Herald Island History
Herald Island has an interesting history, with many names over the years. It was named after the HMS Herald in February 1840, when her officers surveyed the Waitematā Harbour in a cutter.
Known as Motu Pākihi by Te Kawerau ā Maki and Te Pahi by Ngāti Whātua. Also known as Wood’s Island and Pine Island by early settlers.
Officially named Herald Island by the New Zealand Geographic Board on the 2nd March 1950.
Image of the HMS Herald at Sylvan Cove, Stewart Island 1840.
Pre-European history
In Māori, the island was given various names, including Motu Pākihi and Te Pahi . In the 18th Century, the island was a seasonal residence for Waiohua paramount chief Kiwi Tāmaki, when it was the season to snare birds. Te Wai-o-Hua remained the main tribe on the Tāmaki isthmus well into the 18th century. Around 1741 their paramount chief, Kiwi Tāmaki, was killed in a battle at Paruroa (Great Muddy Creek) by Te Waha-akiaki of Te Taoū and Ngāti Whātua. This happened during a sequence of events that saw Ngāti Whātua take possession of central Tāmaki. During the Ngāti Whātua/Te Taoū war with Waiohua, the twin Waiohua chiefs Hūpipi and Hūmātaitai from Ōrākei, were killed at Herald Island by a Ngāti Whātua war party.
Apihai Te Kawau.
Te Kawau's grandfather was Tuperiri, principal leader of Te Taoū hapū of Ngāti Whātua who overran the Auckland isthmus around 1740.
European history
Herald Island has an interesting history, with many names over the years. It was named after the HMS Herald in February 1840, when her officers surveyed the Waitematā Harbour in a cutter. Known as Motu Pākihi by Te Kawerau ā Maki and Te Pahi by Ngāti Whātua. Also known as Wood’s Island and Pine Island by early settlers. Officially named Herald Island by the New Zealand Geographic Board on the 2nd March 1950.
The First Schoolhouse
The first Herald Island School was built at 57 Ferry Parade and the old building still stands on site today. It operated from September 1949 until a larger school was built at 80 – 88 Ferry Parade in 1953. The first school building then became the Herald Island Post Office and is now the Herald Island Museum. The second school operated until December 1958.
Monday morning blues, images of our early residents off to work by boat.
Harmony Theatre and Hall operated from 1952 to the late 1960s/early 1970s. It was situated at 94 -96 Ferry Parade.
Electricity finally came to Herald Island in April 1955.
Town water was connected in 1961. The old well at 88 Ferry Parade was finally covered and closed in 1963.
The Building of the Causeway
The causeway to the island (Kingsway Road) took 3 months to build and was completed in March 1958. It was officially opened on the 10th May 1958 by Mr Norman J King, MP for Waitemata.
The Volunteer Fire Brigade
The island ran its own volunteer fire brigade from 1958 to 1993. Community fundraising helped to build the fire station’s drying tower. The Herald Island Library has been operating out of the rear of the fire station since February 1997.
The Dairy
An island store (dairy) was located at 92 Ferry Parade and was used between the 1940s and 1960s. Another dairy was built at 52 Ferry Parade and operated from the late 1940s to December 2013. It was rebuilt in 1952 due to a fire and had about 18 storekeepers.
The Post Office
The Herald Island Post Office ran from July 1958 to February 1988 and was formerly Herald Island’s first schoolhouse.
A public wharf was in use in the late 1800s and upgraded by the Devonport Steam Ferry Company in 1908, after they purchased the island in 1897. Prior to the causeway being built, travel to and from the island was solely by ferry or private boat. The public wharf was replaced with a floating pontoon in 2000.
