Puketutu Island
Encyclopedia
Puketutu Island is a volcanic island in the Manukau Harbour
, New Zealand
, and is part of the Auckland volcanic field
. European settlers called it Weekes' Island, but this was eventually removed again in favour of the historical Māori name.
In the 1950s, several of its scoria
cones were heavily quarried for fill to extend Auckland Airport nearby. The island's highest point, 65 m high Pinnacle Hill was retained. The charitable trust now owning the forested island has proposed a scheme whereby biosolids from the nearby Mangere
wastewater treatment plant (which surrounds the island on 600 ha on the landward sides, and served around 600,000 people in the 1990s) could be used to reshape the older form of the island. While the process could take up to 35 years, the final goal is envisaged as becoming a park for the Auckland Region.
The island was also used as the site for several pā
(Māori earth fortifications usually guarding a settlement or important site) throughout the last centuries - though these were deserted by the time of the arrival of European colonists in the area.
Manukau Harbour
Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and is an arm of the Tasman Sea.-Geography:...
, 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...
, and is part of the Auckland volcanic field
Auckland Volcanic Field
The Auckland volcanic field is a monogenetic volcanic field in the North Island of New Zealand. Basaltic in nature, it underlies much of the metropolitan area of Auckland....
. European settlers called it Weekes' Island, but this was eventually removed again in favour of the historical Māori name.
In the 1950s, several of its scoria
Scoria
Scoria is a volcanic rock containing many holes or vesicles. It is most generally dark in color , and basaltic or andesitic in composition. Scoria is relatively low in mass as a result of its numerous macroscopic ellipsoidal vesicles, but in contrast to pumice, all scoria has a specific gravity...
cones were heavily quarried for fill to extend Auckland Airport nearby. The island's highest point, 65 m high Pinnacle Hill was retained. The charitable trust now owning the forested island has proposed a scheme whereby biosolids from the nearby Mangere
Mangere
Māngere is one of the larger suburbs in South Auckland, in northern New Zealand.The suburb is located on flat land at the northeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour, to the northwest of the centre of Manukau city and 15 kilometres south of Auckland city centre...
wastewater treatment plant (which surrounds the island on 600 ha on the landward sides, and served around 600,000 people in the 1990s) could be used to reshape the older form of the island. While the process could take up to 35 years, the final goal is envisaged as becoming a park for the Auckland Region.
The island was also used as the site for several pā
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
(Māori earth fortifications usually guarding a settlement or important site) throughout the last centuries - though these were deserted by the time of the arrival of European colonists in the area.