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John Kirwan (rugby)

2025-09-15T16:44:38Z

2003:D3:FF04:D9FA:177B:4C58:C8EF:909E: /* Personal life */Non-notable

{{Short description|New Zealand rugby footballer and coach}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=August 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Infobox rugby biography
| name = John Kirwan
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|country=NZL|KNZM|MBE|size=100%}}
| image = Sir John Kirwan 2013.jpg
| birth_name = John James Patrick Kirwan
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1964|12|16}}
| birth_place = [[Auckland]], New Zealand
| occupation =
| spouse =
| children =
| school = {{nowrap|[[De La Salle College, Māngere East]]}}
| relatives = [[Jack Kirwan (rugby league)|Jack Kirwan]] (grandfather)<br />[[Niko Kirwan]] (son)<br>{{nowrap|[[John Ah Kuoi]] (brother-in-law)}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.akinsurance.co.nz/about-us/about-us-2 |title=John Ah Kuoi at Ah Kuoi Kirwan Insurance |access-date=19 August 2017 |archive-date=19 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219130207/https://www.akinsurance.co.nz/about-us/about-us-2 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| height = {{convert|1.92|m|ftin|abbr=on}}
| weight = {{convert|92|kg|stlb|abbr=on}}
| ru_position = [[Wing (rugby union)|Wing]]
| years1 = 1983–94 | clubs1 = [[Marist Brothers Old Boys RFC|Marist]]
| years2 = 1985–89 | clubs2 = [[Benetton Rugby|Treviso]]
| years3 = 1989–90 | clubs3 = Thiene
| years4 = 1997–99 | clubs4 = [[NEC Green Rockets|NEC]]
| apps1 = | points1 =
| apps2 = 60 | points2 = 184
| apps3 = | points3 =
| apps4 = | points4 =
| repyears1 = 1984–94 | repteam1 = [[New Zealand national rugby union team|New Zealand]]
| repcaps1 = 63 | reppoints1 = 143
| provinceyears1 = 1983–94 | province1 = [[Auckland Rugby Football Union|Auckland]]
| ru_provinceapps1 = 142 | provincepoints1 =
| coachyears1 = 1999–2001 | coachteams1 = [[NEC Green Rockets|NEC]]
| coachyears2 = 2001 | coachteams2 = [[Auckland Blues|Blues]] (assistant)
| coachyears3 = 2001–02 | coachteams3 = [[Italy national rugby union team|Italy]] (assistant)
| coachyears4 = 2002–05 | coachteams4 = [[Italy national rugby union team|Italy]]
| coachyears5 = 2007–11 | coachteams5 = [[Japan national rugby union team|Japan]]
| coachyears6 = 2012 | coachteams6 = [[Barbarian F.C.|Barbarians]]
| coachyears7 = 2013–15 | coachteams7 = [[Blues (Super Rugby)|Blues]]
| ru_coachupdate = 18 November 2013
| module = {{infobox rugby league biography
| embed = yes
| position = {{rlp|WG}}
| club1 = [[Auckland Warriors]]
| year1start = 1995
| year1end = 96
| appearances1 = 35
| tries1 = 13
| goals1 = 0
| fieldgoals1 = 0
| points1 = 52
}}
}}

'''Sir John James Patrick Kirwan''' {{post-nominals|country=NZL|KNZM|MBE}} (born 16 December 1964) is a New Zealand [[mental health]] advocate, former [[rugby union]] and [[rugby league]] footballer, and former [[rugby union]] coach.

A wing, he played for [[Auckland Rugby Football Union|Auckland]] in the 1980s and 1990s, when they dominated New Zealand rugby. He played in 63 tests for [[New Zealand national rugby union team|New Zealand]], and scored 35 [[rugby try|tries]], making him one of the [[List of leading Rugby union Test try scorers|highest try scorers in international rugby union history]]. He was part of the New Zealand team that won the first [[Rugby World Cup]] in [[1987 Rugby World Cup|1987]]. He also played rugby league for the [[Auckland Warriors]] in their first two seasons in 1995 and 1996.

After retiring, he moved into coaching, and was the head coach of Japanese club [[NEC Green Rockets|NEC]], the [[Italy national rugby union team|Italy]] and [[Japan national rugby union team|Japan]] national teams, and the [[Auckland Blues|Blues]] in [[Super Rugby]], until he stepped down in 2015.

He has written two books on the subject of mental health, has spoken openly about his battles with [[depression (mood)|depression]] and been honoured for his services to mental health.

==Early life and family==
Kirwan was born in [[Auckland]] on 16 December 1964, the son of Patrick and Patricia Madeline Kirwan.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://notices.nzherald.co.nz/obituaries/nzherald-nz/obituary.aspx?n=patricia-madeline-kirwan-pat&pid=191583525 |title=Patricia Madeline (Pat) Kirwan death notice |work= [[The New Zealand Herald]] |date=19 February 2019 |access-date=19 February 2019}}</ref><ref name="AB profile"/> He was educated at [[De La Salle College, Mangere East|De La Salle College]] in Auckland.<ref name="AB profile">{{cite web| url = http://stats.allblacks.com/asp/Profile.asp?ABID=467|title =John Kirwan| last = Knight| first = Lindsay| publisher = New Zealand Rugby Museum| access-date = 19 March 2014}}</ref>

His paternal grandfather, [[Jack Kirwan (rugby)|Jack Kirwan]], was a wing three-quarter/five-eighths originally from [[Reefton]] who played for the [[New Zealand rugby league team|New Zealand]] rugby league team on 28 occasions.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

==Playing career==
{{BLP sources section|date=July 2023}}

===Rugby union===
Kirwan played for [[Marist Brothers Old Boys RFC]] and [[Auckland RFU|Auckland]] domestically, winning 142 caps with the latter during an era when the side dominated the [[National Provincial Championship (1976–2005)|NPC]] and [[Ranfurly Shield]].

From 1985 to 1989 he also played in Italy, with [[Benetton Rugby|Benetton Treviso]], where he won the [[Top12|Italian championship]] in 1989. Also in the Treviso team was the [[All Black]] [[Craig Green (rugby union)|Craig Green]], Kirwan's teammate in the [[1987 Rugby World Cup|1987 World Cup]] won by New Zealand.

After his spell in rugby league, he finished his rugby union playing career with [[NEC Green Rockets|NEC]] in Japan from 1997 to 1999.

====International====
Kirwan played 63 test matches for [[New Zealand national rugby union team|New Zealand]] from 1984 until 1994. Kirwan played a major role in the All Blacks' 23-test unbeaten run from 1987 to 1990, including winning the [[1987 Rugby World Cup|1987 World Cup]]. He scored 10 tries in five tests against Wales and Australia during 1988. In all he scored 35 test tries for New Zealand. He also scored 67 tries in all appearances with the All Blacks (including non test matches) which is still the national record. His total of 199 first class tries remains a New Zealand record.

Kirwan was selected as one of the "Five players of the year" for the 1985,1986, 1987 and 1988 seasons, in the Rugby Almanack of New Zealand.

In 1986 Kirwan and [[David Kirk]] were the only All Blacks not to join the 'rebel' [[New Zealand Cavaliers]] team that travelled to [[apartheid]]-era South Africa after a New Zealand court held that the All Blacks' playing in that country would be inconsistent with their mission of promoting rugby. As a result, he and Kirk were the only ones not barred from playing with the All Blacks after the tour.

===Rugby league===
At age 30 Kirwan signed for the newly formed [[rugby league]] club [[Auckland Warriors]] for the [[1995 ARL season]], with a mutual option for 1996.<ref>{{cite news|last=Steve Mascord and Wynne Gray|title=Kirwan switch a coup for Warriors|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news950308_0020_9254|access-date=9 September 2013|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=8 March 1995}}</ref> Playing on the wing, Kirwan was the Warriors' top try scorer in the [[1996 Auckland Warriors season|1996 season]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Koslowski|first=Michael|title=Worrier Kirwan blows one, makes two|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news950423_0122_2225|access-date=9 September 2013|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=23 April 1995}}</ref> He was a staunch opponent of the ARL during the [[Super League war]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Mascord|first=Steve|title=Breakaway club in Paris a possibility for Kirwan|url=http://newsstore.fairfax.com.au/apps/viewDocument.ac?page=1&docID=news960226_0140_0182|access-date=9 September 2013|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]|date=26 February 1996}}</ref>

==Coaching career==
{{BLP sources section|date=July 2023}}
Kirwan coached [[NEC Green Rockets]] in Japan, and in 2001 became an assistant coach with the [[Blues (Super Rugby)|Auckland Blues]].

In 2002, he moved to Italy to become the coach of the [[Italy national rugby union team|Italy national team]], which under his guidance recorded two victories over Wales in 2003 and Scotland in 2004. After a winless [[2005 Six Nations]] campaign, he was dismissed on 8 April 2005. He continued to work as a consultant with NEC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allblacks.com/news/kirwan-to-coach-japan/|title = Kirwan to coach Japan| date=26 October 2006 }}</ref>

At the start of 2007 he was appointed the coach of the [[Japan national rugby union team]]. Kirwan said: "The level of rugby has improved greatly in Japan in the last ten years and they did well at the last World Cup. But their recent performances at national level have [not been good]. I want to find that 'Samurai Spirit' that all the players can identify with. And then that style of rugby can start to spread downwards throughout the country." At the [[2007 Rugby World Cup]], Japan drew 12–12 with Canada, breaking a 16-year, 13-match losing streak at World Cups. Kirwan remained head coach of Japan through the [[2011 Rugby World Cup]], when they again drew with Canada, but lost to New Zealand, France and Tonga.

In July 2012, Kirwan was announced as the new coach of the [[Blues (Super Rugby)|Blues]]. In the 2013 and 2014 seasons, the Blues finished in 10th place. After re-applying for the role for 2016 and beyond, he was forced to step down following just three wins - an all-time franchise low - in the 2015 season. In 2018 he stated that he is not likely to coach again.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/super-rugby/105035718/nz-rugby-great-sir-john-kirwan-doubts-he-will-coach-again-as-blues-experience-takes-its-toll|title=NZ rugby great Sir John Kirwan doubts he will coach again as Blues experience takes its toll|date=26 June 2018}}</ref>

==Health==
Kirwan has openly spoken of his battle with depression, and is actively involved in mental health and depression awareness campaigns in New Zealand. He has written about his depression in the books ''All Blacks Don't Cry'' and ''Stand by Me''.<ref>{{Cite book
| publisher = Penguin
| last = Kirwan
| first = John
| title = All Black's don't cry : a story of hope
| location = North Shore, N.Z.
| year = 2010
| isbn = 978-0-14-320480-0
}}</ref>

He established the Sir John Kirwan Foundation to help young people understand mental health. In 2020, he launched a mental wellbeing app called Mentemia.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

==Personal life==
Kirwan is married to Fiorella, and they have three children, including [[Niko Kirwan|Niko]], who has played football for the [[New Zealand men's national football team|All Whites]], New Zealand's national team,<ref name="Niko">{{Cite news|url=http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2018/03/john-kirwan-s-son-niko-set-to-name-in-all-whites-squad-reports.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310135918/http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/sport/2018/03/john-kirwan-s-son-niko-set-to-name-in-all-whites-squad-reports.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 March 2018|title=John Kirwan's son Niko set to be named in All Whites squad - reports|work=[[Newshub]] |access-date=2018-03-10|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldrowing.com/athletes/athlete/53313/kirwan-luca |title=Luca Kirwan |publisher=World Rowing |access-date=26 May 2020 |archive-date=24 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200224232415/http://www.worldrowing.com/athletes/athlete/53313/kirwan-luca |url-status=dead }}</ref> Kirwan speaks fluent Italian and good Japanese, having lived in Italy and Japan.

In 2016, Kirwan's DNA heritage was investigated for a television programme, in which links to the Irish-American [[Kennedy family]] and Scottish mountaineer [[Alexander Kellas]] were shown.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/tv-radio/tv-guide/98678030/John-Kirwan-unlocks-family-secrets-on-DNA-Detectives |title= John Kirwan unlocks family secrets on DNA Detectives |publisher=Stuff (Fairfax) |date=15 November 2017}}</ref>

==Honours and awards==
In the [[1989 New Year Honours (New Zealand)|1989 New Year Honours]], Kirwan was appointed a Member of the [[Order of the British Empire]], for services to rugby.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=51580 |date=31 December 1988 |page=34 |supp=3}}</ref>

In the [[2007 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)|2007 Queen's Birthday Honours]], Kirwan was appointed an [[New Zealand Order of Merit|Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit]], for services to mental health.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/queens-birthday-honours-list-2007 |title=Queen's Birthday honours list 2007 |date=4 June 2007 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet |access-date=28 February 2020}}</ref> In the [[2012 Birthday Honours (New Zealand)|2012 Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours]], he was promoted to [[Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit]], for services to mental health and rugby.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Queen's Birthday and Diamond Jubilee Honours List 2012|url=http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/node/1045|work=New Zealand Honours Lists|publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet|access-date=30 June 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604202359/http://www.dpmc.govt.nz/node/1045|archive-date=4 June 2012}}</ref>

Also in 2012, Kirwan was inducted into the [[New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*''The outdoors cookbook: John Kirwan & [[Annabel Langbein]]'s favourite barbecue and grill recipes'' (1989) {{ISBN|0-908757-06-9}}
*''Kirwan: running on instinct'' (1992) {{ISBN|1-86947-107-5}}
*''Why I am: a bag full of wisdom to take on the road'' (c1999) {{ISBN|1-86953-440-9}}
*''All Blacks Don’t Cry: A Story of Hope'' (2010) {{ISBN|978-0-14-320480-0}}

==External links==
* {{ESPNscrum}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-sports}}
{{succession box
| before={{flagicon|NZL}} [[Brad Johnstone]]
| title=[[Italy national rugby union team#Coaches|Italy National Rugby Union Coach]]
| years=2002–2005
| after={{flagicon|FRA}} [[Pierre Berbizier]]}}
{{succession box
| before={{flagicon|Japan}} [[Osamu Ota]] (caretaker)
| title=[[Japan national rugby union team#Coaches|Japan national rugby union coach]]
| years=2007–2011
| after={{flagicon|Australia}} [[Eddie Jones (rugby union)|Eddie Jones]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Overseas Unions XV}}
{{All Blacks Squad 1987 World Cup}}
{{All Blacks Squad 1991 World Cup}}
{{Italy Squad 2003 World Cup}}
{{Japan Squad 2007 World Cup}}
{{Japan Squad 2011 Rugby World Cup}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kirwan, John}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:1987 Rugby World Cup players]]
[[Category:1991 Rugby World Cup players]]
[[Category:Auckland rugby union players]]
[[Category:Benetton Rugby players]]
[[Category:Expatriate rugby union coaches]]
[[Category:Green Rockets Tokatsu players]]
[[Category:Italy national rugby team coaches]]
[[Category:Japan national rugby team coaches]]
[[Category:Knights Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit]]
[[Category:Mental health activists]]
[[Category:New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Italy]]
[[Category:New Zealand expatriate rugby union players in Japan]]
[[Category:New Zealand international rugby union players]]
[[Category:New Zealand Members of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:New Zealand people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:Sportspeople of Irish descent]]
[[Category:New Zealand rugby league players]]
[[Category:New Zealand rugby union coaches]]
[[Category:New Zealand rugby union players]]
[[Category:New Zealand Warriors players]]
[[Category:People educated at De La Salle College, Māngere East]]
[[Category:Rugby football people awarded knighthoods]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from Auckland]]
[[Category:Rugby league wingers]]
[[Category:Rugby union players from Auckland]]
[[Category:Rugby union wings]]
[[Category:World Rugby Hall of Fame inductees]]
[[Category:20th-century New Zealand sportsmen]]

Hokianga

2025-09-15T16:16:50Z

2003:D3:FF04:D9FA:177B:4C58:C8EF:909E:

{{Short description|Bay in Northland Region, New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=October 2017}}
{{Location map
| New Zealand
| width =
| float =
| border =
| caption = Hokianga is in the [[Northland Region]].
| alt =
| relief =
| AlternativeMap =
| label = Hokianga
| label_size =
| position = left
| background =
| mark =
| marksize =
| link =
| lat_deg = -35.5258
| lon_deg = 173.3786
}}
[[File:Hokianga.jpg|thumb|Image of the Hokianga generated by NASA's [[NASA World Wind|World Wind]] program]]

The '''Hokianga''' is an area surrounding the '''Hokianga Harbour''', also known as the '''Hokianga River''', a long [[Estuary|estuarine]] drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the [[North Island]] of [[New Zealand]].

The original name, still used by local [[Māori people|Māori]], is ''Te Kohanga o Te Tai Tokerau'' ("the nest of the northern people") or ''Te Puna o Te Ao Marama'' ("the wellspring in the world of light"). The full name of the harbour is '''Te Hokianga-nui-a-Kupe''' — "the place of Kupe's great return".

==Geography==
The Hokianga is in the [[Far North (district), New Zealand|Far North District]], which is in the [[Northland Region]]. The area is {{Convert|120|km}} northwest of [[Whangārei]] City—and {{Convert|40|km}} west of [[Kaikohe]]—by road. The estuary extends inland for {{convert|30|km}} from the [[Tasman Sea]]. It is navigable for small craft for much of its length, although there is a bar across the mouth. In its upper reaches the Rangiora Narrows separate the mouths of the Waihou and Mangamuka Rivers from the lower parts of the harbour.

12,000 years ago, the Hokianga was a river valley flanked by steep bush-clad hills. As the last ice age regressed, the dramatic rise in sea level slowly flooded the valley turning it into a tidal saltwater harbour with abundant sheltered deep water anchorages. This was the harbour that the explorer [[Kupe]] left from, and in 1822 it was home to the first European timber entrepreneurs.<ref>Parkes, Bill, ''A Northland Legend: Dr G.M. Smith of Rawene 1883 – 1958'', published by The Auckland Medical History Society, August 2004. p 3</ref> [[southern right whale]]s possibly frequented the bay historically, prior to significant depletion of the species caused by commercial and illegal hunting.<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Berzin A. |author2=Ivashchenko V.Y. |author3=Clapham J.P. |author4=Brownell L.R. Jr. |year=2008|title=The Truth About Soviet Whaling: A Memoir|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1014&context=usdeptcommercepub|work=DigitalCommons@University of Nebraska – Lincoln|access-date=2016-01-15}}</ref> Today, large whales are rarely seen in the bay, although the harbour is a well-regarded area in which to watch smaller [[dolphin]]s and [[killer whale]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.orcaresearch.org/index.php/archives/1110|title=Orca in the Hokianga {{!}} Orca Research Trust|website=www.orcaresearch.org|access-date=2017-10-06|archive-date=31 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331075159/https://www.orcaresearch.org/index.php/archives/1110|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Numerous small islands dot the Hokianga, notably [[Ruapapaka Island]], [[Motukaraka Island]], and [[To Motu Island]], the latter being the site of a former [[pā]].

===Arms and inlets===
As the Hokianga is a drowned valley, it is the mouth of numerous "tributaries", many of which retain the name river while effectively being bays or inlets. Clockwise from the mouth of the Hokianga, these include:
*[[Whakarapa River]]
*[[Motuti River]]
*[[Whangapapatiki Creek]]
*[[Tapuwae River]]
*[[Mangamuka River]]
*[[Orira River]]
*[[Waihou River (Northland)|Waihou River]]
*[[Wairere River]]
*[[Waima River]]
*[[Omanaia River]]
*[[Whirinaki River (Northland)|Whirinaki River]]

===Settlements===
The area around the harbour is divided in three by the estuary. To the south are the settlements of [[Waimamaku]], [[Ōmāpere]], [[Opononi]], [[Koutu]], [[Whirinaki, Northland|Whirinaki]], [[Rawene]], [[Omanaia]], [[Waima, Northland|Waima]], and [[Taheke]]; to the north are [[Broadwood, New Zealand|Broadwood]], [[Pawarenga]], [[Panguru]] and [[Mitimiti]]; and at the top of the harbour upstream from the narrows are [[Horeke]], [[Kohukohu, New Zealand|Kohukohu]], and [[Mangamuka]].

==History==
===Pre-colonial times===
According to [[Te Tai tokerau|Te Tai Tokerau]] tradition, [[Kupe]] and [[Ngāhue]], the legendary Polynesian navigators and explorers, settled in Hokianga in approximately 925 AD, after their journey of discovery from [[Hawaiki]] aboard their waka (canoe) named ''[[Matahourua|Matahorua]]'' and ''[[Tāwhirirangi]]''.<ref>{{cite book | author=Te Rangi Hīroa | author-link = Te Rangi Hīroa | title = The Coming of the Maori | year = 1949 | publisher=Whitcombe & Tombes Ltd | location = Christchurch}}
</ref> When Kupe left the area, he declared that this would be the place of his return, leaving several things behind—including the [[Hand bailer|bailer]] of his canoe. Later, Kupe's grandson Nukutawhiti returned from Hawaiki to settle in Hokianga.

[[File:Motukiore Island Hokianga Aotearoa New Zealand.jpg|thumb|right|Motukiore Island – where Kupe placed the Kiore on his arrival]]

In the 14th century, the great chief Puhi landed just south of the [[Bay of Islands]]. The tribe of Puhi, [[Ngāpuhi]], slowly extended westwards to reach the west coast and to colonise both sides of Hokianga. Māori regard Hokianga as one of the oldest settlements in [[Aotearoa]], and it remains a heartland for the people. Rahiri, the 17th-century founder of the Ngāpuhi [[iwi]], was born at Whiria [[Pā (Māori)|pā]] to the south of the harbour, where a monument stands to his memory.
[[File:Hokianga Harbour.jpg|thumb|left|Mouth of the Hokianga Harbour, with the [[Tasman Sea]] to the left and Hokianga Harbour to the right]]
In the course of expansion, Ngāpuhi created and maintained over centuries a complex network of walking tracks, many of which evolved into today's roads.

====Pā sites====
More than a dozen [[pā]] sites lie close to the Hokianga, among them notably Motukauri Pã, located on a headland at the end of a [[tombolo]] between the Motuti River and Whangapapatiki Creek mouths.

===The arrival of the Europeans===
[[Methodist|Wesleyan]] (and, later, [[Anglican]]) [[Mission (Christian)|missionaries]] were guided along the Ngāpuhi walking tracks to make their own discovery of Hokianga and its accessible timber resources. Their reports soon reached merchant captains in the Bay of Islands.

Captain James Herd of the ''Providence''<ref>{{cite book
| last = Ross
| first = John O'Connell
| title = This Stern Coast: The Story of the Charting of the New Zealand Coast
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wJENAQAAIAAJ
| year = 1969
| publisher = A H and A W Reed
| location = Wellington
| page = 107
| quote = [...] in 1822 Captain James Herd arrived in the ship ''Providence'' in search of spars. He entered the harbour and applied himself to a very adequate chart of the harbour and its approaches.
}}
</ref> responded first, and with missionary [[Thomas Kendall]] as guide and translator, crossed the bar and entered the harbour in 1822. His was the first European ship to do so, and it sailed away with the first shipment of timber from the Hokianga. His success inspired a strong following—the deforestation of Hokianga had begun and would be complete by the turn of the century.

[[File:Hokianga, tide out.jpg|thumb|Hokianga Harbour from Rawene]]

The only disincentive to Hokianga's exploitation was the harbour bar. Among the hundreds of ships that successfully negotiated it, 16 were recorded as being lost. Most came to grief when leaving fully laden, becoming caught in the wind shadow cast by South Head, where deep water lay. A temporary lull or change in wind direction could cause a sailing ship to lose steerage way and be swept onto the rocky shore. In 1828, the missionary [[schooner]] [[Herald (1826 ship)|''Herald'']], built by [[Henry Williams (missionary)|Henry Williams]] and sailed by [[Gilbert Mair (trader)|Gilbert Mair]], foundered while trying to enter Hokianga Harbour.<ref name="herald">Crosby, Ron (2004) – ''Gilbert Mair, Te Kooti's Nemesis''. Reed Publ. Auckland. {{ISBN|0-7900-0969-2}} p.27</ref> The last recorded shipwreck was of the schooner ''Isabella de Fraine'', lost with all eight crew in July 1928 after capsizing on the bar.<ref>{{cite book|title=Remember the Hokianga|editor1=Olive Harris |editor2=Chris Lancaster |isbn=978-0-473-11859-4|chapter=Stories of the Churches – Our Centennial Jewel, based on the thoughts of W. Bro. Max Beazley|pages=332|year=2006}}
</ref>

In 1837, a French adventurer, the self-titled Baron [[Charles de Thierry]], sailed with 60 settlers into this hive of export activity to claim an immense tract of land that he believed he had purchased 15 years earlier in exchange for 36 axes. He was eventually granted about {{Convert|1000|acres|km2|0}} at [[Rangiahua]] where he set up his colony, declaring himself "Sovereign Chief of New Zealand", a title that failed to endear him to Ngāpuhi. His project collapsed, but it highlighted to the Colonial Service the need to protect against rival European powers.

The year after de Thierry arrived, another Frenchman, Bishop [[Jean Baptiste Pompallier]], arrived, with the aim of establishing a Catholic mission. He found the southern shores firmly in the hands of Methodist and Anglican missionaries, but the northern side was ripe for conversion. His remains, recently claimed by Ngāpuhi, lie buried where the mission began. Today the harbour, like the [[Protestant Reformation|Reformation]] itself, stands between Protestant and Catholic.

The lawyer and naturalist [[Walter Buller|Sir Walter Lawry Buller]] was born in Hokianga in 1838.

Within six days of the [[Treaty of Waitangi|Waitangi signing]], [[William Hobson|Governor Hobson]], keen to secure full Ngāpuhi support, trekked across to the [[Māngungu Mission]] near Horeke where 3000 were waiting. The second signing of the Treaty of Waitangi took place on 12 February 1840. With the appropriate signatures (and a few inappropriate entries) Hobson could immediately claim support from the biggest tribe in the country.

[[File:Rawene Ferry n.jpg|thumb|The car ferry at Rawene]]
While the fate of the country was being signed into history, the axemen of Hokianga scarcely missed a beat. At any one time, as many as 20 ships could be loading Hokianga timber. Whole hillsides, suddenly bared of vegetation, began to slip into the harbour, choking its tributaries with mud.

The relationship between Māori and [[Pākehā]] (European) settlers was frequently tense, never more so than during the [[Dog Tax War]] of the 1890s, which was largely centred around Hokianga.

By 1900, the bulk of the forest had sailed over the bar and the little topsoil that remained was turned to dairy farming for butter production. Most of the cream delivered to the Motukaraka Dairy Factory was carried there by a fleet of about fifty locally-built launches that criss-crossed the harbour daily, creating in the process a service for both passengers and freight. For half a century, the communities on both sides of the harbour were linked internally by sea transport, before improved roads in the 1950s finally displaced this energetic flotilla and the harbour once again divided the community.

By 1914, a rustic telephone system linked some of the Hokianga communities with each other and with the outside world. A government-subsidised, weekly coastal shipping service ran between [[Onehunga]] and Hokianga, bringing in freight and taking away butter.<ref>Parkes, pp 3–5</ref>

The communities of Horeke and Rawene are the second- and third-oldest European settlements in New Zealand. Rawene is still the most important of the coastal settlements in the Hokianga and is where the base of Hokianga's community owned health services ([[Hauora]] Hokianga) is located, on top of the hill at the Hokianga Hospital.

===1918 influenza pandemic===
The [[Spanish flu|influenza pandemic]] reached Hokianga in September 1918, and remote [[Waiotemarama]] was one of the first settlements to succumb. A soup kitchen was organised in each community. On the instructions of [[George McCall Smith]], the Surgeon Superintendent of Rawene Hospital, mounted and armed guards stood at all crossroads to turn back would-be visitors and thus restrict the spread of the disease between settlements. Travellers wishing to enter Hokianga were stopped at the boundary. The rule was simple: anyone could leave, but no one could enter.

The local epidemic lasted six weeks and a significant number died. Each community attended to its own, and mass burials were commonplace. Few Maori deaths were recorded; the true impact of the epidemic on Maori is unknown.<ref>Parkes, pp 8–9</ref>

==Industry==
The first major industry of the region was based around the [[kauri]] trees, both logging and the gum, the strong thick resin which came from the trees. After the forests started to thin, dairying and cheese production took over as the mainstay of the economy, but they too fell away after the closure of the Motukaraka Dairy Cooperative in 1953. For a while during the 1970s and 1980s, there was little economic base for the area, and it became a haven for [[alternative lifestyle]]rs.

In recent years, however, tourism has been revived in the region. Attractions such as the great kauri trees of the [[Waipoua Forest]] (including the country's largest tree, [[Tane Mahuta]]), the historic waterfront villages of [[Kohukohu, New Zealand|Kohukohu]] and [[Rawene]], cafes, the [[Horeke basalts]], beaches, historic buildings, nature walks, horse trekking, boat trips, and fishing are bringing more visitors every year. In 2002 the first walking tracks were opened at the [[Wairere Boulders]] allowing a close inspection of the basalt rocks in the Wairere valley. Hokianga offers varied and interesting accommodation for all styles and budgets for travelers who prefer a quieter holiday than the busier east coast offers. A visit to the Hokianga is to see what New Zealand was like in previous decades with unspoiled landscapes.

[[File:Omapere wharf.jpg|thumb|Omapere wharf]]

==Notable people==
Several iconic and very different figures in New Zealand history have been closely associated with the Hokianga.

===Frederick Edward Maning===

[[Frederick Edward Maning|Maning]] arrived in the Hokianga area at age 22, on 30 June 1833, and lived among the [[Ngāpuhi]] [[Māori people|Māori]]. Maning was tall, strong, a good fighter, good-humoured, and sensitive to local power relationships and personalities. He became the esteemed possession of the local war chief and a [[Pākehā Māori]] (a European turned native). During the signing process of the [[Treaty of Waitangi]] in 1840, Maning acted as a translator and advised the local Māori not to sign the treaty. He wrote two books, ''Old New Zealand'' and ''A history of the war in the north of New Zealand against the chief Heke'', which are now regarded as classics of New Zealand literature.

===Whina Cooper===
[[Whina Cooper]] was born at Te Karaka, Hokianga on 9 December 1895, the daughter of a leader of the [[Te Rarawa]] [[iwi]].

From an early age she showed an interest in local community affairs and politics, and her flair and abilities led to her becoming the undisputed Māori leader of the northern Hokianga by her mid-30s.

In 1949 she moved to [[Auckland]], and by 1951 she was elected first president of the new Māori Women's Welfare League. The league's success was largely due to Whina's efforts, and she became well known throughout the country. In 1957 she stepped down as president and the annual conference rewarded her with the title ''Te Whaea o te Motu'' ("Mother of the Nation").

Whina Cooper continued to work for the community throughout the 1960s, but it was her 1975 leadership of a [[hīkoi]] – a symbolic march – to protest against the loss of Māori land for which she is best remembered. The march, from the northern tip of the North Island to Parliament in [[Wellington]] at the other end of the island made her nationally recognised, with her determined figure, no longer strong in body but strong in [[Mana (Oceanian mythology)|mana]] and will, walking at the head of the march from Te Hapua to Wellington.

She was made a [[Order of the British Empire|DBE]] in 1981 and a member of the [[Order of New Zealand]] in 1991. She had returned to Panguru in the Hokianga in 1983. She died there on 26 March 1994 at the age of 98.

===Jean Baptiste Pompallier===
Bishop [[Jean Baptiste Pompallier]] (1802–1871), was the first Roman Catholic bishop in New Zealand. His first mission station was situated at Pūrākau in the Hokianga from 1839 until 1915. He celebrated the first mass on NZ 'terra firma' at Tōtara Point, Hokianga, in 1838. His remains were reinterred in Motuti, Hokianga, in 2002 after a nationwide hīkoi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hokiangapompallier.org.nz/|title=Pompallier Hokianga Trust | The Trust preserves and promotes the memory and mission of the first Catholic Bishop of Aotearoa New Zealand, Jean Baptiste François Pompallier (1802–1871)|website=Pompallier Hokianga Trust|access-date=14 November 2019}}</ref>

===Opo the dolphin===
{{Main|Opo the Dolphin}}
Opononi became famous throughout New Zealand during 1955 and 1956 due to the exploits of a [[bottlenose dolphin]] (nicknamed "[[Opo (dolphin)|Opo]]"). Opo was a wild dolphin who started following fishing boats around Opononi in early 1955 after her mother had been killed, and would swim daily in the bay close to town. She was originally named "Opononi Jack", based on [[Pelorus Jack]], since she was presumed to be male. Unlike the majority of dolphins, she had no qualms about human company, and would perform stunts for locals, play with objects like beach balls and beer bottles, and allow children to swim alongside her and make contact.

The dolphin became a local celebrity but news of her soon spread, and visitors from throughout the country would come to watch her. On 8 March 1956 official protection for Opo, requested by locals, was made law, but on 9 March she was found dead in a rock crevice at Koutu Point. It is suspected that she was killed accidentally by fishermen fishing with [[gelignite]]. Her death was reported nationwide, and she was buried with full Māori honours in a special plot next to the town hall.

==Education==
There are composite (years 1–15) schools at [[Opononi]], [[Panguru]] and [[Broadwood, New Zealand|Broadwood]].

There are also primary schools at [[Mangamuka]], [[Horeke]], [[Kohukohu, New Zealand|Kohukohu]], [[Matihetihe]], [[Omanaia]], [[Pawarenga]], [[Rawene]], [[Waima, Northland|Waimā]], [[Whirinaki, Northland|Whirinaki]], and [[Umawera]].

==See also==
{{Portal|New Zealand}}
*[[Weller brothers]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage}}
* [http://www.hokiangahealth.org.nz/ Hauora Hokianga] Hokianga's community governed health services
* [http://www.hokiangatourism.org.nz/ Hokianga Tourism Association] Local Tourism Members and Information
* [http://www.dnzb.govt.nz/dnzb/default.asp?Find_Quick.asp?PersonEssay=5C32 Dictionary of New Zealand Biography essay on Dame Whina Cooper]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070810081100/http://www.rawene.co.nz/ Rawene Website]
* [http://www.kohukohu.com/ Kohukohu Community Website]

{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Hokianga| ]]
[[Category:Far North District]]
[[Category:Ports and harbours of New Zealand]]
[[Category:Populated places in the Northland Region]]
[[Category:Geography of the Northland Region]]