# Leask Bay

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**Leask Bay** is a small bay on [Stewart Island](/source/Stewart_Island), east of [Oban](/source/Oban,_New_Zealand) in New Zealand.

## History

European settlement of Leask Bay began in the 1840s and 1850s, before [Halfmoon Bay](/source/Halfmoon_Bay_(Stewart_Island)) became the main point of settlement.[1]

### Leask Family

Leask Bay has been occupied by the Leask family for six or seven generations, after emigrating to Stewart Island from [Orkney](/source/Orkney).[2][3] The Leasks were involved in the early construction of Stewart Island infrastructure: in 1897 Thomas and James Leask built the road from [Oban](/source/Oban,_New_Zealand) to Harrold Bay.[1] The Leasks were some of the original boat builders of Stewart Island, and current descendants are still involved in the fishing industry.[1][4]

## Natural environment

In 1933, the skull of the first recorded [Shepherd's beaked whale](/source/Shepherd's_beaked_whale) was stored at Leask Bay, before being taken to [Southland Museum](/source/Southland_Museum_and_Art_Gallery).[5]

In a 1953 publication, it was noted that Leask Bay was an outlier on Stewart Island as it hosted exotic trees when the rest of the Island has only native trees.[6]

In the 1980s, an oil seep was discovered in Leask Bay. It is hypothesised that the oil naturally migrated from the [Great South Basin](/source/Great_South_Basin) into a shallow basin margin in Leask Bay.[7][8]

The [Polynesian rat](/source/Polynesian_rat) (*kiore*) is largely not found on the [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand) mainland, but have been found at Leask Bay.[9]

## References

1. Sansom, Olga (2006). *In the grip of an island : early Stewart Island history*. Invercargill, New Zealand: Cadsonbury. ISBN 1-877346-14-4. [OCLC 156630934](https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/156630934)

1. Hindmarsh, Gerard (9 July 2021). ["Stewart Island/Rakiura: Wonders of the Third Island"](https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/destinations/nz/southland/125677441/stewart-islandrakiura-wonders-of-the-third-island). *Stuff*. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

1. hindmarsh, gerard (3 December 2012). ["Stewart Island for beginners"](https://www.stuff.co.nz/travel/8025842/Stewart-Island-for-beginners). *Stuff*. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

1. ["Toa Hunter Gatherer, Series 4 Episode 4"](https://www.maoritelevision.com/shows/toa-hunter-gatherer/S04E004/toa-hunter-gatherer-series-4-episode-4). *Māori Television*. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

1. Esler, Lloyd (29 November 2017). ["Whale species discovery at Mason Bay, 1933"](https://www.stuff.co.nz/southland-times/news/features/99348259/whale-species-discovery-at-mason-bay-1933). *Stuff*. Retrieved 16 April 2023.

1. Usher, George A. (1953). "Flora and Fauna on Stewart Island, New Zealand". *Oryx*. **2** (3): 181–186. [doi:10.1017/S003060530003622X](https://doi.org/10.1017/S003060530003622X). [ISSN 1365-3008](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/1365-3008)

1. Cook, Richard (1982). ["An oil seep at Leask Bay, Stewart Island, New Zealand"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00288306.1982.10422510). *New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics*. **25**: 115–119. [doi:10.1080/00288306.1982.10422510](https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.1982.10422510)

1. Killops, S. D.; Cook, R. A.; Sykes, R. (1997). ["Petroleum potential and oil-source correlation in the Great South and Canterbury Basins"](https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10.1080/00288306.1997.9514773?needAccess=true&role=button&). *New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics*. **40** (4): 405–423. [doi:10.1080/00288306.1997.9514773](https://doi.org/10.1080/00288306.1997.9514773). Retrieved 14 April 2023.

1. Taylor, R. H. (1 December 1975). ["What limits kiore (*Rattus exulans*) distribution in New Zealand?"](https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.1975.9517888). *New Zealand Journal of Zoology*. **2** (4): 473–477. [doi:10.1080/03014223.1975.9517888](https://doi.org/10.1080/03014223.1975.9517888). [ISSN 0301-4223](https://www.worldcat.org/issn/0301-4223)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leask Bay](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leask_Bay) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leask_Bay?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.