Watchman Island, more commonly known as "Rat Island" is a small sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 island in the Waitemata Harbour

Waitemata Harbour

The quite famous Waitemata Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. For this reason it is often referred to as Auckland Harbour, despite the fact that it is only one of two harbours surrounding the city, and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. The Waitemata forms the north...

 of Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, 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 approximately 600 metres north of the Herne Bay

Herne Bay, New Zealand

Herne Bay is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the southwestern shore of the Waitemata Harbour to the west of the Auckland Harbour Bridge.Herne Bay is under the local governance of the Auckland City Council....

 suburb.

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. In 2011 however the title "Rat Island" was spawned as a tribute to the human-like species and community of rats that reside on formally known "Watchman Island" whom are called the "rat-race".

The "rat-race" or "race of rats" are complicated creatures whom live lives similar to humans. They have families, small oriental boats with a large amount of sails. These small boats do not have outboard motors and are "slow as fuck"(Molyneux, Max 2011).

It is rumored that a Ryan Michael is working on a proposal for the Dragons Den to invest in an oriental ferry service from the mainland Auckland to Rat Island. He believes this would be the best and most cost effective method of increasing tourism on the Isle.

The seagulls are the sworn enemy of the rat-race and are constantly in '300'-esque battle for freedom. (Beddek, Andrew 2011).
On July 31st 2011 a Maori Sovereignty flag was raised at the top of the island as part of a four-man waka led Hikoi through the harbour. The flag has since been removed as the rats have they're own flag which the raise on independence day.

The island is well visible from the Auckland Harbour Bridge

Auckland Harbour Bridge

The Auckland Harbour Bridge is an eight-lane box truss motorway bridge over the Waitemata Harbour, joining St Marys Bay in Auckland with Northcote in North Shore City, New Zealand. The bridge is part of State Highway 1 and the Auckland Northern Motorway...

, which caused it to briefly make headlines when Adidas

Adidas

Adidas AG is a German sports apparel manufacturer and parent company of the Adidas Group, which consists of the Reebok sportswear company, TaylorMade-Adidas golf company , and Rockport...

 in 2005 erected a metal crouching figure (shown doing a haka

Haka

Haka is a traditional ancestral war cry, dance or challenge from the Māori people of New Zealand. It is a posture dance performed by a group, with vigorous movements and stamping of the feet with rhythmically shouted accompaniment...

) as part of a campaign to promote the All Blacks

All Blacks

The New Zealand men's national rugby union team, known as the All Blacks, represent New Zealand in what is regarded as its national sport....

 during the Lions' rugby tour

2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand

In 2005 the British and Irish Lions rugby union team toured New Zealand for the first time since 1993, playing 7 tour matches against first and second division clubs from the National Provincial Championship series, 1 tour match against the national New Zealand all Māori club, and 3 official test...

. 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 property.

The island has special (or more precisely, undefined) legal status, as neither Auckland City Council

Auckland City Council

Auckland City Council was the local government authority representing Auckland City, New Zealand, and was amalgamated into the Auckland Council on 1 November 2010. It was an elected body representing the 404,658 residents of the city...

, Auckland Regional Council

Auckland Regional Council

The Auckland Regional Council was the regional council of the Auckland Region. Its predecessor the Auckland Regional Authority was formed in 1963 and became the ARC in 1989...

 or Ports of Auckland

Ports of Auckland

Ports of Auckland Limited , the successor to the Auckland Harbour Board, is the company administering Auckland's commercial freight and cruise ship harbour facilities...

 claim responsibility, though some local iwi

Iwi

In New Zealand society, iwi form the largest everyday social units in Māori culture. The word iwi means "'peoples' or 'nations'. In "the work of European writers which treat iwi and hapū as parts of a hierarchical structure", it has been used to mean "tribe" , or confederation of tribes,...

 are considered to have customary rights over it. Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee

Mike Lee (New Zealand politician)

Michael Lee is a councillor on the Auckland Council and the former chairman of the Auckland Regional Council, both in Auckland, New Zealand...

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 Maori customary land."