Te Tauranga ō Tainui or The Anchorage of Tainui. It is located to the far east of the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula. This place holds stories. I want to share some of them with you as we stand here at Duders Point. This regional park is on the coast east of Auckland. We are specifically on the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula.
Duders Point is more than just a scenic spot. It is a place where the land whispers tales of ancient voyagers. It also speaks of early settlers. The park itself spans 162 hectares. That is about 400 acres.
Let’s take a step back in time to the 1300s. The Tainui ancestral canoe sought shelter here from a storm. They were travelling north along the North Island coast. The peninsula’s name, Whakakaiwhara, comes from this event. The crew came ashore to eat tāwhara. These are the edible flowers of the kiekie vine.
During that visit, a crew member, Tāne Whakatia, planted a karaka berry. It grew into Huna ā Tāne. This was a great karaka tree. While it no longer stands, it is said to be responsible for the many karaka trees we see around Duders Point today.
The Tainui canoe eventually left. It crossed the Tāmaki River and reached the Kāwhia Harbour. However, not everyone aboard settled there. Some remained, becoming Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. They settled between the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula and the Wairoa River. They built kāinga and pā. Much of the peninsula was cleared for gardens.
By the 1600s, Whakakaiwhara Pā and Te Oue Pā were central to Ngāi Tai life. The rangatira of the iwi were based here. Hapū moved around the rohe. They settled in areas seasonally. They harvested from the forest and beaches. They fished and farmed. By the 1800s, after European contact, the rangatira were based at Umupuia which is also known as Duders Beach.
In the 1820s, the Musket Wars caused most Ngāi Tai members to flee to the Waikato. Many returned by the 1830s.
Now let’s talk about early European settlement. William Thomas Fairburn set up a Christian mission at Maraetai in the mid-1830s. However, most European settlement began in the 1850s. In 1854, the government created a 6,063-acre native reserve for Ngāi Tai. This included the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula. Ngāi Tai agreed not to settle elsewhere. This meant they could not continue their tradition of seasonal settlements.
During the Invasion of the Waikato in the 1860s, rangatira Hori Te Whētuki remained neutral. However, many Ngāi Tai fought for the Kīngitanga. After the invasion, much of Ngāi Tai’s rohe was confiscated. Yet, the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula remained in their possession.
In 1865, the Māori Land Court subdivided the Ngāi Tai Native Reserve. It was split into 10 blocks. These were owned by individuals. The iwi decided to sell most of the lands. They remained at the Maratirai Block and Umupuia. In July 1866, Hori Te Whētuki sold the Whakakaiwhara Peninsula to Thomas Duder. Duder was a former boatswain. He had emigrated to New Zealand in 1840 after his ship, HMS Buffalo, was shipwrecked.
The Duder family turned the area into a sheep farm and orchard with the help of local iwi. The peninsula, called “the Run” by the family, was mostly left as grazing land for sheep. By the late 1800s, refrigeration allowed them to transport sheep meat to England. The farm thrived. By the 1890s, 600 sheep were farmed on the peninsula. The peninsula became a popular spot for fishers. Nearby Umupuia Beach became a local picnic spot.
During World War I, the lowlands were used as a dairy farm. In 1942, the Royal New Zealand Air Force chose the peninsula for an underground seaplane base. Construction was abandoned 18 months later. From 1944 until the end of World War II, the peninsula was a rocket range for training.
The Duder family continued to farm here for most of the 20th century. From the 1930s, they cleared shrub, fenced the land, and sowed pastures.
Finally, in 1995, the Duder family sold the land to the Auckland Regional Council. Duders Point became a regional park. In 2010, an extra 13.7 hectares was added to protect views from the park.
Today, when you visit Duders Point, you can wander through what was once a thriving farm. You can enjoy the views and remember the stories of those who came before us. From the Tainui canoe to the Duder family farm, this land has many tales to tell. Remember that as you explore this beautiful regional park.