Wainui Bay

{{Short description|Bay in Tasman Region, New Zealand}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Wainui Bay | native_name =  | image = Wainui Bay 13.jpg | alt = A beach covered in rocks and debris on a sunny day, with green hills to the right and ocean to the left | caption = Eastern side of Wainui Bay, on the Taupo Point track | image_bathymetry = | alt_bathymetry = | caption_bathymetry =  | location = | group = | coordinates = {{Coord|-40.80|172.94|display=inline,title}} | type = | etymology = | part_of = [[Golden Bay / Mohua]] | inflow = | rivers = [[Wainui River (Tasman)|Wainui River]] | outflow = | oceans = [[Tasman Sea]] | catchment = | length = | width = | area = | depth = | max-depth = | shore = | temperature_high = | temperature_low = | sections = [[Wainui Inlet]]  | pushpin_map = New Zealand | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location map of New Zealand | pushpin_map_caption = Location of Wainui Bay in New Zealand }} '''Wainui Bay''' is within [[Golden Bay / Mohua]], and at the south-eastern end of Golden Bay, in the [[Tasman Region]] of the [[South Island]], New Zealand. {{OSM Location map|coord={{coord|-40.80326|172.93573}}|zoom=12|width=300|height=310|caption=Wainui Bay in [[Golden Bay / Mohua]]|label=Wainui Inlet|mark-coord={{coord| -40.81687|172.94362 }}|label-pos=left|mark-title=Wainui Inlet|labelb2=Uarau Point|label-pos2=left|mark-coord2={{coord|-40.79871|172.95210}}|mark-title2=Uarau Point|label3=Taupō Point|mark-coord3={{coord|-40.78939|172.95385 }}|label-pos3=left|mark-title3=Taupō Point|label4=Whariwharangi Bay|mark-coord4={{coord|-40.783136|172.975101}}|label-pos4=left|mark-title4=Whariwharangi Bay}} Bordering the [[Abel Tasman National Park]], it is approximately {{convert|24|km}} north-east of [[Tākaka]], the nearest town.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz44752/Wainui-Bay/Tasman |title=Wainui Bay, Tasman – NZ Topo Map |date=15 November 2017 |website=NZ Topo Map |access-date=10 January 2018}}</ref><ref name="DOC">{{Cite web |url=http://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/nelson-tasman/places/abel-tasman-national-park/things-to-do/tracks/wainui-falls-track/ |title=Wainui Falls Track |website=doc.govt.nz |access-date=9 January 2018}}</ref> There are several [[Department of Conservation (New Zealand)|Department of Conservation]] walking tracks that start in Wainui Bay, including the [[Wainui Falls]] track, the Taupō Point track, and other tracks leading into the Abel Tasman National Park.<ref name="DOC" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://goldenbayhideaway.co.nz/attractions/wainui_bay |title=Wainui Bay Walks |website=goldenbayhideaway.co.nz |access-date=7 December 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://nzwalksinfo.co.nz/tracks/1267-taupo-point-track |title=NZ Walks Information: Taupo Point Track |website=nzwalksinfo.co.nz |access-date=7 December 2018}}</ref>

On 18 December 1642, the first known encounter between Māori and Europeans happened out in the bay, which resulted in several dead Dutch sailors and the surrounding area being named [[Golden Bay / Mohua|Murderer's Bay]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=First known encounter between Māori and Europeans |url=https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/first-contact-between-maori-and-europeans |access-date=4 December 2023 |website=nzhistory.govt.nz |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":8" />

== Naming == Wainui is a [[Māori language]] term (''wai'' meaning water, and ''nui'' meaning large, expansive). In other words, the name translates as big water.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Philip |title=Down the Bay: a natural and cultural history of Abel Tasman National Park |publisher=[[Potton & Burton]] |year=2018 |isbn=9780947503932 |location=Nelson |pages=214}}</ref> The umbrella entity for the three local iwi gives a meaning of "where the tidal flow leaves a big expanse of bay empty".<ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mohua_place_names_79.jpg |title=Mohua place names |type=photo |publisher=Tasman District Library |location= |time= |access-date=6 August 2023 |format=}}</ref> It is one of many places named Wainui in New Zealand, for example, [[Wainui]], [[Wainui Beach]], Wainui in [[Akaroa Harbour]].

There are three plausible explanations for the name Taupō:

# In the sixteenth century a chief, Tūmatakōkiri, migrated from [[Lake Taupō]] to the [[Cook Strait]] area, thus it is conceivable he brought the name with him <ref name=":1" /> # The meaning of taupō is ‘a rough black and yellow cloak’, made from flax leaves, and also ‘a rust-coloured earth of stone’. This same pattern is seen on the rocks here <ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Janszoon |first=Project |date=24 May 2016 |title=It's all in a name – Taupo Point |url=https://www.janszoon.org/news/its-all-in-a-name-taupo-point/ |access-date=4 December 2023 |website=Project Janszoon |language=en-NZ}}</ref> # And lastly, the place used to be spoken of as Taipo.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Millar |first=J. Halket |title=Beyond the Marbel Mountain: Tales of Early Golden Bay, Motueka and Nelson |publisher=Cadsonbury Publications |year=2003|orig-year=1948 |isbn=1877151955 |location=[[Christchurch]] |pages=21}}</ref> The [[iwi]] once revered a taipō, a many-scaled goblin, with the body of sea serpent and the head of a man <ref name=":2" /> Although this is the least plausible name, because taipo is thought to be an 18th-century whaler's term for an evil spirit, and in the South Island Maori dialect the word for an evil spirit is atua <ref>{{Cite book |last=Tikao |first=Teone Taare |title=Tikao Talks: traditions and tales told by Teone Taare Tikao to Herries Beattie |publisher=[[Reed Publishing]] |year=2004|orig-year=1939 |isbn=978-1-877346-04-0 |editor-last=Beattie |editor-first=Herries |edition=Second, published 1990 |location=[[Christchurch]] |pages=77}}</ref>

== Local places ==

=== Wainui Inlet === [[File:Anatimo 93.jpg|thumb|Wainui Inlet from the air|left]] Wainui Inlet is the estuary of the Wainui River that flows into the bay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gilsemans, Isaac :Vaertuig en Gedaente der inwoonders van Selandia Nova. P. 173 [Amsterdam, 1705] |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22608079 |access-date=4 December 2023 |website=natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> It can be [[Abel Tasman Coast Track#Whariwharangi Bay to Wainui Bay|walked across]] within two hours either side of low tide.

=== Uarau Point === Uarau Point is a prominent hill on the eastern shore of Wainui Bay.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> In Māori legend, a taipō (goblin, evil spirit) named Ngārara-huarau, protected this place. It remains a spiritual area, and some local people feel uneasy walking past the cave where he lived.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> According to legend, Ngārara-huarau dug caverns here.<ref name=":1" /> Underground rumbles from falling rock and cascading water continue today, and it is a dangerous area to traverse owing to many [[sinkhole]]s.<ref name=":1" />

=== Taupō Point === Taupō Point is a {{convert|49|m|ft|adj=mid|-high}} limestone outcrop on the eastern side of Wainui Bay.<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Zealand Topographic Map |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap?v=2&ll=-40.78788,172.94888&z=15 |access-date=4 December 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}}</ref> This steep, rounded, bush-clad knoll is linked to the granite mainland by a sandy [[isthmus]]. Four centuries ago, a [[pā]] stood there. Today, as then, it is a great lookout spot. Traces of trenches, terraces and cooking pits are now hidden under [[Prumnopitys taxifolia|mataī]], [[Alectryon excelsus|tītoki]], [[Rhopalostylis sapida|nīkau]] and [[Karaka (tree)|karaka]] trees.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Wainui Bay Attractions & Activities in Golden Bay & Takaka New Zealand |url=https://www.nelsontasman.nz/visit-nelson-tasman/plan-your-trip/activities/3340-wainui-bay |access-date=4 December 2023 |website=NelsonTasman.NZ |language=en-NZ}}</ref>

A few steps away, is a lonely curve of golden sand known as Whariwharangi Bay. [[Abel Tasman Monument|Abel Tasman]] anchored his ships off here.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |title=Abel Tasman in our history {{!}} |url=https://goldenbaymuseum.org.nz/abel-tasman/historical-background/ |access-date=5 December 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite book |last=Salmond |first=Anne |url=https://christchurch.wheelers.co/title/9781927327951/epub |title=Two Worlds: First Meetings Between Maori and Europeans, 1642–1772 |publisher=((Bridget Williams Books and eBook BWB Texts: Turning Points)) |year=2014 |isbn=9781927327951 |location=[[Wellington]] |pages=82–83 |author-link=Anne Salmond}}</ref>

Researchers into history debate whether or not [[Waka (canoe)|waka]] landing sites at Taupō Point are the oldest maritime structures in New Zealand.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=ANDERSON |first=CHARLES |date=7 March 2015 |title=New claim rejected by scholar |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/67081063/new-claim-rejected-by-scholar |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref>

==== Māori activity at the time of Tasman's visit ==== [[File:Taupō_Point_sign,_depicting_an_1844_drawing_by_surveyor_John_Barnicoat.jpg|thumb|This sign at Taupō Point depicts an engraving of an 1844 drawing by NZ Company surveyor John Barnicoat]] At the time of Tasman’s bloody visit to [[Aotearoa]], the [[Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri]] iwi maintained a [[pā]] and settlement on the eastern side of Wainui Bay at Taupō Point and nearby Whariwharangi Beach.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /> This is the closest site to where the Dutch voyager anchored, and it is most probably from here that waka and warriors paddled out to investigate his ships and intentions.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=2012: AT370 {{!}} First Encounters–Abel Tasman 1642 |url=http://abeltasman.org.nz/events/2012-at370/ |access-date=5 December 2023 |language=en-NZ}}</ref>

A drawing by Tasman's artist, [[Isaack Gilsemans]], depicts ten men rowing a double-hulled waka, with another man standing on the prow. All the men have topknot hairstyles.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Conflict at Murderers Bay |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/artwork/1407/conflict-at-murderers-bay |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=Alexander Turnbull Library}}</ref>

The settlement had houses were built low to the grounds, curved-roof cooking shelters, storage pits and high storage racks.<ref name=":8" /> The bay and inlet teemed with fish and shellfish, and an edible [[Pteridium esculentum|braken fern]] grew on the hillside.<ref name=":8" />

A sign at Taupō Point, depicts the scene from 1844, with pā, palisades and waka landed on the beach, as drawn by surveyor John Barnicoat.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |title=Messenger, Arthur Herbert 1877–1962 :Taupo, Massacre Bay. 1921 [i.e 1844] |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22892813?search%5Bi%5D%5Bplace_authority_id%5D=-320575&search%5Bpath%5D=items |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=natlib.govt.nz}}</ref> A proverb, or ''whakataukī,'' inscribed on the sign reads:

{{Blockquote|text=Taupo sleeps beneath the sun: where are the people of the past? <br>Kei te noho a Taupō i raro i te rā; kei hea ngā tāngata whenua?'}}Someone has scratched some graffiti underneath the ''whakataukī''. It reads: {{Blockquote|text=Ko hoki mai au... ete i o a mokopuna|author=}} Which may translate as "I will return... with some of my grandchildren."

==== New Zealand's oldest maritime archaeological structures? ==== [[File:Beach east of Taupo Point.jpg|left|thumb|Beach along the Taupō Point track]] In 2015, historical researcher, Rosanne Hawarden, claimed that a high-resolution image of the Gilsemans's 1642 drawing reveals waka landing sites on the shore by Taupō Point.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rosanne Hawarden and Rudiger Mack |date=1 November 2014 |title=A possible pre-Tasman canoe landing site, or 'tauranga waka', in Golden Bay, South Island, New Zealand |url=https://search.informit.org/doi/10.3316/INFORMIT.808326742292178 |website=Informit}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite web |last=SCHOUTEN |first=HANK |date=17 February 2015 |title=Golden Bay canoe site may be oldest structure |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/66323891/golden-bay-canoe-site-may-be-oldest-structure |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}}</ref> In addition, Barnicoat's 1844 ink drawing of Taupō Point, shows waka on the same rocky beach, where large boulders have been shifted so waka could be hauled ashore.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":7" /> These tauranga waka are still visible at low tide.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 August 2022 |title=Sea Kayaking the entire length of the Abel Tasman National Park |url=https://www.goldenbaykayaks.co.nz/stories/2021/6/28/sea-kayaking-the-entire-length-of-the-abel-tasman-national-park |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=Golden Bay Kayaks |language=en-NZ}}</ref>

On the other hand, a group of historians led by Abel Tasman expert Grahame Anderson, debunked Hawarden’s research, and called it "wishful thinking".<ref name=":5" />

==== Access ==== People arrive here on foot, or by boat, or kayak. The walk along the beach from Wainui Inlet to Taupō Point takes approximately 1 hour each way, and is best done at low tide.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Walks Around Northern Abel Tasman National Park |url=https://goldenbayhideaway.co.nz/attractions/northern_abel_tasman_walks#taupo_point |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=goldenbayhideaway.co.nz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=beatsmilking |date=1 March 2011 |title=Wainui Bay / Taupo Point Route |url=https://motorcamps.com/content/wainui-bay-taupo-point-route |access-date=5 December 2023 |website=motorcamps.com |language=en}}</ref> At high tide, some scrambling and climbing is needed.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book |last=Trafford |first=Ian |title=Day Walks of Nelson |publisher=[[Reed Publishing]] |year=2004 |isbn=079000979X |location=[[Auckland]]}}</ref> The track starts at the end of McShane Road, just past Wainui Inlet.<ref name=":9" />

==References== {{commons category}} {{Reflist}}

[[Category:Beaches of the Tasman District]] [[Category:Bays of the Tasman District]] [[Category:Golden Bay]] [[Category:History of the Tasman District]] [[Category:Abel Tasman National Park]]