Waiheke Island

Native bush in Onetangi Reserve

Waiheke, like Auckland, experiences a subtropical climate according to the Trewartha climate classification, and an oceanic climate according to the Köppen climate classification. The region lies 13° of latitude south of the Tropic of Capricorn, so tropical plants which are protected for the winter months will flower and fruit in the summer, and cold climate vegetables planted in autumn will mature in early spring. Summers tend to be warm and humid, while winters are relatively mild with frost being a rare event on Waiheke.

Rainfall is typically plentiful, though dry spells may occur during the summer months which can be problematic for many of the island residents, the vast majority of whom rely on rainwater harvesting from residential roofs for drinking and household use. During such dry periods (typically 3–4 months between December and March), the island's water-delivery trucks can be seen replenishing residential water tanks that have run dry.

It is often anecdotally said by locals that Waiheke has a different micro-climate from the Auckland isthmus. Though little data supports this, the following data from a NIWA report[13][14] suggests Waiheke receives over 100 hours more sunshine a year than other parts of Auckland.

Putiki in the Island of Waiheke, a 19th century watercolour by Thomas Hutton

A golden eve, Waiheke Island (1890), painting by Alfred Sharpe, in the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa

The islands of the Hauraki Gulf have been settled since the archaic period of Māori history, and were visited by many of the migratory canoes such as Aotea, Tākitimu, and Mātaatua.[15] Only the largest islands such as Aotea / Great Barrier Island and Waiheke sustained permanent settlements.[15] The forests on the western side of Waiheke Island were likely heavily damaged in the 14th century eruptions of Rangitoto Island.[15] During 18th and early 19th centuries, the eastern side of Waiheke was forested by ancient kauri trees, while kānuka and mānuka bushes dominated the vegetation of the western side, suggesting relatively recent regeneration.[15] The original Māori name for Waiheke was apparently Te Motu-arai-roa, 'the long sheltering island',[16] but at the time the first European visitors arrived it was known as Motu-Wai-Heke, 'island of trickling waters'[16] — rendered as Motu Wy Hake by James Downie, master of the store ship HMS Coromandel, in his 1820 chart of the Tamaki Strait and the Coromandel coast.[16]

Waiheke Island has historically been settled by various tribes, especially the Marutūāhu collective tribes of Ngāti Maru and Ngāti Pāoa.[17] Waiheke Island was the site of many battles between Ngāti Pāoa and Ngāpuhi from the Bay of Islands, up until the late 18th century.[18] In the 1790s, sealing and whaling ships underwent repairs primarily on Waiheke Island.[19]

The island was briefly depopulated during the Musket Wars, when Ngāti Pāoa and other Tāmaki Māori sought refuge in areas such as the Waikato. When Ngāti Pāoa returned to Tāmaki Makaurau (Auckland), they primarily settled on Waiheke.[19] After the wars, the Ngāti Pāoa community of Waiheke were mostly based at Pūtiki Bay.[15]

In 1836, Thomas Maxwell established a shipyard at Man o'War Bay in eastern Waiheke, using local timber to build and repair ships.[15] Ngāti Pāoa quickly engaged with the emerging industries, helping to supply timber and food for European ships.[15] Ngāti Pāoa established wheat and vegetable plantations on the eastern bays of the island.[15] The shipbuilding industry remained on the island until the 1860s, after which the eastern farming plantations quickly became disused.[15] Ngāti Pāoa at Te Huruhi continued to supply produce to Auckland until the early 20th century.[15] Much of the firewood and building timber supplied to the growing city of Auckland was supplied by Waiheke Island forests, while shingle and sand from Owhanake and Hooks Bay was used for concrete manufacturing, up until the 1920s.[15] The island was also home to manganese mines between 1872 and 1900 (briefly first established in the 1840s).[15]

Large private land purchases occurred on Waiheke between 1836 and 1840s, followed by large crown land purchases in the 1850s.[15] By the 1850s, the only Ngāti Pāoa land that remained on the island was a 2,100 acre section at Te Huruhi (near the modern suburb of Blackpool).[15] Through a process of individualisation of land titled, the Māori Land Court split the Te Huruhi block between 65 individuals, and by 1914 most of the block had been sold to private interests.[19] By the end of the 19th century, the island was increasingly deforested, and land was increasingly used for cattle pastures.[15]

In the late 1800s or early 1900s the island was owned by a man named Frank Bell, which caused the island to be previously known as Bell's Island.[20]

When shipping companies began offering occasional trips to the island in the 1880s, Waiheke emerged as a seaside resort. Day trips to Waiheke and Motutapu by steamers became a common recreational excursion, and boarding houses began to flourish at the south-eastern bays of the island.[15] In 1915, Aucklanders were offered the chance to buy affordable land at Ostend, the first subdivision of Waiheke. The naming of these new subdivisions reveal the central role of beach life to the identity of the island. The winner of a competition naming the Surfdale subdivision was awarded a parcel of land near the beach. A section of land could be bought for a small deposit on top of a cost of 8 pence a day and was promoted as a sound investment, however, a level of self sufficiency was required for life on the island as electricity only arrived in 1954.[21] These land offers were not open to Māori. Ostend and Surfdale were joined by additional subdivisions at Palm Beach, Rocky Bay and Oneroa in the 1920s.[15]

During World War II, three gun emplacements were built at Stony Batter on the eastern edge to protect Allied shipping in Waitematā Harbour, in the fear that Japanese ships might reach New Zealand. This mirrored developments at North Head and Rangitoto Island. The guns were never fired in anger. The empty emplacements can be visited seven days a week. The extensive tunnels below them have also opened as a tourist attraction.[22]

In 1999 Waiheke's community board voted Waiheke as a "genetic engineering free zone",[23] but this is a matter of principle rather than fact, as only national government controls exist over genetically engineered foods and grains.

Waiheke is part of the territorial authority of Auckland Council. The first local government on the island were the Ostend Road Board and Orapiu Road Board, which both formed in 1921 and were combined in 1947.[15] In 1970, the Waiheke County Council was formed, which administered the local government on Waiheke and the surrounding Hauraki Gulf islands.[15] Since 1989, when the county council merged with the Auckland City Council, there has been an elected community board with limited, mainly representational powers, in line with other neighbourhoods in Auckland. One member on the City Council represented all the inhabited Hauraki Gulf islands (i.e. Waiheke, Great Barrier and Rakino) plus the downtown area in the central business district.

Waiheke's lifestyle is largely influenced by the fact that it is surrounded by water – there are a number of beaches mentioned above, that are popular for a wide range of activities such as kite surfing, kayaking, stand-up-paddle boarding, boating, swimming and other typical beach pursuits.[26]

Waiheke Island has two primary schools and one secondary school. It is the only island in New Zealand, other than the North and South Islands, with a secondary school.

In 2016, the New Zealand Government Education Minister announced a $40 million school rebuild project for Waiheke.[51] This was made up of two project announcements: $23 million to Te Huruhi School rebuild project[52] to provide three new blocks with 22 new teaching spaces, a new administration area and library and targeted repairs to the existing school hall; and $17m was awarded to the Waiheke High School redevelopment project to build 10 new teaching spaces and improvement to existing facilities.[53]

Both rebuild project were started in 2019 with an expected completion date of late 2019 / early 2020.

• Te Huruhi Primary School[54] is a state contributing primary (Year 1–6) school in Surfdale, and has 261 students.[55] It opened in 1986 following the split of Waiheke Area School.
• Waiheke Primary School[56] is a state full primary (Year 1–8) school in Ostend, and has 259 students.[55] It opened in 2005.
• Waiheke High School[57] is a state Year 7–13 secondary school in Surfdale, and has 424 students.[55] It opened in 1986 following the split of Waiheke Area School.

The island has less infrastructure than mainland Auckland.

Roads: The roads are mainly narrow and in many places unsealed and unlit, especially on the eastern half of the island. Except for the Onetangi Straight (60 km/h) and the rural eastern end, the island speed limit is 50 km/h, and many of the roads see traffic travelling at well under the limit due to their size. At the car ferry terminal at Kennedy Point, the highway department has posted a sign saying "Slow Down, You're here", which delivers the message to visitors about island life.

Transport: Primary transportation on the island is by privately owned used car or car-rental for visitors. The Waiheke Bus Company (owned by Fullers) services most inhabited parts of the island, linking to the ferry sailings from Matiatia. Numerous other taxi, shuttle, bus and boutique services cater to visitors. Due to the hills, bicycles on the island tended to be limited to the young and fit, including an active mountain bike group, until the advent of ebikes. With an ebike rental company in Oneroa that also sells ebikes, they are becoming a common feature on both local roads, and on the ferry boats to the mainland. Walking continues to be a popular means of island transport, both for access and recreation with many walking trails that are not along roads. Horse riding tends to be for recreation rather than transport, but the island does support both a pony club and adult riding club.

Power: Waiheke is connected to the North Island's electricity network via twin 33 kV undersea cables from Maraetai on the mainland, terminating on the island at a 33/11 kV substation in Ostend. The island's electricity network is operated by Auckland-based lines company Vector.[72]

Water and waste water: Each house must maintain its own water supply, most collecting rainwater in cisterns. Water delivery is available and tends to be very active during dry summers. Except for the Oneroa sewage district which discharges into the Owhanake Treatment plant, each residence and relevant commercial establishments must install a septic tank and septic field to handle sewage. This is a requirement in every building consent.[73]

Internet The fibre optic cable that runs from a bay on the southern side of the island connects it to the internet. Internet services were provided using VDSL and ADSL until central government introduced a national fibre optic rollout that included urban parts of Waiheke. Central government also forced the separation of the cable infrastructure from the ISPs, with the fibre backbone being maintained by Chorus which has contracts with numerous ISPs. The locally owned WISP continues to provided wireless internet and some islanders use both services to ensure system redundancy.[74]

Solid Waste: The community established a charitable trust which successfully tendered for Auckland City's contract for solid waste disposal. The recycling centre was implemented with such success that it soon had to be expanded to handle the volume.[75] However, when the contract term expired in 2009, the Council voted to disqualify incumbent tenderer Clean Stream Waiheke Ltd and granted Transpacific Industries Group Ltd a $22 million contract. The decision was political.[76]

Emergency Services: The Waiheke Volunteer Fire Brigade, part of the New Zealand Fire Service, serves the island. The brigade has two stations, at Oneroa[77] and at Onetangi.[78]

Media: The island has a lively press, with the long-established, independently owned weekly Waiheke Gulf News and until recently the Fairfax Media owned Waiheke Marketplace which closed down in 2018.[79] A community radio station, Waiheke Radio, is broadcasting on 88.3 FM and 107.4 FM after Beach FM lost its licence in a commercial bid in 2008.

Matiatia redevelopment

The ferry terminal at Matiatia

The gateway to Waiheke, where the main pedestrian ferry lands over one million passengers per year, is a valley and harbour called Matiatia. In 2000 it was purchased by three investors in Waitemata Infrastructure Ltd (WIL). In 2002 WIL proposed to change the Operative District Plan rules for their land to build a major shopping and hotel complex with 29,000 m² (312,153 sq ft) of gross floor area on buildable land of approximately 3 hectares. This united the residents of the island in opposition. Over 1,500 adult residents of the island (out of perhaps 3,000) joined in an incorporated society, the Community and People of Waiheke Island (CAPOW),[80] to oppose the private plan change in court. Church Bay resident and former newsreader John Hawkesby became "the voice of the campaign" that included a showdown with then mayor, John Banks, when Hawkesby made a deputation to the city council hours after the press revealed that Banks was in business with two (of three) directors of WIL.[81]

In 2004, they won an interlocutory judgement in which the environment court ruled that Auckland City Council had erred in the rules, and the current rules limited controlled development to 5,000 m² (53,820 sq ft) in what was called the Visitor Facility Precinct. In 2005, CAPOW won an interim judgement by the court which reduced the proposed redevelopment to about a third of what the investors had originally sought.[lower-alpha 1]

This set the stage for confidential negotiations between Auckland's mayor Dick Hubbard and the investors, who on 31 August 2005 (now known as 'Matiatia Day' on the island) sold the stock in WIL to the city for $12.5 million. The unanimous vote on 30 June 2005 of the City Council to approve the purchase was said to have come about because of the unity of the people of Waiheke Island. The court case finally was concluded with permitted development set at 10,000 m2 of mixed use gross floor development. The Court also found Auckland City Council and WIL liable for costs in relationship to the interlocutory judgement. Since WIL was now owned by Council, it had to write a cheque to CAPOW for $18,000, representing 75% of CAPOW's costs on that matter. This final cheque allowed CAPOW to pay all its debts and balance its books.

The Council organised a design competition in 2006 to find a suitable development plan and project for the Matiatia gateway. The competition winner's design (scheme 201) was available for comment on the Council website.[82] It attracted much criticism for the lack of car parking close to the ferry terminal, the transport hub function used by all islanders regularly and almost daily by around 850 commuters to Auckland.[83]

In 2013, Matiatia again became a hotspot for controversy as a group of residents proposes a private marina at the terminal. Some of the veterans of the protests a decade prior (led by local resident, retired newsreader John Hawkesby), re-emerged to oppose.[84] The Environment Court decided in favour of the residents.

Goldwater vineyard

Vineyards near Stony Batter. Unlike the settled western part of the island, the eastern half is mostly agricultural.

Waiheke has become known as New Zealand's "island of wine," home to a dedicated group of winegrowers who have successfully matched the maritime climate and ancient soil structures to the selection of classical grape varieties to produce red and white wines with distinctive varietal character. The climate is well-suited to growing Bordeaux-type grapes, though some Chardonnay and Sauvignon blanc varieties are also considered to be good. Waiheke winegrowers regularly win awards for Syrah (Kennedy Point's 2007 Syrah won best Syrah in the world in 2009), proving the island's terroir suits the variety well. Wines produced on Waiheke are relatively expensive because of the limited size of many of the island's vineyards.[85]

Among the vineyards and wineries on Waiheke Island are:

• Awaroa Vineyard – The organic Awaroa vineyards lie on west-facing slopes among native bush in the middle of Waiheke Island. Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are the main varieties planted.
• Batch Winery – Waiheke's newest hi tech winery production is located at the highest vineyard with views from Coromandel to the Sky Tower. Batch wine portfolio includes Flora, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah. Batch Fizz sparkling wine, made and bottled on site, range includes Fizz Rose, Fizz Chardonnay and Fizz Riesling.
• Cable Bay Vineyards – Cable Bay Vineyards makes wines from grapes grown on Waiheke Island and in Marlborough. Varieties grown include Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon blanc, Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Five Hills Merlot/Malbec/Cabernet and Rosé.
• Destiny Bay Vineyards – Destiny Bay is Waiheke Island's only Cabernet blend specialist and first fully certified sustainable winery.[86] The 2007 Magna Praemia is New Zealand's highest rated wine by an international critic, and received 98/100 points by Anthony Dias Blue.[87][88] Magna Praemia is New Zealand's most expensive wine.[89]
• Edbrooke Vineyard – Jeremy Edbrooke has over 7 acres (28,000 m²) planted in Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and Pinot gris grapes which are supplied to Waiheke Island's Passage Rock Wines.
• Eventide Vineyard – Eventide is a boutique vineyard producing an annual Syrah. The vineyard was planted in 2012 and sits atop one of the highest points on Waiheke.[90] It is located next to EcoZip – a commercial flying fox. Visitors to ecozip can "fly" over the Eventide vines and down through 15 acres of spectacular native (Podocarp) rainforest that is jointly managed by the two enterprises[91]
• Fenton Estate – First planted in 1989, Fenton Twin Bays Vineyard is a north-facing property that spans two small bays separated by a peninsula.
• Goldwater Estate – Begun by pioneering Waiheke winemakers Kim and Jeanette Goldwater, Goldwater Estate was among the first wine making operations on Waiheke. Its awards[92] include being named winery of the year by Wines and Spirits Magazine in 2001.
• Jurassic Ridge – Jurassic Ridge is a small, family-owned vineyard and winery, named for the surrounding geology. It produces hand-crafted Syrah, Montepulciano, Pinot gris and Cabernet Franc. Jurassic greywacke is a major feature of the terroir.
• Kennedy Point Vineyard – Kennedy Point Vineyard is the only certified organic vineyard on Waiheke and can be found on the southwestern side and was established in 1996. It specializes in growing and producing Bordeaux and Syrah wines.
• Man O' War – Situated at Man O' War Bay, at the northern end of Waiheke Island, these vineyards are planted on numerous small sites on the 5,000-acre (20 km²) Man o'War farm.
• Miro Vineyard – Miro Vineyard produces two wines, both red Bordeaux blends. The vineyard overlooks the ocean at Onetangi Beach.
• Mudbrick Vineyard – Mudbrick is one of the island's best-known wineries, and has a Provence-style restaurant made of mudbrick. The vineyard produces Merlot, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Syrah grapes.
• Obsidian Vineyard – Obsidian Vineyard in Onetangi. It is a 17-hectare property established in 1993. Obsidian, its flagship wine, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Malbec. Its label is "Weeping Sands" (the translation of "Onetangi"). In 2007 Obsidian won a trophy and gold medal[93] at the Romeo Bragato National Wine Competition for its first release of the Montepulciano variety.
• Passage Rock Wines – Passage Rock Vineyard is at the eastern end of Waiheke Island at the head of Te Matuku Bay. Its first vines were planted in 1994.
• Peacock Sky – Peacock Sky Vineyard is located in the centre of Waiheke Island with views across the Hauraki Gulf to Auckland.
• Peninsula Estate on Hakaimango Point was planted in 1986/87. These original plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Malbec, also now include Chardonnay and Syrah.
• Postage Stamp Wines
• Poderi Crisci Estate
• Stony Batter Estate – Stony Batter Estate, the island's largest vineyard, is at the north-eastern corner of the island
• Stonyridge Vineyard – Stonyridge was founded in 1981 in the Onetangi Valley. Specializing in Bordeaux-style reds, the vineyard's most famous wine is its Stonyridge Larose.
• Tantalus Estate
• Te Motu Vineyard – Te Motu Vineyard was established in the Onetangi Valley in 1989. The first vintage was produced in 1993.
• Te Whau Vineyard
• The Hay Paddock – This 12-acre (49,000 m²), stone-walled vineyard on Seaview Road is planted in Syrah vines sourced from the Hermitage AOC region of the Rhone Valley. Cellar-aged collector wines are released under the Harvest Man and Hay Paddock labels.
• Topknot Hill Vineyard
• View East Vineyard – A boutique vineyard on the south eastern corner of Waiheke Island specializing in Syrah.
• Woodside Hill – A boutique vineyard specializing in Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

• List of islands of New Zealand

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Waiheke Island.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Waiheke Island.

• Whakanewha Regional Park (nature reserve)
• Photographs of Waiheke Island held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.