Chatham Islands

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The Chatham Islands from space. Chatham Island is the largest, Pitt Island is the second largest, and South East Island is the small island to the right of Pitt.

The archipelago of the Chatham Islands (Rekohu in the Moriori language and Wharekauri in the Māori language), consists of about 10 islands within a 40-km radius.

1 Geography
2 History
3 Population
4 Transportation
5 Government
6 In fiction
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Geography

The islands as a grouping are located at about 43°59′17″S, 176°27′13″W, roughly 800 km east of Christchurch, New Zealand. The islands have officially belonged to New Zealand since 1842. They cover a total of 966 km², almost all of which is in the two main islands, Chatham Island (43°53′54″S, 176°31′44″W) and Pitt Island (44°18′01″S, 176°13′14″W).

The two main islands are the only inhabited islands, with the smaller islands mostly conservation reserves with access restricted or prohibited.

Names of the main islands are (in English, Māori and Moriori):

Chatham Island/Wharekauri/Rekohu (43°53′54″S, 176°31′44″W)
Pitt Island/Rangiauria (44°18′01″S, 176°13′14″W)
Little Mangere Island
Star Keys/Motuhope - a group of five islets with Round Islet being the largest — located 12 km east of Pitt Island
Forty-Fours (or Forty Fours)/Motuhara - located some 50 km east of Chatham Island
Mangere Island (1.13 km²) - lying off Pitt Island
South East Island/Rangatira (2.18 km²) - located 2 km southeast of Pitt Island
The Sisters/Rangitatahi - located around 16 km north of Cape Pattison (Cape Pattison is a headland in the northwestern part of Chatham Island)

The position of the Chatham Islands relative to New Zealand, and other outlying islands.

Some of these islands, once cleared for farming, are now preserved as nature reserves to conserve some of the flora and fauna that are unique to the Chatham Islands.

Most of the land is fern or pasture covered, although there are some areas of forest. Of interest are the macrocarpa trees, with branches trailing almost horizontally in the lee of the wind. The islands are hilly – Pitt more so than Chatham – with the highest point being a 286 m summit on Mangere Island. The main island of the chain is dotted with numerous lakes and lagoons, notably the large Te Whanga Lagoon. Other lakes on Chatham include Huro and Rangitahi. The main island has streams including Te Awainanga and Tuku.

The international date line lies to the east of the Chathams, even though the islands lie east of 180° longitude. Consequently, the Chatham Islands observe their own time, 45 minutes ahead of New Zealand time, including during periods of daylight saving. (New Zealand Time orients itself to 180° longitude.) Chatham Island is an antipode point of the French department of Hérault (Provence).

[edit] History

The first human habitation of the Chathams involved migrating Polynesian tribes who settled the islands about 1500 CE, and in their isolation became the Moriori people. The exact origins of these people remains a matter of some dispute. Some have thought they arrived directly from more northerly Polynesian islands, but the now more current theory sees them as Māori from mainland New Zealand. The debate has political overtones as modern Māori inhabitants, descendants of those who invaded and conquered the archipelago in 1835, claim access to ancestral Māori fishing rights. An extensive report on these claims, "Rekohu", has been published by the Waitangi Tribunal.[1]

The Moriori population of the islands numbered about 2000. They lived as hunter-gatherers, taking food from the sea and from native flora. The society lived peacefully, resolving disputes through consensus rather than warfare.

The name "Chatham Islands" comes from the ship HMS Chatham, whose captain William R. Broughton landed on November 29, 1791, and claimed possession for Great Britain. Sealers and whalers soon made the islands a centre of their activities. Ten to 20 percent of the native population soon died from imported diseases. Fishing activities continue to contribute significantly to the economy, although the sealing and whaling industries ceased activities about 1861.

On November 19, 1835, a ship carrying 500 Māori armed with guns, clubs and axes arrived, followed by another ship with 400 more Māori arriving on December 5, 1835. They proceeded to enslave and kill the Moriori. A Moriori survivor recalled : "[The Māori] commenced to kill us like sheep.... [We] were terrified, fled to the bush, concealed ourselves in holes underground, and in any place to escape our enemies. It was of no avail; we were discovered and killed - men, women and children indiscriminately." A Māori conqueror explained, "We took possession... in accordance with our customs and we caught all the people. Not one escaped....."^[1]

The invading Māori from New Zealand – as well as European whalers – inter-married with the local indigenous population. Today, some island families still continue a Moriori lineage, and the Moriori culture continues to recover. Moriori have recently established a national marae and united under the Hokotehi Trust.

A party of German Lutheran missionaries arrived in 1843. They were all men, but women followed three years later. Many of the present population can trace their ancestry to German roots via the missionary families.

[edit] Population

Chatham Islands Flag (unofficial, but is widely used on the Islands)

Chatham and Pitt Islands are inhabited. The population of 717 (Census 2001) individuals has European (70%), Māori and Moriori origins. The town of Waitangi is the main settlement with some 200 residents. Other villages are at Te One and Kaingaroa (where two primary schools are located. A third school can be found on Pitt Island). There are also the fishing villages of Owenga and Port Hutt.

Waitangi facilities include a hospital with resident doctor, trading bank, several stores, and engineering and marine services. The main shipping wharf is located here.

[edit] Transportation

Visitors to the Chathams usually arrive by air from Christchurch, Auckland or Wellington (around 1.5 - 2 hours from Christchurch on a Convair 580). While freight generally arrives by ship (4 - 5 days' sailing time), the sea journey takes too long for many passengers, and is not always available.

Although the Chathams are part of New Zealand, and there are no border controls or formalities on arrival, visitors are required to have prearranged their accommodation on the islands before arriving. Transport operators may refuse to carry passengers without accommodation bookings. Also, there are no scheduled public transport services on the island but accommodation providers are normally able to arrange transport as well.

For many years a Bristol Freighter served the islands, a slow and noisy freight aircraft converted for carrying passengers by installing a passenger container equipped with airline seats and a toilet in part of the cargo hold. The air service primarily served to ship out high-value export crayfish products.

The grass landing-field at Hapupu, at the northern end of the Island, proved a limiting factor, as few aircraft apart from the Bristol Freighter had both the range to fly to the islands and the ruggedness to land on the grass airstrip. Although other aircraft did use the landing field occasionally, they would often require repairs to fix damage resulting from the rough landing. In 1991, after many years of requests by locals and the imminent demise of the aging Bristol Freighter aircraft, the construction of a sealed runway at Karewa allowed more modern aircraft to land safely. The Chathams' own airline, Air Chathams, now operates services to Auckland on Thursdays, Wellington on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Christchurch on Tuesdays. The timetable varies seasonally, but generally planes depart the Chathams around 10.30 am (Chathams Time) and arrive in the mainland around noon. Then they refuel and reload, depart again at around 1 pm, back to the Chathams. Air Chathams operates twin turboprop Convair 580 aircraft in combi (freight and passenger) configurations and Fairchild Metroliners.

Reef Shipping operates shipping services from Auckland and Napier, and Black Robin Freighters operates shipping services from Timaru and Napier.

Visitors to the islands should pre-arrange their accommodation before arrival with The Ultimate Hideaway, Chatham Lodge, Waitangi Hotel, Chathams Motel, or local homestays. The islands have rental vehicles, but no taxis or public transport.

Driving in the Chathams is fun. There is a small section of tar sealed road between Waitangi and Te One but the majority of the island's roads are gravel. A good map should be purchased on the mainland as it is easy for visitors to get lost if they miss a signpost. Extra care is required when driving at night because of cows and sheep on the roads, and oncoming vehicles with or without lights!

[edit] Government

[edit] Electorates

In Parliament, until the 1980s the Chathams constituted part of the Lyttelton electorate, but since that time they have formed part of the Rongotai general electorate, which mostly lies in Wellington. Annette King serves as the Member for Rongotai. The Te Tai Tonga Māori seat (held in 2004 by Mahara Okeroa) also includes the Chatham Islands. The term of all current Parliamentarians expires at the next General Election.

[edit] Local Government

Local government on the islands, uniquely within New Zealand, involves a council established by its own Act of Parliament, the (Chatham Islands Council Act 1995). The [Chatham Islands Council] operates as a district council with regional council functions, making it in effect a unitary authority but with not quite as many responsibilities as the others.

[edit] State Services

Policing is carried out by a sole-charge constable appointed by the Wellington police district, who at various times has often doubled as an official for many government departments, including court registrar (Department for Courts), customs officer (New Zealand Customs Service) and immigration officer (Department of Labour - New Zealand Immigration Service).

A District Court judge sent from either the North Island or the South Island presides over court sittings, but urgent sittings may take place at the Wellington District Court.

Because of the isolation and small population, some of the rules governing daily activities undergo a certain relaxation on some of New Zealand's smaller islands. For example, every transport service operated solely on Great Barrier Island, the Chatham Islands or Stewart Island need not comply with section 70C of the Transport Act 1962 (the requirements for drivers to maintain driving-hours logbooks). Drivers subject to section 70B must nevertheless keep record of their driving hours in some form. See New Zealand Gazette 14 August 2003.

For the Chatham Islands' numismatic history see the following;

History of Chatham Islands numismatics

[edit] Health

The partially-elected Hawke's Bay District Health Board provides the islands with health services.

[edit] Education

There are three schools on the Chatham Islands, at Kaingaroa, Te One and Pitt Island. Pitt Island and Kaingaroa are staffed by sole charge principals while Te One has three teachers and a principal.These schools cater for children from Year 1 to 8. There is no secondary school on the Chathams. The majority of secondary school aged students leave the island for boarding schools in New Zealand. A small number remain on the island and carry out their secondary education through correspondence.

[edit] In fiction

In Jules Verne's Robur the Conqueror, Robur anchors his flying vessel Albatross over the islands after the horizontal propellers are damaged in a storm.

[edit] References

^ Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies", p. 53, Jared Diamond, 1997, New York, W.W. Norton.

[edit] External links

Chatham Islands
Chatham Island/Rekohu/Wharekauri \| Pitt Island/Rangiauria \| Little Mangere Island \| Star Keys/Motuhope \| Forty-Fours/Motuhara \| Mangere Island \| South East Island/Rangatira \| The Sisters/Rangitatahi