Aotea Harbour () is a settlement and smallest of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located between Raglan Harbour to the north and Kawhia Harbour to the south, 30 kilometres southwest of Hamilton.
Geography
Aotea Harbour is a drowned valley system following the post glacial Aranuian sea level rise of over 100m in the last 14,000 years, but its level may also be influenced by the Makomako and Te Maari faults. It has a high-tide area of and a low-tide area of .
Most higher ground around the harbour is formed from Jurassic era graywacke stone, while the Aotea Harbour north head were formed from Quaternary marine deposits, wind blown north-east from the Tasman Sea.
54% of the area around the harbour is in sheep and beef grazing. Since 1850 native forest cover has declined from 98% to 28%, about 18% managed by the Department of Conservation.
Waireinga/Bridal Veil Falls is located on Pakoka River, and Lake Disappear is on Pakihi Stream, both of which flow into Aotea Harbour.
Wildlife
Most of the land surrounding the Aotea Harbour is grassland with occasional pōhutukawa trees, however archaeological charcoal evidence shows the presence of some tawa, rimu and kanuka trees, alongside Hebe and Coprosma shrubs. In the present day, some common plants found around the harbour are Cotula coronopifolia, Sarcocornia quinqueflora, Avicennia marina, Apodasmia similis, Selliera radicans, Plagianthus divaricatus, Paspalum vaginatum, Samolus repens, Juncus kraussii, Zostera novazelandica, Austrostipa stipoides, Isolepis cernua, Spartina anglica, Schoenoplectus pungens, Baumea juncea, Cordyline australis, Olearia solandri, Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, Leptospermum scoparium, Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, Coprosma propinqua, Cortaderia selloana, Cortaderia jubata and Typha orientalis.
Birds recorded in the harbour include white faced heron, South Island oyster catcher, godwit, pied stilt, black backed gull, red billed gull, swan, Canada goose, spur-winged plover, New Zealand dotterel, Royal spoonbill, kingfisher, pied shag, fernbird, paradise duck, Caspian tern, white-fronted tern and gannet.
The commonest fish species in the harbour are anchovy, flounder and yellow-eyed mullet. Shellfish species found in the harbour include Pipi and cockles.
Orca, bottlenose and common dolphin occasionally enter the harbour.
History
According to traditional history, the harbour is the final landing place for the Aotea waka. Migrants from the Aotea waka are said to have brought karaka trees to the area when they settled. People aboard the 'Tainui waka settled around the Aotea Harbour, Kawhia Harbour and Whaingaroa Harbour (Raglan Harbour) in approximately 1350. Over 100 Māori archaeological sites are found around the harbour, dating to the 15th and 16th centuries. Many found on the Aotea Harbour north head, such as Koreromaiwaho Paa, were covered with Aeolian sand, blown due to the prevailing south-westerly wind. The people who settled around Aotea Harbour traditionally cultivated kumara, while collecting tuatua from the Tasman Sea, and pipi and cockles from the harbour. The harbour was the site of a seven generational war between Ngāti Māhanga and Ngāti Tū-irirangi.
By the early 1800s, the Aotea Harbour area had been settled by Tainui iwi including Ngāti Māhanga, Ngāti Te Wehi, Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Koata and Ngāti Toa. Conflict between Tainui iwi led by Pōtatau Te Wherowhero and Ngāti Toa, led to Ngāti Toa settling Kapiti Island and the Kāpiti Coast in the 1820s, while their allies, the Ngāti Koata, settled around the northern shore of the South Island (in the Tasman, Nelson and Marlborough regions). In the 1880s described as the north-western edge of the Te Rohe Pōtae (King Country lands).
Marae
Several Waikato Tainui marae are located around Aotea Harbour. Te Tihi o Moerangi Marae and meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Te Weehi. Mōtakotako Marae and Te Ōhākī a Mahuta meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Te Weehi and Tainui Hapū. Te Papatapu or Te Wehi Marae and Pare Whakarukuruku meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Te Weehi.
Demographics
The meshblocks around the edge of the harbour had these census results -
The population was once much larger. For example, about 200 lived at Makaka in 1880.