Whangarei Harbour

Whangarei Harbour
View of Whangarei Harbour from Mount Manaia, looking west over Mcleod Bay
Whangarei Harbour
Coordinates: 35°48′S 174°25′E / 35.80°S 174.41°E / -35.80; 174.41
Area
• Total	101.48 km2 (39.18 sq mi)

Whangarei Harbour is a large harbour on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand.

The harbour stretches from Whangarei City, and the termination of the Hātea River, south east around the Onerahi peninsula and out to the Pacific Ocean at Whangarei Heads.

Its name means Whangarei-te-rerenga-parāoa, "the place where whales gather" in Maori language, named by Ngāti Wai. Another traditional name for this area is Whangarei-o-te-tohorā - "waiting for the breastbone of whales".

Many early settlers and Maori used the harbour as a form of transport, and this played a large role in the establishment of Whangarei, and many of the industries in the area. These include Portland Cement Works, Marsden Point Oil Refinery and for the extraction of coal from Kamo.

From 1911-1933 the Onerahi Branch Railway crossed the upper reaches of the harbour to provide rail access to a new wharf built at Onerahi, as the existing wharf in the town basin was unreachable for some craft. This further promoted the harbour as an important feature to the development of Whangarei.

In 2006, two marine reserves were opened in Whangarei Harbour. Whangarei Harbour Marine Reserve is located in an inter-tidal area between Onerahi and Waikaraka, and another around Motukaroro Island, at Reotahi, Whangarei Heads. The Motukaroro Island reserve is popular with snorkelers due to the large amount of marine life seen there.

Whangarei Harbour stretches approximately 23 km north-west from Whangarei Heads to its farthest point inland at the town basin in Whangarei central. At its widest point it is approximately 6 km wide, between Parua Bay and Takahiwai, near One Tree Point.