Goat Island is a tiny island (approximately 1 hectares (2.5 acre)) in 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...

 located close to 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...

 coast, north of Auckland, northeast of Warkworth

Warkworth, New Zealand

Warkworth is a town in the upper North Island of New Zealand, within the Rodney District and lying at the far north of the Auckland Region but just south of the Northland Region...

, and directly west of Little Barrier Island. It is within Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve

Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve

Cape Rodney-Okakari Point Marine Reserve is a protected area in the North Island of New Zealand. Goat Island lies within the reserve and Leigh is the closest town. Auckland University operate a marine laboratory at the reserve...

, New Zealand's first marine reserve

Marine reserve

For the United States Marine Corps Reserve see: Marine Forces ReserveA marine reserve is an area of the sea which has legal protection against fishing or development. This is to be distinguished from a marine park, but there is some overlap in usage...

.

Known for centuries as Motu Hawere by the indigenous Māori, the island is spiritually significant to the local tangata whenua

Tangata Whenua

Tāngata whenua is a Māori term of the indigenous peoples of New Zealand and literally means "people of the land", from tāngata, 'people' and whenua land.-Meanings:...

 iwi

Iwi

In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...

, Ngati Manuhiri, because their ancestral waka (canoe)

Waka (canoe)

Waka are Māori watercraft, usually canoes ranging in size from small, unornamented canoes used for fishing and river travel, to large decorated war canoes up to long...

, Moe Karaka, is said to have landed nearby.. The name goat island came about as many offshore islands had goats placed on them in the event of shipwrecks, and the goats would provide a source of food for the sailors. There is however, no record of goats ever being situated on this island, however the name has stuck.

As well as being in a marine reserve, Goat Island is a scenic reserve and a scientific reserve. The University of Auckland

University of Auckland

The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...

 has a research facility at Goat Island known as the Leigh Marine Laboratory headed by Professor John Montgomery. This will form the base for the University’s new South Pacific Centre for Marine Science (SPCMS). Then Prime Minister Helen Clark

Helen Clark

Helen Elizabeth Clark, ONZ is a New Zealand political figure who was the 37th Prime Minister of New Zealand for three consecutive terms from 1999 to 2008...

 launched the national and international campaign to raise funds for the SPCMS at Leigh on 21 June 2008.

Takangaroa

Takangaroa

Takangaroa Island is one of the two Mayne Islands located near Kawau Island, in the Hauraki Gulf of New Zealand. It is approximately in size.Its name is Māori, and means "The Long Casting of the Net"...

is another island in the same area which used to be known as Goat Island.