Dedicated to democracy, enjoying and restoring the Mahurangi, meaningful climate action, and curiosity—
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covid-19 didn’t mobilise but climate must
Fifty-one weeks ago, the Mahurangi Magazine warned: “The eventual toll of this pandemic could be in the order of 3 million deaths.” At the time, the reported global toll had only just exceeded 100 thousand, but the calculation wasn’t complex. Subtract the population…
Restoration beyond the Mahurangi regional parkland
Mahurangi is unusually well endowed with caring residents. Some are native to the area, some have chosen it as a congenial place and community in which to live and work, others can imagine no better place to spend years of retirement. They have collectivised their…
Mahurangi Harbour’s scenic ridge roads
Of the many scenic byroads in Kaipara ki Mahurangi, the two most important are those that wind along the ridge tops to give access to Mahurangi West and Scotts Landing. They have assumed new significance as entries to the regional park. The most used, as the…
Mahurangi as missionary way-station
First missionary to enter the Hauraki Gulf was the pioneer of them all, Samuel Marsden, during his first visit in the brig Active, 1814–1815. Abounding in energy and curiosity, he explored to the mouth of the Waihou. According to his companion, Nicolas, theirs was only the…
Sculptured hills and headlands of Mahurangi
Terraces, ditches and pits, so prominent on the headlands of the Mahurangi, remind us that this peaceful harbour had a turbulent past: “Māori were not constantly at war, but they did live with the constant threat of war. This fact of life is literally carved into the…
Vessels built beside the Mahurangi by year by builder
Following are listed vessels known to have been built in Mahurangi Harbour from circa 1832 to 1880, by Pākehā builders many of whose stories are told in Part 5 – A Maritime Community. Sadly, neither the name of the boat built at Spar Station Cove, nor its builder there, is known…
Scow-building Darrochs of the Clyde
George Darroch, born 1797, was one of six children born to James and Elizabeth née Murray, in Whitehouse. This village lies on the southern shore of Loch Tarbet, the sea-loch that is the northern limit to Kintyre. James’ line went back five generations to Mulmuroch…
Darrach and sons of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island, the smallest province of Canada, is possibly best known as the site of the novel Anne of Green Gables. It lies within the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, off Nova Scotia, of which it is not part. It was from the adjacent Cape Breton Island, part of Nova Scotia…