Rakino Island

Rakino Island is one of the many islands in the Hauraki Gulf, an arm of the Pacific Ocean to the northeast of Auckland, New Zealand.

Rakino Island
The island from the southeast
Geography
Coordinates36°43′S 174°57′E
Area1.5 km2 (0.58 sq mi)
Length2.4 km (1.49 mi)
Width1.2 km (0.75 mi)
Administration
Demographics
Population21 (2019)

Rakino is a small island north-east of Motutapu Island. The island is 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long and about 1.2 km (0.75 mi) wide and has an area of 1.5 km² (0.58 sq mi / 371 acres). The two most popular bays have public access, but three others also have access from the sea. There are smaller bays and beaches without public access. The public wharf is at the south end of Sandy Bay, and a barge access ramp is at the western end of Sanford Way in Home Bay. The hilly topography comprises a fertile layer of volcanic topsoil from Rangitoto Island that overlays a thick mantle of clay soil which in turn overlays greywacke rock. The island is mostly in pasture with pockets of coastal pohutukawa.

There are around 76 dwellings on Rakino Island though the permanent population is only 21 as of 2019.[1] Rakino, with its few permanent residents and its small size, and with a limited public ferry service, has little attraction for commuters. Residents welcome its isolation and privacy.

History

Sir George Grey, governor of New Zealand, bought Rakino in 1862.[2] He ordered trees and started building a house in Home Bay but he lost interest when Kawau Island became available.[3] During the 1860s the prisoners from the Invasion of the Waikato phase of the New Zealand Wars were brought to Auckland, some were housed in the hulks Marion and Manukau at anchor in the harbour[4] and a small party was settled at Rakino, where a house and gardening supplies were provided. The experiment was a failure and soon abandoned. There is an entry in the Appendices to the House of Representatives Journal which says "Ihaka did not thrive much on the island and died there, it is presumed of homesickness and a broken heart."[5]

In 1874 Albert Sanford leased the island from Sir George Grey before his wife, Elizabeth Sanford, bought it in 1904.[6] He and his family lived there for nearly 80 years. He was one of the founders of the Auckland commercial fishing fleet. His company started on Rakino Island in 1881, and he sold fish on the wharves at the bottom of Queen St. “Sanford Limited” was incorporated in 1904. The family home he built still stands in Home Bay. It was built of kauri logs rafted from Mercury Bay on the Coromandel Peninsula.

In 1963, the island was bought by Dr Maxwell Rickard, president of the UPO (United Peoples' Organisation (Worldwide) Incorporated), with the aim of setting up a philanthropic community. Rickard was a clinical psychologist and hypnotherapist and also owned an Auckland nightclub and toured as a professional hypnotherapist under the name "The Great Ricardo". Plans for the island included a clinic for disturbed and nervous patients, an international orphanage, a refuge for unmarried mothers and homes for the elderly. However, these plans did not eventuate and the island was subdivided in 1965 into 25 blocks of 10 acres (40,000 m2) and 125 smaller pieces of land which sold for between £2500 and £6000.

Communication on the island was a problem, so the world's first solar-powered telephone was installed. While widespread use of mobile phones has reduced reliance on landlines, the phone is still in use and local calling to Auckland is free.

Biodiversity

In 2002 the invasive Norwegian rat was eradicated from Rakino Island.[7]

36°43′S 174°57′E

See also

References
  1. "Republic of Rakino: Meet the locals on Hauraki Gulf island, population 21". The New Zealand Herald. 4 January 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2019.
  2. "Mansion linked to Grey up for sale". NZ Herald. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  3. Yarwood, Vaughan (September 1998). "The governor's island". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  4. "Legislative Council: Maori Prisoners". Wellington Independent. 19 December 1867. p. 4. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  5. Vincent O'Malley (2013). "Choosing Peace or War: The 1863 Invasion of Waikato". New Zealand Journal of History. 47 (1): 39–58. ISSN 0028-8322. Wikidata Q110606969.
  6. "Sanford - a man of the sea". kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz. Retrieved 2022-01-17.
  7. J P Aley; J C Russell (December 2019). "A survey of environmental and pest management attitudes on inhabited Hauraki Gulf islands" (PDF). Science for Conservation. Department of Conservation. 336: 51. ISSN 1173-2946. Wikidata Q110606364.
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