{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} [[Image:Otago harbour landsat.jpg|right|thumb|280px|Hoopers Inlet (lower, left) and Papanui Inlet (upper, right) are clearly visible on this NASA satellite photo of Otago Peninsula and Otago Harbour.]] '''Hoopers Inlet'''<ref>Official geographical names in New Zealand tend to eschew apostrophes, even when - as in this case - they would be grammatically appropriate.</ref> is one of two large inlets in the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] coast of [[Otago Peninsula]], in the [[South Island]] of [[New Zealand]].

The origin of the name is a little confused; there was an early settler family called Hooper who lived nearby, but the name appears on charts made prior to their arrival in the area. [[A. W. Reed]] has suggested that the name is a corruption of "Cooper's Inlet", named for Daniel Cooper, the ship's captain of the ''Unity'', which operated in the area during the Peninsula's years as a base for [[seal hunting|sealers]].<ref name="Reed">Reed, A.W. (1975) ''Place names of New Zealand.'' Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p.178</ref> The inlet was on a traditional Māori route for collecting shellfish, which ran from [[Otakou]] to what is now [[St. Clair, New Zealand|St. Clair]].<ref name="Maori">Goodall, M., and Griffiths, G. (1980) ''Maori Dunedin.'' Dunedin: Otago Heritage Books. {{ISBN|0-908774-45-1}}. p.17</ref> The Māori name for the inlet was ''Puke-tu-roto'', meaning either "hills standing around a lake" or "hills standing inland".<ref name="Reed"/>

Like its near neighbour, [[Papanui Inlet]], Hoopers Inlet is known for its diverse bird life. The inlet lies 2&nbsp;km to the south of [[Portobello, New Zealand|Portobello]] and can be reached by road from both there and the city of [[Dunedin]] (of which it is administratively a part), the centre of which lies 15 kilometres to the west. Both inlets are shallow, becoming predominantly sand and mud flats at low tide.

The mouth of Hoopers Inlet is narrowed by a large spit, the seaward coast of which forms [[Allans Beach]]. Behind this beach is a significant area of wetland and swamp, which is home to many species of flora and birds.<ref>"[http://www.orc.govt.nz/Information-and-Services/Wetlands-Inventory/Dunedin-District/Hoopers-Inlet-Swamp/ Hoopers Inlet Swamp]", Otago Regional Council website.</ref>

Hoopers Inlet is separated from Papanui Inlet by a strip of land which is the isthmus to a hilly peninsula containing [[Cape Saunders]] and the peninsula's highest point, the 408-metre [[Mount Charles, New Zealand|Mount Charles]].

==References== {{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Otago Peninsula]] [[Category:Landforms of Otago]] [[Category:Inlets of New Zealand]]

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