The Aldermen Islands are a small group of rocky islets to the southeast of Mercury Bay

Mercury Bay

Mercury Bay is a large V-shaped bay on the eastern coast of the Coromandel Peninsula on the North Island of New Zealand. This bay was named by the English navigator Captain James Cook during his exploratory expeditions. By the Māori it was named Te-Whanganui-o-Hei, the great bay of Hei.On November...

 in the North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. They are located off the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula

Coromandel Peninsula

The Coromandel Peninsula lies in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of the Waikato Region and Thames-Coromandel District and extends 85 kilometres north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier to protect the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the west...

, 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) east of the mouth of the Tairua River

Tairua River

The Tairua River is located on the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand.It flows north and then northeast for a total of 35 kilometres from its source in the Coromandel Range to the west of Whangamata, passing through the town of Hikuai before reaching the Pacific Ocean at Tairua...

.

The islands were named 'the Court of Aldermen' by Captain Cook and his crew on November 3 1769 after previously naming Mayor Island. The Alderman group consists of four main islands: Hongiora, Middle, Ruamahuanui, and Ruamahuaiti, which are the remnants of a volcanic cone. Their combined area is just under 1 km² (0.386102158592535 sq mi). The islands are a forested nature reserve hosting rare species including the tuatara

Tuatara

The tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand which, though it resembles most lizards, is actually part of a distinct lineage, order Sphenodontia. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago. Their most recent common...

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