Arapawa Island
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Location of Arapawa Island |
Arapawa Island is a small
island located in the
Marlborough Sounds, at the north east tip of the
South Island of
New Zealand. The island has a land area of 75 km² (18500 acres).
Queen Charlotte Sound defines its western side, while to the south lies
Tory Channel, which is on the sea route from
Wellington in the
North Island to
Picton.
It was from a hill on Arapawa Island in
1770 that Captain
James Cook first saw the sea passage from the
Pacific Ocean to the
Tasman Sea, which was named
Cook Strait. This discovery banished the fond notion of geographers that there existed a great southern
continent.
From the late
1820s until the mid
1960s, Arapawa Island was a base for
whaling in the Sounds.
Perano Head on the east coast of the island was the principal whaling station for the area.The houses built by the Perano family are now operated as tourist accommodation.
Arapawa Island is known for the breeds of pigs, sheep and goats found only on the island. The origin of these breeds is unknown, and is a matter of some speculation. Common suggestions are that they are old English breeds introduced by the early whalers, or by Captain Cook or other early explorers, which are now extinct in
England.
*
Perano Homestead
