Mokoia Island is located in Lake Rotorua in New Zealand. It has an area of 1.35 square kilometres. The uninhabited[1] island is a rhyolite lava dome, rising to 180 metres above the lake surface. It was formed after the Rotorua caldera collapsed and rhyolitic magma was pushed through the cracks. One of the cracks was below where Mokoia island is today. The foreshores of the island have geothermal springs with hot spring water forming the Hinemoa pool, known to locals as Waikimihia. It also has very rich volcanic soil, which was why the local Māori grew kūmara on it. The stone statue of Matuatonga on the island protected the island's kūmara crop, and tohunga would bring seed kūmara to touch the statue.[2] It was also a very good strategic location, which was why it was often fought over.
Mokoia Island is privately owned by local Māori iwi, who run it in conjunction with the New Zealand Department of Conservation. It is a bird sanctuary and access is limited to tour parties only. It is home to several rare species, including the North Island kokako, the North Island brown kiwi, and a breeding population of the endangered North Island saddleback.[3]
The island is also the location of regular Mau rākau training camps in the Māori martial art of taiaha.
- ^ "Population by meshblock (2013 Census)". Stats NZ. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 30 May 2018.
- ^ "Kumaras and Kumara Magic". Te Ao Hou: 36–39. December 1962.
- ^ "Conservation on Mokoia Island". Archived from the original on 14 October 2008. Retrieved 12 September 2008.