Karepiro Bay
{{Short description|Bight in New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Karepiro Bay
| image = Pacific Reef Heron at Karepiro Bay.jpg
| alt = A sandy beach in front of an inlet. A dimly-lit headland is in the background
| caption =
| image_bathymetry =
| alt_bathymetry =
| caption_bathymetry =
|location= Auckland Region, New Zealand
|length=
|width=
|area=
|depth=
|frozen=
|islands=
|coords={{Coord|-36.654|174.737|display=inline,title|name=Karepiro Bay|region:NZ_type:waterbody_source:GNS-enwiki}}
|rivers= Weiti River, Ōkura River
|oceans= Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, Pacific Ocean
|countries=
|settlements= Arkles Bay, Wade Heads, Weiti Station
|sections=
|references=
| pushpin_map = Auckland
| pushpin_label_position = right
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within the Auckland Region
| pushpin_map_alt = Location within the Auckland Region
}}
Karepiro Bay is a bay of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana in the Auckland Region, New Zealand. It found between the Whangaparāoa Peninsula and North Shore, and is the mouth of the Weiti River and Ōkura River.
Geography
Karepiro Bay is a bay of the Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana, found at the confluence of the Weiti River and Ōkura River, south of Whangaparāoa Peninsula and north of Long Bay.{{LINZ |id=24654 |name=Karepiro Bay |access-date=9 January 2024}} Dacre Point is a headland found at Karepiro Bay, which is the north headland of the Ōkura River,{{LINZ |id=19249 |name=Dacre Point |access-date=9 January 2024}} and the eastern headland of the Weiti River on the Whangaparāoa Peninsula is known as Toroa Point.{{cite web|url=https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/29330 |title=Aerial view of Toroa Point and Long Bay, East Coast Bays, 1947 |website=Auckland Libraries |access-date=9 January 2024}} Much of the bay is part of the Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve.{{LINZ |id=10198 |name=Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve|access-date=9 January 2024}} The bay features a large amount of sedimentation, which increased since the 1950s.{{cite report|url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/technicalpublications/TR2008026%20Sedimentation%20in%20the%20Okura-Weiti-Karepiro%20Bay%20System.pdf |last1=Swales |first1=A. |last2=Gibbs |first2=M. |last3=Ovenden |first3=R. |last4=Budd |first4=R. |last5=Hermansphan |first5=N. |title=Sedimentation in the Okura-Weiti-Karepiro Bay System |publisher=Auckland Regional Council |date=November 2008 |access-date=9 January 2024}} The sands of the bay are home to the endangered New Zealand dotterel.{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/116561224/part-of-weiti-bay-development-in-auckland-up-for-mortgagee-sale |title=Part of Weiti Bay development in Auckland up for mortgagee sale |first=Bonnie |last=Flaws |date=14 October 2019 |website=Stuff |access-date=9 January 2024}}
History
The Tāmaki Māori name for the bay literally means "putrid ripples", and may be a reference to the smell of mudflats. The sandspits located at the bay are a traditionally significant site (wāhi tapu) called {{lang|mi|Te Ringa Kaha ō Manu}}. The Toroa Point headland was the location of Rahohara Pa, a defensive pā important to Te Kawerau ā Maki, especially Ngāti Kahu, and Ngāti Pāoa, due to the nearby shark fishing grounds,{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=17-30}} and Dacre Point is also a known pā site. The Karepiro Bay area is a concentrated area of archaeological sites, including shellfish middens, and terraces. The terraces north of Dacre Point indicate the area had been the site of terraced gardening.{{cite report|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/plans-projects-policies-reports-bylaws/our-plans-strategies/unitary-plan/history-unitary-plan/documentssection32reportproposedaup/appendix-3-2-2.pdf |title=Auckland Council North and North West Rural Urban Boundary options: cultural heritage overview |first1=Matthew |last1=Campbell |first2=Jaden |last2=Harris |first3=Andrew |last3=McAlister |date= 19 August 2013 |publisher=CFG Heritage |access-date=9 January 2024}} The kāinga located here was traditionally known by the name {{lang|mi|Otaimaro}} ("The Place of Taimaro"), after Te Kawerau ā Maki ancestor Taimaro, son of Tawhiakiterangi.{{cite report|url=https://nzta.govt.nz/assets/projects/penlink/docs/penlink-cultural-and-environmental-context-cultural-environmental-design-framework.pdf |title=Penlink Cultural & Environmental Design Framework: Penlink Cultural and Environmental Context |author=Boffa Miskell |publisher=Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency |access-date=4 July 2023}}
Karepiro Bay was the site of a battle during the Te Kawerau ā Maki conquest of the northern Auckland Region. During the Musket Wars, the Dacre Point pā was raided.
Karepiro Bay was visited by Jules Dumont d'Urville in 1827 aboard the Astrolabe, who named it Tofino Bay after the Spanish navigator and mathematician Vicente Tofiño de San Miguel.{{sfn|Grover|2008|pp=26}} In 1848, Henry Dacre and his father Captain Ranulph Dacre purchased the lands surrounding the riverŌkura River, creating the Weiti Station. Their house, the Dacre Cottage, was built circa 1855 from locally made bricks, located on the shores of Karepiro Bay.{{cite book |last1=Cameron |first1=Ewen |last2=Hayward |first2= Bruce |author-link2=Bruce Hayward |last3=Murdoch |first3= Graeme |title=A Field Guide to Auckland: Exploring the Region's Natural and Historical Heritage |isbn=978-1-86962-1513 |publisher=Random House New Zealand |year=2008 |edition=rev. |page=132}}{{citeq|Q118136068|page=34-35}}
Long Bay-Okura Marine Reserve was established at Karepiro Bay and adjacent to Long Bay in 1995. Local residents have documented increased sedimentation in the 2010s leading to a loss of marine life, which led to protests in 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/105361640/okura-community-calls-for-council-action-on-sediment-stressed-marine-reserve |title=Okura community calls for council action on 'sediment stressed' marine reserve |first=Kendall |last=Hutt |date=11 July 2018 |website=Stuff |access-date=9 January 2024}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Bibliography
- {{cite book|title=Why the Hibiscus? Place Names of the Hibiscus Coast|first=Robin |last=Grover |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-473-13484-6 |publisher=Silverdale Printing}}
{{Hibiscus Coast}}
{{East Coast Bays}}
Category:Bays of the Auckland Region
Category:Hibiscus and Bays Local Board Area