Imagine standing on Browns Island. This island is also known as Motukorea in Māori. It is a special place in Auckland’s Hauraki Gulf. Browns Island holds stories of volcanic eruptions and human settlements.
Browns Island is one of the best-preserved volcanoes in the Auckland volcanic field. About 25000 years ago Browns Island erupted. At that time the Tāmaki Estuary and Waitemata Harbour were forested river valleys. Little native bush remains today except on the northeastern cliffs. Centuries of cultivation have left the volcanic landforms visible.
Browns Island shows three styles of eruption. It has a main scoria cone with a deep crater. A small remnant arc forms the cliffs in the northeast. You can also see the upper portions of lava flows. When the eruptions happened the area was dry land. Today much of the lava is underwater.
Motukorea erupted about 24500 years ago. The eruptions began with wet explosions. These cleared debris and created a shallow crater. Magma and ash formed a tuff ring around the crater. The wind blew from the southwest. This built a substantial rim on the downward side. Fossils of Sydney mud cockles have been found here. These were deposited from the volcano.
Dry eruptions built scoria cones around the main crater. The sea eroded the tuff on the northern side. Shell deposits created flats on the south and west. A shallow reef extends offshore.
During the Last Glacial Maximum sea levels dropped. Motukorea was surrounded by a vast coastal plain. This plain is now the Hauraki Gulf. Sea levels rose 7000 years ago. Motukorea became an island separated from New Zealand.
The history of Motukorea before Europeans is not well documented. Ngāti Tamaterā controlled the island. The Tainui canoe stopped here. It stopped after leaving Wakatiwai. Then it went to Rangitoto.
Ngāti Paoa controlled the general area. Ngāti Whātua controlled lands to the west. But Motukorea remained under Ngāti Tamaterā control. Motukorea controlled access up the Tāmaki River. It was near the Ōtāhuhu portage. Archaeological remains show intensive occupation. People worked stone, fished, and gardened. They also built defended settlements. Three pā sites have been identified. Artifacts include worked moa bone and fishhooks. Stone came from local islands and as far as Coromandel Peninsula. Motukorea means Oystercatcher Island.
Early European visitors traded with Māori. Dumont D’Urville visited in 1827. He reported the island abandoned. William Brown and Logan Campbell bought Motukorea in 1840. They settled on the western side. This was one of the earliest European settlements in Auckland. They built a raupo whare and ran pigs. They wanted to supply the town of Auckland.
Ngāti Whātua chief Āpihai Te Kawau gifted Auckland to Captain Hobson. He wanted Auckland to be the new capital. Brown and Campbell protested their right to occupy the island. Governor Hobson refused Brown’s application for a Crown grant. Robert FitzRoy granted it in 1844.
Campbell left in 1840 to trade in Auckland. Brown stayed to manage the pig farm. In 1856 both men left for Great Britain. Campbell bought Brown’s share in 1873. In 1877 Campbell wanted to plant olive trees. He sold the island to the Featherstone family in 1879. They built a house that burned down in 1915.
The Alison family bought the island in 1906. They operated the Devonport Steam Ferry Company. They abandoned coal-powered paddle steamers here. The Barnard brothers made glider flights from the cone in 1909. In the 1920s the Devonport Steam Ferry Company brought picnickers to the island.
The Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board bought the island in 1946. They wanted to build a sewage treatment plant. Sir Ernest Davis bought the island and gifted it to Auckland in 1955. He had been the chairperson of the Devonport Steam Ferry Company. The Auckland City Council administered the island. It became part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. The Department of Conservation manages it now.
Browns Island is part of the Hauraki Gulf Maritime Park. There are three pā sites. The highest point is 68 metres above sea level.
The mineral motukoreaite was discovered here in 1977. There is also a collapsed lava cave depression.
You can only reach Browns Island by private boat or seaplane. There is no wharf. The best landing spot is on the northern side. A rock reef makes navigation difficult. Access to the island is via a steep path.
Browns Island is a place of natural beauty and rich history. It is a reminder of Auckland’s volcanic past and its human heritage. Take a moment to appreciate the views and imagine the stories this island holds.