipping services from
Timaru and
Napier.
Visitors to the islands should pre-arrange their accommodation before arrival with The Ultimate Hideaway, Chatham Lodge, Waitangi Hotel, Chathams Motel, or local homestays. The islands have rental vehicles, but no taxis or public transport.
Driving in the Chathams is fun. There is a small section of tar sealed road between Waitangi and Te One but the majority of the island's roads are gravel. A good map should be purchased on the mainland as it is easy for visitors to get lost if they miss a signpost. Extra care is required when driving at night because of cows and sheep on the roads, and oncoming vehicles with or without lights!
In Parliament, until the 1980s the Chathams constituted part of the
Lyttelton electorate, but since that time they have formed part of the
Rongotai general electorate, which mostly lies in Wellington.
Annette King serves as the Member for Rongotai. The
Te Tai Tonga Māori seat (held in 2004 by Mahara Okeroa) also includes the Chatham Islands. The term of all current Parliamentarians expires at the next
General Election.
Local government on the islands, uniquely within
New Zealand, involves a council established by its own Act of Parliament, the (
Chatham Islands Council Act 1995). The Chatham Islands Council operates as a
district council with
regional council functions, making it in effect a
unitary authority but with not quite as many responsibilities as the others.
Because of the isolation and small population, some of the rules governing daily activities undergo a certain relaxation on some of New Zealand's smaller islands. For example, every
transport service operated solely on Great Barrier Island, the Chatham Islands or Stewart Island need not comply with section 70C of the Transport Act 1962 (the requirements for drivers to maintain driving-hours logbooks). Drivers subject to section 70B must nevertheless keep record of their driving hours in some form. See
New Zealand Gazette 14 August 2003.
The partially-elected
Hawke's Bay District Health Board provides the islands with health services.
Policing is carried out by a sole-charge
constable appointed by the
Wellington police district, who at various times has often doubled as an official for many
government departments, including court registrar (Department for Courts), customs officer (New Zealand Customs Service) and immigration officer (Department of Labour - New Zealand Immigration Service).
A District Court judge sent from either the
North Island or the
South Island presides over court sittings, but urgent sittings may take place at the
Wellington District Court.
There are three schools on the Chatham Islands, at Kaingaroa, Te One and Pitt Island. Pitt Island and Kaingaroa are staffed by sole charge principals while Te One has three teachers and a principal.These schools cater for children from Year 1 to 8. There is no secondary school on the Chathams. The majority of secondary school aged students leave the island for boarding schools in New Zealand. A small number remain on the island and carry out their secondary education through correspondence.
For the Chatham Islands' numismatic history see the following;
*
History of Chatham Islands numismatics*
Hokotehi Moriori Trust*
1998 Information*
Department of Conservation information*
Unofficial Flag*
History of Chatham Islands numismatics*
Chatham Islands Council Act 1995*
Massey University study of Chathams ecology*
Information and pictures of Chatham Islands. The Sisters are also mentioned* Chathams Islands from satellite on
Google Maps:
on the center of the image
