Wiroa Island
Wiroa Island, or just Wiroa, is an island in Manukau Harbour, New Zealand. The island is located at the mouth of Pukaki Creek, directly southeast of Auckland Airport.
Geography
Wiroa Island is located southeast of the Auckland Airport complex and is only connected to the mainland by a narrow, approximately causeway, on which a road leads to the island. The approximately island has a length of around in a west-northwest–east-southeast direction, and measures around in a north-northeast–south-southwest direction at its widest point. The island lies less than above the water level of the Manukau Harbour. As the island is a part of the Auckland Airport complex, it is inaccessible to the public. It is the 2nd largest island in the Manukau Harbour, after Puketutu Island and before Pararekau Island in the SE corner of the harbour.History
Historically, Tāmaki Māori used the island to collect red ochre. Its traditional name, Kohia, is a reference to this.The surrounding area became farmland after being bought from local Māori, with one of the last families to farm it from 1936–1948 being the Westney family were market gardeners here and grew all sorts of vegetables and fruits as well as flowers for the markets. The Westneys had a few sheep, cows and pigs as well on the island during their ownership of it. In 1928 the adjacent land on the Māngere Peninsula was used as the Mangere Aerodrome, later being developed into an international airport, Auckland Airport, opened in 1966. During this period, Wiroa Island became a part of the airport complex, and a radar tower was constructed on the island.