Ponui Island

Ponui Island (also known as Chamberlin's Island) is a privately owned island located in the Hauraki Gulf, to the east of the city of Auckland, New Zealand.[1] It is located to the southeast of Waiheke Island, at the eastern end of the Tamaki Strait, which separates the island from the Hunua Ranges on the mainland to the south.

Fluttering Shearwaters, waiting off Ponui Island for the next fishing excursion

Ponui Island
Ponui Island
Location in New Zealand
Geography
Coordinates36°52′S 175°11′E
Area18 km2 (6.9 sq mi)
Highest elevation173 m (568 ft)
Highest pointPonui
Administration

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "long night" for Pōnui.[2] The island is the site of some of the earliest archaeological remains of early Māori in the Auckland region, dating to at least the 1400s.[3]

The island has an area of 18 km2 and has been farmed by the Chamberlin family since 1853.[4][5] The island now consists of three farms, two owned by the Chamberlin family and one by John Spencer.[4] The only permanent inhabitants (nine in the 2001 census) are associated with the farms which are predominantly used for sheep.

Farmland and native bush on Ponui Island

The island is a popular site for youth camps for organisations such as Scouts. Crusader camps (now under the banner of Scripture Union) have been held on the island since 1932.[6]

The island is the home of New Zealand's only feral donkey breed, the Ponui donkey. It also has a large population of kiwi.[4][7]

Shipwrecks

Ponui Island is home to the Shipwreck of the Pupuke.

References
  1. "Ponui Island (Chamberlins Island), Auckland - NZ Topo Map". Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  2. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  3. Davidson, Janet M. (1978). "Auckland Prehistory: A Review". Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum. 15: 1–14. ISSN 0067-0464.
  4. Lee, Mike (25 April 2011). Rediscovered! Ponui Island’s ‘lost tribe’ of kiwi.
  5. TANK 25, 1979: AUCKLAND UNIVERSITY FIELD CLUB SCIENTIFIC TRIP TO PONUI ISLAND, AUGUST 1978
  6. Scripture Union: The Ponui Story
  7. ResearchSpace at The University of Auckland: The ecology of ship rats (Rattus rattus) on Ponui Island: implications for North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli)


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