Pepin Island facts for kids
Pepin Island is a special island in New Zealand. It's called a "tied island" because it's connected to the mainland by a natural path. This path is like a bridge made of rocks and connects the island to a place called Cable Bay, which is near Nelson.
Island Geography
Pepin Island is about 3.5 kilometers (2.2 miles) long and up to 2.1 kilometers (1.3 miles) wide. Its total area is around 5.18 square kilometers (2 square miles). The highest point on the island is Stuart Hill, which is 401 meters (1,316 feet) tall.
The island sits on the northeast coast of a large bay called Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. There's also a smaller bay nearby called Delaware Bay to the east. Pepin Island is connected to the mainland by a natural causeway. This causeway formed over time from rocks that fell from nearby hills and were shaped by the sea.
Island History
Long ago, around the 1820s, different iwi (Māori tribes) like the Ngāti Tama lived in this area. A historian named John Mitchell shared that part of the island was once a pā (a fortified village or settlement) belonging to a very important chief of the Ngāti Tama tribe, Te Pūoho-o-te-rangi. However, the Ngāti Tama tribe no longer controlled the island after about 1880.
The island got its name from a French explorer named Jules Dumont d'Urville. He named it after his wife, Adèle Pépin.
Recent Ownership and Care
In 1996, a businesswoman from Germany, Dr. Viola von Hohenzollern, bought Pepin Island. When she first bought it, the island was not in good shape. Many wild goats lived there, which stopped native plants from growing.
Dr. von Hohenzollern and her farm manager, Andrew Newton, worked hard to make the island better. They planted many trees, put up fences, and controlled pests. Their efforts helped the island's environment a lot. Because of their great work, they won a top environmental award in the Nelson Tasman region in 2011.
In 2012, Dr. von Hohenzollern passed away, and her daughter, Olivia Hallman, inherited Pepin Island. Olivia continued the good work. She started having special "open days" where the public could visit the island. The second open day in May 2015 was very popular, with over 1,000 visitors. These events also helped raise money for the local fire service in Hira.
In late 2018, the island was put up for sale again. The mayor of Nelson, Rachel Reese, hoped that someone local would buy it. In 2021, it was announced that a New Zealand company had bought the island. The new owners plan to continue farming, offer places for tourists to stay, and keep the public access available. They also want to create more special areas on the island to protect the environment.
