Slipper Island facts for kids
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Whakahau (Māori)
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LANDSAT image of Slipper Island and surroundings
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| Geography | |
| Location | Waikato region |
| Coordinates | 37°03′S 175°56′E / 37.050°S 175.933°E |
| Area | 2.68 km2 (1.03 sq mi) |
| Length | 2.8 km (1.74 mi) |
| Width | 1.7 km (1.06 mi) |
| Highest elevation | 103 m (338 ft) |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | (?) |
Slipper Island (in Māori: Whakahau) is a small island located about 3 kilometers (1.9 miles) east of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand's North Island and sits about 8 kilometers (5 miles) southeast of the town of Pauanui.
Island History
Early Māori Settlement
Evidence shows that Slipper Island was an important place for the first Māori settlers. They arrived in New Zealand around the year 1300 AD. In 2001, a special tropical pearl shell lure was found, which suggests early activity.
The island also has eight Pā sites. A Pā is a traditional Māori fortified village, often built on hills for defense. Other signs of early life, like middens, have been found. Middens are like ancient rubbish heaps, showing what people ate and used.
Many bones from the moa have also been discovered. The moa was a very large, now extinct, bird native to New Zealand. Early East Polynesian settlers used these moa bones to make fish hooks.
Slipper Island is considered wahi tapu, which means it is a sacred place. It is especially sacred to the iwi (tribes) of Ngāti Maru Runanga and Ngāti Hei. Tuokiokio was the last Māori chief, or rangatira, of Whakahau.
From Farm to Resort
In the mid-to-late 1800s, Slipper Island was used as a farm. Later, families like the Normans and the Needhams owned the island. The Needham family bought the island around 1970.
Abe and Nora Needham, along with their 14 children, turned most of the island into a resort. This resort covered about 217 hectares (95% of the island). In 2015, the resort was sold to a property developer from Auckland. Visitors and tourists stayed in the resort's six chalets and the family's old home.
A small part of the island, about seven hectares around South Bay, has been divided into smaller pieces of land. A new house built on this land was even shown on the television program Grand Designs New Zealand in October 2017.
Nearby Islands
Slipper Island has a few smaller islands close to its southern tip. These include Penguin Island and Rabbit Island. To the northwest, there is a larger island called Shoe Island / Motuhoa, which is about 40 hectares in size.
