Herekino
Encyclopedia
Herekino is a locality in Northland, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It lies 26 km south west of Kaitaia
Kaitaia
Kaitaia is a town in the far north region of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula which is about 160 km northwest of Whangarei. It is the last major settlement on the main road north to the capes and bays on the peninsula...

. The Herekino Harbour, also called the Herekino River, is an estuary and inlet from the Tasman Sea
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

 to the west. The Herekino Forest, which contains a stand of large kauri, is to the north, and the Tauroa Peninsula lies to the north west.

The population was 1947 in the 2006 Census, down from 2055 in 2001.

The harbour is mostly above water at high tide, with just a shallow entrance channel. The upper reaches of the harbour contain a mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

 forest.
The township of Herekino is at the north east end of the estuary, and the small settlement of Owhata lies on the rocky south shore of the harbour entrance. Owhata is a flat grassy area, with a fairly shallow beach of mud and sand. There is not much natural shelter, and there is a limited supply of fresh water in summer.

Etymology

Herekino was named by the Māori chief Tohe, who passed through on the way to visit the local chief Taunaha at Owhata and noticed a lasso-type of bird trap which had been incorrectly tied, which would cause the prey unnecessary suffering. He named the area Herekino-a-Taunaha (the false knot of Taunaha).

History

Ngāti Ruānui
Ngati Ruanui
Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi.-Early history:...

 (now Te Aupōuri
Te Aupouri
Te Aupōuri is the northernmost Māori iwi , located north of Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand, a region known as the Aupouri Peninsula.-The ancestral legend:...

) dominated the Herekino and Whangape harbours and several battles were fought against other iwi in the area before European settlement.

In 1846, the brig H.M.S. Osprey mistook the Herekino Heads with the entrance to the Hokianga
Hokianga
Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as The Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand....

, about 30 km to the south, due to misty weather and the similarity of the two features - both have a northern head formed by sand dunes. The Osprey was driven ashore on the shallow sand bank just north of the headland. No lives were lost. Wreckage is still visible. Herekino was named on some charts as "False Hokianga" due to the similarity of the entrances.

Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....

n immigrants were growing grapes in Herekino by the late 1890s and by 1906, there were 14 vineyards.

In the mid 1960s Herekino was a small township with shops - a butcher, a petrol station and more. However following the sealing of State Highway 1 through the Mangamuka Gorge to Kaitaia
Kaitaia
Kaitaia is a town in the far north region of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula which is about 160 km northwest of Whangarei. It is the last major settlement on the main road north to the capes and bays on the peninsula...

, the township quickly declined.

Education

Herekino School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating
Socio-Economic Decile
Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....

of 2 and a roll of 61.
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