Harington Point

{{Short description|Settlement in Dunedin, New Zealand}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}} '''Harington Point''', being often incorrectly spelt '''Harrington Point''', is a settlement at the northeastern end of [[Otago Peninsula]], lying within the boundaries of the city of [[Dunedin]], [[New Zealand]]. It was named after Thomas Cudbert Harington, the first secretary of the [[New Zealand Company]].<ref name="McLintock">{{cite web |last= McLintock |first= Alexander H. |author-link= Alexander Hare McLintock |year= 1966 |title= Otago Peninsula |url= https://teara.govt.nz/en/1966/otago-peninsula |website= [[Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand]] |publisher= [[Ministry for Culture and Heritage]], [[New Zealand Government]] |access-date= 24 April 2026}}</ref>

== Geography == {{see also|Otago Heads}} [[Image:Harington Point.jpg|thumb|Residential houses at Harington Point]] Harington Point is located between [[Taiaroa Head]] and [[Otakou]], close to the entrance of [[Otago Harbour]]. The mouth of the harbour is at its narrowest at Harington Point, only some {{Convert|400|m}} separating the point from the mudflats at [[Aramoana]] on the opposing coast.

Te Rauone beach, historically known for its many sand dunes, which have been restored after they were eroded. Restoration was a collaborative effort and there are new amenities.<ref>{{cite web |date= 1 October 2023 |title= Te Rauone Reserve Redevelopment project |url= https://www.dunedin.govt.nz/council/council-projects/te-rauone-reserve-redevelopment-project |publisher= [[Dunedin City Council]] |access-date= 26 January 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1= Winders |first1= Kevin |last2= Smith |first2= Des |date= 19 February 2021 |title= Te Rauone Beach restoration given green light |url= https://www.portotago.co.nz/about/news/news-archive/te-rauone-beach-restoration-given-green-light |publisher= Port Otago |access-date= 26 January 2025}}</ref>

The settlement can be reached via a 45-minute drive from Dunedin City on sealed roads, and is also serviced 7 days per week by a regular bus service taking 60 minutes from the city center, as well as a school bus.<ref>[http://www.orc.govt.nz/Information-and-Services/Buses/ Otago Regional Council web site] Bus timetables. Accessed 10 February 2014.</ref> Despite its small size, Harington Point offers accommodation ranging from holiday houses to self-contained motel units.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

== Wildlife == [[File:Yellow-eyed penguin.jpg|thumb|A [[yellow-eyed penguin]] at the Penguin Place]]

The settlement of Harington Point is the closest residential area to [[Taiaroa Head]], the only mainland [[Northern royal albatross]] colony in the world,<ref>{{cite web |title= Life of the Northern Royal |url=https://albatross.org.nz/royal-albatross/ |website= Royal Albatross Centre |access-date= 2025-06-26}}</ref> as well as several other regionally important wildlife colonies. Between Harington Point and Taiaroa Head is Pilot's Beach, where [[Little penguin|little blue penguins]] are seen returning to nest at dusk. Over the hills southwest of Harington Point is the Otago Penguin Eco Restoration Alliance (''OPERA''), a nesting colony of [[yellow-eyed penguin]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title= Our Story |url=https://theopera.co.nz/our-story/ |website= Otago Peninsula Eco Restoration Alliance (OPERA) |access-date= 2025-06-26}}</ref>

All three offer public tours of the respective wildlife colonies. Wellers Rock wharf, just south of Harington Point, is the base for boat cruises and tours exploring the sea and bird life in the area.<ref>[http://www.wildlife.co.nz/ Dunedin Monarch Wildlife Cruises and Tours] Accessed 10 February 2014.</ref>

The harbour water was a historic habitat for [[cetacean]]s especially [[southern right whale]]s,<ref name=Flickr>{{cite web |author= Black Diamond Images |date= 2023-07-16 |title= Interpretive Sign - Southern Right Whale & Hector's Dolphin, Aramoana, Otago, South Island, New Zealand |url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/blackdiamondimages/53048658632 |website= [[Flickr]] |access-date=2026-04-14 }}</ref> but the whales have now become an infrequent sight,<ref name="Gibb">{{cite news |last= Gibb |first= John |date=2010-08-26 |title='Spectacular'show by whales |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/spectacular-show-whales |access-date=2026-04-14 |agency=[[Otago Daily Times]]}}</ref><ref name="Fox">{{cite news |last= Fox |first= Rebecca |date=2014-08-28 |title=What a fluke! |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/what-fluke |access-date=2026-04-14 |agency=[[Otago Daily Times]]}}</ref><ref name="Miller">{{cite news |last= Miller |first= Tim |date=2018-07-30 |title=Southern right whales thrill watchers |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/362934/southern-right-whales-thrill-watchers |access-date=2026-04-14 |agency=[[Otago Daily Times]]}}</ref><ref name="Lewis">{{cite news |last=Lewis |first=John |date=2025-06-26 |title=Tourists 'stoked' at whale pod discovery |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/tourists-%E2%80%98stoked%E2%80%99-whale-pod-discovery |access-date=2026-04-14 |agency=[[Otago Daily Times]]}}</ref> following the establishment of the area as a major shore whaling ground.<ref name="RNZ">{{cite web|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/the-podcast-hour/audio/2018691547/wild-dunedin-otago-animals |title='Wild Dunedin': Otago animals |author= |date=2019-04-20 |work=[[Radio New Zealand]] |access-date=2026-04-14}}</ref><ref name="Prickett">{{cite book |last1=Prickett |first1= Nigel |date=2002 |title= The Archaeology Of New Zealand Shore Whaling |url=https://archive.org/details/the-archaeology-of-nz-shore-whaling |publisher= [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] |via=[[Internet Archive]] }}</ref><ref name="McPhee">{{cite news |last=McPhee |first= Elena |date= 18 August 2018 |title= Whale numbers are coming right |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/whale-numbers-are-coming-right |newspaper= [[Otago Daily Times]] |access-date= 24 April 2026}}</ref>

== Demographics == Statistics New Zealand describes [[Otakou#Demographics|Otakou]] and Harington Point as a rural settlement which covers {{Convert|5.65|km2||abbr=on}},<ref name="Area">{{Cite web|title=ArcGIS Web Application|url=https://statsnz.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6f49867abe464f86ac7526552fe19787| access-date=10 January 2021|website=statsnz.maps.arcgis.com}}</ref> and is part of the much larger [[Otago Peninsula#Demographics|Otago Peninsula statistical area]].<ref>{{NZ census place summary 2018|otago-peninsula|Otago Peninsula}}</ref>

== Historic sites == {{see also|Otakou}} === Wellers Rock === {{see also|Wellerman}} [[File:毛利角 Maori Head - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Weller's Rock (''Te Umukuri'')]] [[Image:Harrington Point Gun emplacement.jpg|thumb|right|Harington Point gun emplacement]] Wellers Rock (officially spelt without a concluding apostrophe), also known as ''Te Umukuri'' or ''Te Umu Kuri'', is located between Harington Point and [[Otakou]] at {{coord|45|47|52|S|170|42|54|E|display=inline}}. It is named in honour of the [[Weller brothers]], a family of [[whaling|whalers]] who formed one of the first permanent European settlements in the southern South Island.<ref name="McLintock" /> The Wellers operated three stations within the [[Otago Harbour]] including two along Harington Point (Otakou and Te Rauone Beach), and the Otakou station was among the most significant and the largest shore whaling stations in New Zealand at the time. It began major operation in [[1831]] yet faced a termination a decade after due to the sharp decline of whale numbers.<ref name="RNZ" /><ref name="Prickett" /><ref name="McPhee" /> An archaeological excavation of part of the site was carried out by the [[University of Otago]] in 1991.<ref>Campbell, M., (1994) "[https://nzarchaeology.org/download/excavation-of-wellers-rock-try-works-otakou-whaling-station-otago-harbour-new-zealand Excavation of Wellers Rock Try-works, Otakou Whaling Station, Otago Harbour, New Zealand]," ''New Zealand journal of archaeology'', 16: 33–53.</ref> To this day, whale bones may be found nearby the rock.<ref>{{Cite news |last= MacLean |first= Hamish |date= 5 November 2021 |title= Whale of a find in Otago Harbour |url= https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/whale-find-otago-harbour |access-date= 24 April 2026 |newspaper= [[Otago Daily Times]] |language=en}}</ref>

In January 2020 [[Te Rūnanga o Ōtākou|Te Runanga o Otakou]], the [[Dunedin City Council]], and the [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] joined forces in a project to protect the site from degradation.<ref>{{Cite news |last= Hudson |first= Daisy |date= 20 January 2020 |title= Wellers Rock to be protected |url= https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/wellers-rock-be-protected |access-date= 24 April 2026 |newspaper= [[Otago Daily Times]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Gun emplacements === The hills behind Harington Point contain several abandoned [[World War II]] gun emplacements, a subterranean communications tunnel and bunker, which were all part of the [[coastal fortifications of New Zealand]].

==References== {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Localities in the Dunedin City territory]] [[Category:Otago Peninsula]] [[Category:Forts in New Zealand]] [[Category:Populated places around the Otago Harbour]]