Hen and Chicken Islands

The Hen and Chickens Islands ( " Hen and Chicks Islands ", often shortened to Hen and Chickens ) are a group of islands east of the North Auckland Peninsula off the coast of the North Island of New Zealand. They are located about 12 kilometers east of Bream Head and 40 km southeast of Whangarei.

The islands got their English name of James Cook, who sighted them in 1769. Presumably the name ( called by the Maori Matariki ) from the former name of the constellation of the Pleiades was inspired.

Originally they belonged to the iwi Ngapuhi, 1883 she was sold to the New Zealand Government. The Chicken Islands were declared a nature reserve for the rare flora and fauna in 1908, in 1953 they became a nature reserve.

Hen Iceland had been sold in 1872 by the Māori to Thomas Outhwaite. His daughter Isa Outhwaite, she bequeathed in 1927 to the state, she was also a conservation area.

The islands are important for their birdlife, especially the colonies of shearwaters and petrels. They also harbor on the mainland already extinct or rare forest birds.

In June 1940 the New Zealand passenger and mail ship RMS Niagara ran east of the island on a mine and sank. Over 500 gold bars, which were a part of the charge, up to 5 bars were later salvaged.

Hen Iceland

Hen Iceland or Taranga lies several kilometers southwest of the other islands in the coordinates 35 ° 58 ' S, 174 ° 43' O 35.96174.71. It is 4.7 km ² by far the largest island of the archipelago. It is about 6 km long with an average width of less than 1 km. It is the remnant of a 4 million year old volcano. The island is one of about 400 m towering rock ridges, The Pinnacles, dominates.

The Stack Rock Sail Rock rises 3 km south of Hen Iceland at 36 ° 0 ' S, 174 ° 42' O 36.002174.6975 from the sea and is a well-known navigation point for yachts.

The Chicken Islands

The Chicken or Marotiri Islands consist of a chain of five small islands extending from northwest to southeast. It lies north of Hen Iceland.

Mauitaha ( Northwestern Chicken)

Mauitaha is a small rocky island with a total of 30,000 m². The island is located at the coordinates 35 ° 53 ' S, 174 ° 42' O 35.883174.6964. It is divided in two by a narrow channel into two islands, Ware Ware Iceland in the northwest and Muriwehnua Iceland in the southeast. Approximately 400 meters to the southeast lies the small island Pupuha.

Lady Alice Iceland ( Big Chicken or Motu Muka )

This island at 35 ° 53 ' S, 174 ° 44 ' E - 35.89174.725 is after Lady Alice Fergusson, wife of the Governor-General of New Zealand, Sir Charles Fergusson, named. It is the largest of the five " Chickens ". It is particularly significant because of its flora and fauna. It is 1.4 km ² and is surrounded by cliffs. Until the 1820s it was inhabited by Māori. In the 1890s, it served as a base for fishermen. Around this time, cattle were brought to the island, but these were removed in the 1920s.

Whatupuke (Middle Chicken)

Set 1 km ² large island formerly known as Whakahau, lies between Lady Alice Iceland in the west and Coppermine Iceland in the east. It consists of a large part of the east and a narrow peninsula in the west. The coast of this peninsula is on its north side, 300 m wide Starfish Bay. The island rises steeply to 250 m. Their coordinates are 35 ° 53 ' S, 174 ° 45' O 35.89174.75277777778

Coppermine Iceland (Eastern Chicken)

Coppermine Iceland is 0.75 km ² and is located east of Whakahau. It consists of two separate parts by a short isthmus. Attempts to reduce the copper deposits of the island, in 1849 and 1898 proved to be uneconomic. This island is located at 35 ° 53 ' S, 174 ° 46' O 35.89174.77222222222.

Chicken West Iceland

This 0.2 km ² large, overgrown with shrubbery island located 1 km south of Mauitaha. The rugged island has a height of up to 100 m. It is located at 35 ° 54 ' S, 174 ° 42' O 35.894444444444174.69644444444. The small island Araara situated south of the eastern part of the island.