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Miramar Peninsula
The Miramar Peninsula (Māori: Te Motu Kairangi, officially Te Motu Kairangi / Miramar Peninsula) is a large peninsula on the southeastern side of the city of Wellington, New Zealand. It is located at the entrance to Wellington Harbour, in Wellington's eastern suburbs. According to Māori legend, it was formed at the same time that the taniwha Whaitaitai beached at nearby Hataitai as he tried to escape the confines of the harbour. It contains the large suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Seatoun and Strathmore Park and several smaller suburbs.
The peninsula was originally an island, separated from the main island (Te Ika a Māui) by a sea channel called Te Awa-a-Taia (the channel of Taia). The peninsula area later became known as Hataitai or Whataitai. Around 1460 AD an earthquake named "Haowhenua" (earth swallower) raised the land, eliminating the shallow channel and joining the island to the mainland by an isthmus where Rongotai and Lyall Bay are now. There was a flat plain and freshwater lake in the centre of the peninsula. The lake was first called "Te Rotokura" (red lagoon) and later "Para". When Pākehā settled they named this lagoon "Burnham Water". The lake was later drained.
Northwards, the peninsula juts into Wellington Harbour. To the south are Cook Strait and the South Pacific Ocean. The suburbs of Lyall Bay, Rongotai, Kilbirnie and Hataitai lie to the west across the isthmus. To the east a narrow stretch of water connects Wellington Harbour with Cook Strait and the open sea; beyond this channel are the scrubby Eastbourne hills, and the high and forested Ōrongorongo Ranges. From the peninsula's high points, an observer can look north to the Hutt Valley and the Tararua Ranges, or southwest across Cook Strait, to the high peaks of the Inland and Seaward Kaikōura Ranges, which are often snowbound in winter.
The peninsula has an area of 800 hectares (2,000 acres). The coastline is rocky, with many coves, steep cliffs, and small pinnacles and caves, but there are also sweeping and sandy beaches, notably at Breaker Bay, Worser Bay, Scorching Bay, Moa Point and Tarakena Bay. A high ridge running on an approximate north–south axis forms the spine of the peninsula, with high points Mount Crawford in the north and Beacon Hill in the south. The peninsula has a large area of low-lying land, the Miramar flats, and a smaller area of flat land at Seatoun, both of which are mainly covered in residential housing.
The peninsula is largely urbanised, with large suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Strathmore and Seatoun, and narrow strips of houses along the coast at Breaker Bay, Karaka Bay and Moa Point. The urban area is a mix of suburban housing, retail outlets, schools, light and service industries, recreation grounds (such as a golf course and sports fields), and Wellington Airport. There are also extensive areas of regenerating native bush, pine forest, and remnant farmland, as well as urban gardens. A narrow two-lane road circles the peninsula, providing a picturesque route around the many bays, coves and headlands.
At the entrance to Wellington Harbour, the rocks of Barrett Reef lie close to the shore of the peninsula. On 10 April 1968 TEV Wahine, an inter-island ferry, foundered on Barrett Reef and later capsized near Steeple Rock, a pinnacle just off Seatoun. 53 people were killed.
The peninsula is exposed to Wellington's prevailing northwest wind and the southerly wind. During southerly storms, big waves and swells batter the peninsula's rocky southern shore. The peninsula's topography, with its high ridges and small bays and coves, provides shelter from the wind in many places. On 15 August 2011, during a prolonged southerly storm, snow fell across the peninsula in the late morning, settling in light drifts on trees, streets and fields. Like other parts of Wellington, snowfall at sea level is a very rare occurrence.
Cobham Drive is the main road connecting Miramar peninsula with the rest of Wellington city. It was built on land reclaimed during the construction of Wellington Airport in the 1950s and runs past the north end of the airport runway, at the head of Evans Bay. The only other road access to the peninsula is via a road from Lyall Bay at the south end of the airport.
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Miramar Peninsula
The Miramar Peninsula (Māori: Te Motu Kairangi, officially Te Motu Kairangi / Miramar Peninsula) is a large peninsula on the southeastern side of the city of Wellington, New Zealand. It is located at the entrance to Wellington Harbour, in Wellington's eastern suburbs. According to Māori legend, it was formed at the same time that the taniwha Whaitaitai beached at nearby Hataitai as he tried to escape the confines of the harbour. It contains the large suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Seatoun and Strathmore Park and several smaller suburbs.
The peninsula was originally an island, separated from the main island (Te Ika a Māui) by a sea channel called Te Awa-a-Taia (the channel of Taia). The peninsula area later became known as Hataitai or Whataitai. Around 1460 AD an earthquake named "Haowhenua" (earth swallower) raised the land, eliminating the shallow channel and joining the island to the mainland by an isthmus where Rongotai and Lyall Bay are now. There was a flat plain and freshwater lake in the centre of the peninsula. The lake was first called "Te Rotokura" (red lagoon) and later "Para". When Pākehā settled they named this lagoon "Burnham Water". The lake was later drained.
Northwards, the peninsula juts into Wellington Harbour. To the south are Cook Strait and the South Pacific Ocean. The suburbs of Lyall Bay, Rongotai, Kilbirnie and Hataitai lie to the west across the isthmus. To the east a narrow stretch of water connects Wellington Harbour with Cook Strait and the open sea; beyond this channel are the scrubby Eastbourne hills, and the high and forested Ōrongorongo Ranges. From the peninsula's high points, an observer can look north to the Hutt Valley and the Tararua Ranges, or southwest across Cook Strait, to the high peaks of the Inland and Seaward Kaikōura Ranges, which are often snowbound in winter.
The peninsula has an area of 800 hectares (2,000 acres). The coastline is rocky, with many coves, steep cliffs, and small pinnacles and caves, but there are also sweeping and sandy beaches, notably at Breaker Bay, Worser Bay, Scorching Bay, Moa Point and Tarakena Bay. A high ridge running on an approximate north–south axis forms the spine of the peninsula, with high points Mount Crawford in the north and Beacon Hill in the south. The peninsula has a large area of low-lying land, the Miramar flats, and a smaller area of flat land at Seatoun, both of which are mainly covered in residential housing.
The peninsula is largely urbanised, with large suburbs of Miramar, Maupuia, Strathmore and Seatoun, and narrow strips of houses along the coast at Breaker Bay, Karaka Bay and Moa Point. The urban area is a mix of suburban housing, retail outlets, schools, light and service industries, recreation grounds (such as a golf course and sports fields), and Wellington Airport. There are also extensive areas of regenerating native bush, pine forest, and remnant farmland, as well as urban gardens. A narrow two-lane road circles the peninsula, providing a picturesque route around the many bays, coves and headlands.
At the entrance to Wellington Harbour, the rocks of Barrett Reef lie close to the shore of the peninsula. On 10 April 1968 TEV Wahine, an inter-island ferry, foundered on Barrett Reef and later capsized near Steeple Rock, a pinnacle just off Seatoun. 53 people were killed.
The peninsula is exposed to Wellington's prevailing northwest wind and the southerly wind. During southerly storms, big waves and swells batter the peninsula's rocky southern shore. The peninsula's topography, with its high ridges and small bays and coves, provides shelter from the wind in many places. On 15 August 2011, during a prolonged southerly storm, snow fell across the peninsula in the late morning, settling in light drifts on trees, streets and fields. Like other parts of Wellington, snowfall at sea level is a very rare occurrence.
Cobham Drive is the main road connecting Miramar peninsula with the rest of Wellington city. It was built on land reclaimed during the construction of Wellington Airport in the 1950s and runs past the north end of the airport runway, at the head of Evans Bay. The only other road access to the peninsula is via a road from Lyall Bay at the south end of the airport.