# Watchman Island

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**Watchman Island** (**Te Kākāwhakaara** in [Māori](/source/M%C4%81ori_language), officially **Watchman Island / Te Kākāwhakaara**)[1] is a tiny [sandstone](/source/Sandstone) island in the [Waitematā Harbour](/source/Waitemat%C4%81_Harbour) of [Auckland](/source/Auckland), New Zealand. It lies approximately 600 metres north of the suburb of [Herne Bay](/source/Herne_Bay,_New_Zealand).

## History

The island is known to [Tāmaki Māori](/source/T%C4%81maki_M%C4%81ori) iwi as Matungaegae, and was the site of an island [pā](/source/P%C4%81) during the [Waiohua](/source/Waiohua) confederation (17th and early 18th centuries).[2] Prior to European settlement in the 1840s, the island was much larger in size.[2]

In the mid-19th century, the island was known as Sentinel Rock, which appears under this name on an 1857 British Admiralty chart of the Waitemata Harbour.

The island is visible from the [Auckland Harbour Bridge](/source/Auckland_Harbour_Bridge), which caused it to briefly make headlines when [Adidas](/source/Adidas) in 2005 erected a metal crouching figure (shown doing a [haka](/source/Haka)) as part of a campaign to promote the [All Blacks](/source/All_Blacks) during the [Lions' rugby tour](/source/2005_British_%26_Irish_Lions_tour_to_New_Zealand). While Adidas noted that it had consulted on the erection of the statue, it was eventually toppled from the top of the island by a saboteur claiming that it was culturally insensitive. The island is customary [Māori](/source/M%C4%81ori_people) property.[3][4]

The island has special (or more precisely, undefined) legal status, as neither [Auckland City Council](/source/Auckland_City_Council), [Auckland Regional Council](/source/Auckland_Regional_Council) or [Ports of Auckland](/source/Ports_of_Auckland) claimed responsibility, though some local [iwi](/source/Iwi) are considered to have customary rights over it. Auckland Regional Council chairman [Mike Lee](/source/Mike_Lee_(New_Zealand_politician)) once noted in a thesis that:

- *"Watchman Island and many other islets in the Hauraki Gulf "are not formally owned in a property title sense. For nearly 150 years they have existed in a legal limbo as 'uninvestigated', which normally presupposes Māori customary land."*[5]

## References

1. Wilson, Karen (28 August 2018). ["Brief of Evidence of Karen Akamira Wilson on Behalf of Te Ākitai Waiohua"](https://www.justice.govt.nz/assets/E80-Karen-Wilson-EIC-Te-Akitai-Waiohua.pdf). *justice.govt.nz*. [Ministry of Justice](/source/Ministry_of_Justice_(New_Zealand)). Retrieved 21 July 2023.

1. Rudman, Brian (13 June 2005). ["Brian Rudman: Challenge to adidas – show a bit more respect"](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/advertising/news/article.cfm?c_id=111&objectid=10330395). *[The New Zealand Herald](/source/The_New_Zealand_Herald)*. Retrieved 2 December 2011.

1. Derek Cheng and Angela Gregory (8 June 2005). ["Saboteurs tackle sponsor's haka man"](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/new-zealand-rugby-union/news/article.cfm?o_id=255&objectid=10329616). *[The New Zealand Herald](/source/The_New_Zealand_Herald)*. Retrieved 2 December 2011.

1. ["Ask Phoebe: Tiny isle belongs to no one"](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10632696). *[The New Zealand Herald](/source/The_New_Zealand_Herald)*. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 26 March 2010.

## External links

- [Photographs of Watchman Island](https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/search/searchterm/Watchman%20Island) held in [Auckland Libraries'](/source/Auckland_Libraries) heritage collections.

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