Taiaroa Head is a headland at the end of the Otago Peninsula

Otago Peninsula

The Otago Peninsula is a long, hilly indented finger of land that forms the easternmost part of Dunedin, New Zealand. Volcanic in origin, it forms one wall of the eroded valley that now forms Otago Harbour. The peninsula lies south-east of Otago Harbour and runs parallel to the mainland for...

 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...

, overlooking the mouth of the Otago Harbour

Otago Harbour

Otago Harbour is the natural harbour of Dunedin, New Zealand, consisting of a long, much-indented stretch of generally navigable water separating the Otago Peninsula from the mainland. They join at its southwest end, from the harbour mouth...

. It lies within the city limits of Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

. The nearest settlement, Otakou

Otakou

The settlement of Otakou lies within the boundaries of the city of Dunedin, New Zealand. It is located 25 kilometres from the city centre at the eastern end of Otago Peninsula, close to the entrance of Otago Harbour.-Overview:...

, lies three kilometres to the south.

The cape is home to a lighthouse, built in 1864, and a colony of over 100 Northern Royal Albatross

Northern Royal Albatross

The Northern Royal Albatross or Toroa, Diomedea sanfordi, is a large seabird from the albatross family. It was split from the closely related Southern Royal Albatross as recently as 1998, though not all scientists support that conclusion and consider both of them to be subspecies of the Royal...

es, which established itself in 1919 - the only such colony on an inhabited mainland. There is also the Royal Albatross Centre.

A small beach, Pilots Beach, is located just inside the harbour entrance to the south of the head, and many forms of marine life, such as New Zealand Fur seals and Hooker's Sea Lions

New Zealand Sea Lion

The New Zealand Sea Lion also known as Hooker's Sea Lion or Whakahao in Māori is a species of sea lion that breeds around the coast of New Zealand's South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura to some extent, and to a greater extent around the New Zealand Sub-Antarctic Islands, especially the Auckland...

 are often to be seen.
At Pilots beach is the largest colony of little or blue penguins remaining on the Otago Peninsula. Nearby are important breeding habitats of the threatened yellow-eyed penguin

Yellow-eyed Penguin

The Yellow-eyed Penguin or Hoiho is a penguin native to New Zealand. Previously thought closely related to the Little Penguin , molecular research has shown it more closely related to penguins of the genus Eudyptes...

. There may also be seen a number of Dusky dolphins

Dusky Dolphin

The dusky dolphin is a dolphin found in coastal waters in the Southern Hemisphere. Its specific epithet is Latin for "dark" or "dim". It is very closely genetically related to the Pacific white-sided dolphin, but current scientific consensus is that they are distinct species...

 , Orcas and migratory large whale

Whale

Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...

s such as Southern Rights

Southern Right Whale

The southern right whale is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus Eubalaena. Like other right whales, the southern right whale is readily distinguished from others by the callosities on its head, a broad back without a dorsal fin, and a long arching...

 and Humpbacks

Humpback Whale

The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...

. Their sightings in these areas are on the increase. The part of Taiaroa Head where Northern Royal Albatrosses breed is managed by the NZ Department of Conservation as a Nature Reserve with restricted entry. On adjacent land the Otago Peninsula Trust manage a visitor centre and run guided tours into the Nature Reserve. Pilots Beach is managed as a Recreation reserve by the Dunedin City.

History

The headland is named for Te Matenga Taiaroa, a 19th century Māori chief of the Ngai Tahu

Ngai Tahu

Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...

 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,...

. Pukekura, a significant Māori 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...

 was located on the headland, having been established about 1650 and still occupied by Māori in the 1840s. It is associated with a daring warrior called Tarewai who was active in the 18th century. Pilot's Beach was formerly known as 'Hobart Town Beach' from the whaling tryworks established there in 1836 by the Weller brothers

Weller brothers

The Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney and Otago, New Zealand, were the founders of a whaling station on Otago Harbour and New Zealand’s most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s.-Immigration:...

 employing men from Hobart. Previously it was called 'Measly Beach' from its being a place where Māori went to bathe when afflicted by a measles epidemic in 1835.

Historically, several commercial whaling stations

Weller brothers

The Weller brothers, Englishmen of Sydney and Otago, New Zealand, were the founders of a whaling station on Otago Harbour and New Zealand’s most substantial merchant traders in the 1830s.-Immigration:...

 established on the peninsula and the number of whales in this area were heavily exploited.

Ruins of former coastal defences

Coastal fortifications of New Zealand

Coastal fortifications were constructed in New Zealand in two main waves. The first wave occurred around 1885 and was a response to fears of an attack by Russia. The second wave occurred during World War II and was due to fears of invasion by the Japanese....

 are located nearby, notably a restored Armstrong disappearing gun

Disappearing gun

A disappearing gun is a type of heavy artillery for which the gun carriage enabled the gun to rotate backwards and down into a pit protected by a wall or a bunker after it was fired...

 emplacement built in 1886 following a scare that New Zealand might be invaded by the Russians.

Royal Albatross colony

The first albatross egg at the head was discovered in 1919, although it was not until 1938 that ornithologist Dr Lance Richdale saw the first live fledging. Since they first successfully raised a chick at Taiaroa Head Royal albatross numbers have increased due to intensive management by Reserve Rangers. As time has progressed intensive wildlife husbandry methods such as are found in any threatened species programme have been developed and refined. The one important difference has been that both the adults and progeny are not held in captivity but at wild and in the case of the adults leave the colony each day while raising chicks to gather food. Intensive methods include predator control for cats, ferrets, stoats and weasels. Also in the early 1990s a new blowfly arrived and caused the death of a number of chicks by laying eggs in them while the chick was still attempting to hatch. Removing eggs from young or inexperienced parents has also occurred with these eggs being hatched in brooders.

External links

• Royal Albatross Centre