| Rangitoto Ki Te Tonga (Māori) | |
|---|---|
Location of D'Urville Island. |
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| Geography | |
| Area | 58 sq mi (150 km2) |
| Country | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 52 |
D'Urville Island is an island in the Marlborough Sounds along the northern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was named after the French explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville. With an area of approximately 58 square miles (150 km2), it is the eighth-largest island of New Zealand, and has around 52 permanent residents.[1]
The Māori name is Rangitoto Ki Te Tonga. The local tribes are Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Kuia.
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The island is separated from the mainland by the dangerous French Pass, known to Māori as Te Aumiti, through which water passes at up to 8 knots (15 km/h; 9.2 mph) at each tide. Several vortices occur near this passage. D'Urville investigated the passage for several days in 1827, and damaged his ship passing through it.[1]