Miramar Peninsula


The Miramar Peninsula is a large peninsula on the southeastern side of the city of Wellington, New Zealand. It is located at the entrance to Wellington Harbour, in Wellington's eastern suburbs. According to Māori legend, it was formed at the same time that the taniwha Whaitaitai beached at nearby Hataitai as he tried to escape the confines of the harbour. It contains the large suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Seatoun and Strathmore Park and several smaller suburbs.

Geography

The peninsula was originally an island, separated from the main island by a sea channel called Te Awa-a-Taia. The peninsula area later became known as Hataitai or Whataitai. Around 1460 AD an earthquake named "Haowhenua" raised the land, eliminating the shallow channel and joining the island to the mainland by an isthmus where Rongotai and Lyall Bay are now. There was a flat plain and freshwater lake in the centre of the peninsula. The lake was first called "Te Rotokura" and later "Para". When Pākehā settled they named this lagoon "Burnham Water". The lake was later drained.
Northwards, the peninsula juts into Wellington Harbour. To the south are Cook Strait and the South Pacific Ocean. The suburbs of Lyall Bay, Rongotai, Kilbirnie and Hataitai lie to the west across the isthmus. To the east a narrow stretch of water connects Wellington Harbour with Cook Strait and the open sea; beyond this channel are the scrubby Eastbourne hills, and the high and forested Ōrongorongo Ranges. From the peninsula's high points, an observer can look north to the Hutt Valley and the Tararua Ranges, or southwest across Cook Strait, to the high peaks of the Inland and Seaward Kaikōura Ranges, which are often snowbound in winter.
The peninsula has an area of. The coastline is rocky, with many coves, steep cliffs, and small pinnacles and caves, but there are also sweeping and sandy beaches, notably at Breaker Bay, Worser Bay, Scorching Bay, Moa Point and Tarakena Bay. A high ridge running on an approximate north–south axis forms the spine of the peninsula, with high points Mount Crawford in the north and Beacon Hill in the south. The peninsula has a large area of low-lying land, the Miramar flats, and a smaller area of flat land at Seatoun, both of which are mainly covered in residential housing.
The peninsula is largely urbanised, with large suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Strathmore and Seatoun, and narrow strips of houses along the coast at Breaker Bay, Karaka Bay and Moa Point. The urban area is a mix of suburban housing, retail outlets, schools, light and service industries, recreation grounds, and Wellington Airport. There are also extensive areas of regenerating native bush, pine forest, and remnant farmland, as well as urban gardens. A narrow two-lane road circles the peninsula, providing a picturesque route around the many bays, coves and headlands.
At the entrance to Wellington Harbour, the rocks of Barrett Reef lie close to the shore of the peninsula. On 10 April 1968, an inter-island ferry, foundered on Barrett Reef and later capsized near Steeple Rock, a pinnacle just off Seatoun. 53 people were killed.

Climate

The peninsula is exposed to Wellington's prevailing northwest wind and the southerly wind. During southerly storms, big waves and swells batter the peninsula's rocky southern shore. The peninsula's topography, with its high ridges and small bays and coves, provides shelter from the wind in many places. On 15 August 2011, during a prolonged southerly storm, snow fell across the peninsula in the late morning, settling in light drifts on trees, streets and fields. Like other parts of Wellington, snowfall at sea level is a very rare occurrence.

Landmarks

; Massey Memorial: The marble mausoleum of Prime Minister William Massey sits on a headland at Point Halswell, at the northern tip of the peninsula. It can be accessed from Massey Road, along a short walking track.
; Atatürk Memorial: A plinth on a cliff overlooking Tarakena Bay and Cook Strait commemorates Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey, statesman and general, who led Turkish troops in action against New Zealand soldiers at Gallipoli in the First World War.
; Wellington Blown Away sign: A sign on a hill near the Miramar Cutting spells out 'Wellington' with the last few letters looking as if they are blowing away in Wellington's famous winds. Originally Wellington Airport announced it would install a sign saying 'Wellywood', referencing the area's film industry, but this proposal was not popular so a competition was created by the airport and promoted by the Dominion Post newspaper. The winner of the design competition was 'Wellington Blown Away', designed by Matt Sellars and Raymond McKay of Saatchi and Saatchi. The sign was installed in 2012, and is intended to be seen from the air when landing from the north at Wellington Airport.
; Mt Crawford Prison: Wellington Prison, commonly known as Mt Crawford Prison, was located at the top of Mt Crawford, a peak on the ridge of hills forming a spine at the north end of the Miramar peninsula. The prison was opened in 1927 to replace the Victorian-era Terrace Gaol and was fully occupied by 1929. The prison included a gallows and four men were hanged there, all in the 1930s. The prison closed in 2012. LINZ took over management of the site, which is owned by the Defence Force and the Department of Corrections, but as of 2021 nothing had been done with it and the building remained derelict and the site a dumping ground for rubbish. In 2019 there was a proposal by Taranaki Whānui – the commercial arm of the Port Nicholson Block Settlement Trust – to build 300 homes on the site. However a group of Taranaki Whānui members known as Mau Whenua opposed the housing development, saying they believe the land is sacred. In 2021 preliminary geotechnical drilling investigation was done at the site. A community garden was established in 2012 in the grounds of the prison after it closed.

Access and transport links

Cobham Drive is the main road connecting Miramar peninsula with the rest of Wellington city. It was built on land reclaimed during the construction of Wellington Airport in the 1950s and runs past the north end of the airport runway, at the head of Evans Bay. The only other road access to the peninsula is via a road from Lyall Bay at the south end of the airport.
Several bus routes run between Miramar peninsula and the city via Cobham Drive, with express buses at peak times.
A tunnel for pedestrians and cyclists runs on a west–east axis beneath the runway, from Miro Street in Miramar to Coutts Street in Rongotai. Coutts Street was formerly the main road and tram route between Kilbirnie and the Miramar Peninsula, but the street was cut in two when the new airport runway was built.
A cycle path runs from Miramar to the central city, starting at Burnham Wharf and continuing along Cobham Drive, Evans Bay Parade and Oriental Parade.
A modern ferry service across the harbour from Days Bay to Seatoun operated for a few years from 2006, but stopped when passenger numbers declined and the ferry company bought a new ferry that was too big for Seatoun Wharf.

Recreation

The peninsula has several sports clubs: Miramar Rangers, a semi-professional football club, founded in 1907; Seatoun AFC, an amateur football club founded in 1909; and Oriental Rongotai Football Club, an amateur rugby club formed in 1888. Miramar Rangers and Team Wellington operate from David Farrington Park, previously known as Centennial Park. Ories is based at the former polo grounds.
A bowling club and tennis club are also located on the peninsula. The Eastern Suburbs Cricket Club, in nearby Kilbirnie, covers junior and senior cricketers on the peninsula.
The Eastern Walkway is a 2.5 km walking track that traverses the main ridge at the southeast of the peninsula, from the Pass of Branda to Tarakena Bay.
The Worser Bay Boating Club, founded in 1926, offers sailing courses and racing from its base at Worser Bay.

History

Kupe and centuries of tangata whenua

The Māori name for the area when it was still an island was Te Motu Kairangi. The island of Te Motu Kairangi was first settled as long ago as 950 AD when Kupe the explorer arrived. Kupe first landed near Seatoun, and a large rock near the shore still bears the name Te Ure-o-Kupe or Te Aroaro-o-Kupe. The area was home in turn to Ngai Tara, Rangitane, Ngati Kahungungu, Ngai Tahu, Mua Upoko, Ngāti Ira, and Te Ati Awa. Other iwi who may have dwelt there include Waitaha, Ngati Mamoe, Ngati Kuia, Ngati Kuru, and Ngati Mutunga.
Ngai Tara were the first to settle on the island and built the first pā, named 'Whetu Kairangi' on the hill overlooking Worser Bay. Wellington Harbour "Whanganui-a-Tara" was also named for Tara.
Ngai Tahu lived on the peninsula on their long multi-generation migration southwards. They occupied pā already built as well as building their own.
With the water channel in the east gone following the Haowhenua earthquake around 1460 AD, more fortifications and defensive pā were needed. Many pā and kainga existed over many centuries with many changes, and include the following:
  • Kakariki-hutia Pā overlooking modern-day Awa Road
  • Kau-whakaara-waru or Kai-tawharo on the east side of Point Halswell
  • Mahanga near Kau Bay and above Mahanga Bay
  • Manu-kai-kura, a kainga in the small bay north of Shelly Bay
  • Mataki-kai-poinga on the western hill below Mount Crawford was originally built by Ngāti Kaitangata built by Te Rerewa of Rangitane on the ridge at Point Dorset
  • Paewhenua, a kainga at Eve Bay west of Breaker Bay
  • Poito Pā, a fortified village of Ngāti Ira near the Poti stream at Tarakena Bay near the Atatürk Memorial. It was attacked and burned along with Rangitatau Pa in 1819–1820.
  • Puhirangi Pā on the hill about the stream flowing into Scorching Bay on the ridge above Karaka Bay
  • Rangitatau Pā was built by Ngai Tara. In pre-European times, people of the Ngai Tara and Ngāti Ira iwi lived here, using the site for fishing in Cook Strait. The pā was located above Seatoun and may have stretched as far as Pilot Hill and over to Lyall Bay. The principal structure at the pā was called "Raukawa" and a fishing rock offshore was called "Te Kai-whatawhata". Rangitatau was the largest pā on the peninsula and was inhabited over many centuries. It was used by people living in nearby Poito pā as a refuge during attacks. In 1819–20, Ngā Puhi and Ngāti Toa raiders sacked the pā at Poito and Rangitatau, and killed, enslaved or drove off their inhabitants.
  • Tapu-te-Rangi Pā is recorded on the map by McLeod and on plans by Crawford as being in Kilbirnie but this may be a mistake, as Tapu-te-Ranga is a name for the island in Island Bay.
  • Te Whetu-kairangi, a kainga of Ngai Tara and Muaupoko was above Worser Bay
  • Paekawakawa Kainga is mentioned on McLeod's map but is believed by later historians to be mistaken for a place of the same name in Island Bay.