Ōnahau Bay
| Ōnahau Bay | |
|---|---|
| Location | Marlborough Sounds |
| Coordinates | 41°13′47″S 173°58′13″E / 41.22972°S 173.97028°E |
0.6miles
Ōnahau Bay is a large bay in Queen Charlotte Sound, New Zealand, just north-east of Grove Arm and meeting it at Houhou Point.[1][2]
Naming[edit]
The meaning of the name Ōnahau is unclear. On the Western side of the bay is a hill called Ōnahau,[3] either the bay's namesake or named for it. The name is also used for Ōnahau River and Little Ōnahau River in the Tasman District.
Local geographies[edit]
Fence Bay[edit]
Fence Bay is one of three bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Waterfall Bay and Mistletoe Bay.[4] It was named for a fence that climbed a steep border between the farms of Vogel and Gullery in the middle of the 20th century.[5]
Mistletoe Bay[edit]
Mistletoe Bay is one of three bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Waterfall Bay and Fence Bay.[6][7] Mistletoe is likely a reference to one of New Zealand's nine native mistletoes, the most likely culprits being Peraxilla tetrapetala (pirirangi/pikirangi),[8] Peraxilla colensoi (pirita/pirinoa)[9] and Alepis flavida (pirita/pirinoa),[10] as they commonly grow in beech forests like the Nothofagus solandri (tawairauriki/tawhairauriki)[11] forests historically found along Queen Charlotte Sound.[12]
Waterfall Bay[edit]
Waterfall Bay is one of three bays that sit in the back of Ōnahau Bay, along with Mistletoe Bay and Fence Bay.[13][14] The bay is home to at least one magnificent waterfall,[15] from which it draws its name. The bay is home to pūrātoke glow-worms,[16] bioluminescent plankton and stingrays.[15]
Torapapa Point[edit]
Torapapa Point is located on the eastern tip of Ōnahau Bay.[17] The point was labelled "Toropapa Point" on maps until sometime between 1949 and 1959.[18]
Dartmoor Bay[edit]
Dartmoor Bay is located near the western tip of Ōnahau Bay, just north of Houhou Point.[19]
Dartmoor Bay derives its name from a cottage built there named Dartmoor owned by Mr Herbert Yelverton Monro.[20] Herbert owned the Bankhouse run and station in the fork of the Wairau and Waihopai rivers in Marlborough.[21] The Monro family has no known connection to Dartmoor in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]
Postman's Rock[edit]
Postman's Rock[22] is a large rock just west of Torapapa Point. The rock is named for when the Queen Charlotte Sound mail-boat was a rowboat and would deposit mail upon it for the sound's residents to row out and pick up. Alternatively known as Post Office Rock.[23]
References[edit]
- ^ "Ōnahau Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Cruise Guide: Ōnahau Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Ōnahau". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ "Fence Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Cruise Guide: Fence Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Mistletoe Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Cruise Guide: Mistletoe Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Perexilla tetrapetala". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Perexilla colensoi". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Alepis flavida". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Black Beech". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Furness, D.M. Tahuahua: the Story of Blackwood Bay, Queen Charlotte Sound. OCLC 153715574.
- ^ "Waterfall Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Cruise Guide: Waterfall Bay". cruiseguide.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b "Stuff: Waterfall Bay". stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Perexilla tetrapetala". Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ^ "Torapapa Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "MapsPastNZ". mapspast.org.nz. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
- ^ "Dartmoor Bay". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ "Armed Marauder: Burglaries in the Sounds". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Journal of the Nelson and Marlborough Historical Societies, V1, I3, Nov 1983L Bankhouse Run No.9 (Run 15, 1849)". nzetc.victoria.ac.nz. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
- ^ "Postman's Rock". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
- ^ Hayter, G. C. (1962). Marlborough Sounds Tasman & Golden Bays: A Guide for Tourists & Boatmen. Christchurch, New Zealand: Pegasus Press. p. 29. OCLC 41321571.