--- id: 870cb424-9d9b-4f2f-9e0e-dd601823d43b title: 'Ponui Island: Geography and Biodiversity' abstract: "Ponui Island is a privately owned island located in the Hauraki Gulf, east\ \ of Auckland, New Zealand. With an area of 18 km\xB2, it features diverse landscapes\ \ including farmland and native bush. The document outlines its geographical coordinates,\ \ administrative status, and ecological characteristics." classification: primary: '919.94' secondary: - '551' - '57' udc_main_class: '9' tags: - Ponui Island - New Zealand - Hauraki Gulf - Geography - Biodiversity - Island topics: - Geography - Natural Sciences - New Zealand author: '' created_at: '2026-06-01T00:08:58.739842' updated_at: '2026-06-01T02:12:49.590610' sources: - type: url uri: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponui_Island format: url_fetch udc_label: Geography, travel version: '1' --- ## Card: Ponui Island: Geography and Biodiversity Ponui Island is a privately owned island located in the Hauraki Gulf, east of Auckland, New Zealand. With an area of 18 km², it features diverse landscapes including farmland and native bush. The document outlines its geographical coordinates, administrative status, and ecological characteristics. ## Classification Primary: 919.94 | Secondary: 551, 57 | Tags: Ponui Island, New Zealand, Hauraki Gulf, Geography, Biodiversity, Island | Topics: Geography, Natural Sciences, New Zealand ## Content Ponui Island - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 History 2 Biodiversity 3 References Toggle the table of contents Ponui Island 9 languages Cebuano Deutsch Esperanto Español Français ქართული Português Русский 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide Coordinates : 36°52′S 175°11′E  /  36.867°S 175.183°E  / -36.867; 175.183 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Island in New Zealand Ponui Island Farmland and native bush on Ponui Island Ponui Island Location in New Zealand & Pacific Ocean Show map of New Zealand Ponui Island Ponui Island (Pacific Ocean) Show map of Pacific Ocean Interactive map of Ponui Island Geography Location Hauraki Gulf Coordinates 36°52′S 175°11′E  /  36.867°S 175.183°E  / -36.867; 175.183 Area 18 km 2 (6.9 sq mi) Highest elevation 173 m (568 ft) Highest point Ponui Administration New Zealand Ponui Island (also known as Chamberlins Island ) is a privately owned island located in the Hauraki Gulf , 30km to the east of the city of Auckland , New Zealand. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] The island has an area of 18 km 2 and is located to the southeast of Waiheke Island , at the eastern end of the Tamaki Strait , which separates the island from the Hunua Ranges on the mainland to the south. History [ edit ] Fluttering shearwaters , waiting off Ponui Island for the next fishing excursion Ponui Island in the background, 1902 The island is the site of some of the earliest archaeological remains of early Māori in the Auckland region, dating to at least the 1400s. [ 3 ] The first record of land purchase for Ponui Island was on 23 September 1826 by the New Zealand Company [ 4 ] in their earliest planned venture to colonise New Zealand. [ 5 ] Three other islands were purchased at this time, Pakatoa Island , Rotoroa Island and Pakihi Island . It is recorded that the land was sold for one double-barreled gun, eight muskets, and one barrel of gunpowder, with the deed translated and signed by Thomas Kendall , and witnessed by three men from the ship Rosanna and 15 Māori. [ 4 ] In 1853, the island was bought and occupied by the Chamberlin family. [ 6 ] From the 1880s until the early 20th century, stone and sand from the island was extracted for use in concrete structures in Auckland, notably, Grafton Bridge . [ 7 ] In the early 1900s, a considerable amount of kauri was logged and bush was burnt off for cattle grazing on the southern end of the island. [ 2 ] The Pupuke , a New Zealand passenger ferry built in 1909, beached at Oranga Bay on the island in 1962. [ 8 ] [ 9 ] [ 10 ] The other shipwreck at Oranga Bay was the Australian steel steamer (bought by Auckland machinery merchant Mr. F. Appleton in 1927) the Kurnalpi. [ 8 ] [ better source needed ] The island remains privately owned and consists of three farms. [ 11 ] The only permanent inhabitants (nine in the 2001 census) are associated with the farms, which are predominantly used for sheep. The island is a popular site for youth camps for organisations such as Scouts . [ 12 ] Crusader camps (now under the banner of Scripture Union) have been held on the island since 1932. [ 13 ] Biodiversity [ edit ] The island is the home of New Zealand's only feral donkey breed, the Ponui donkey . It has a large number of ship rats , and populations of brown rats , mice and feral cats. [ 2 ] Ponui Island's avian fauna includes common native forest species: the grey warbler ( riroriro ), fantail ( piwakawaka ), silvereye ( tauhou ), tūī , kererū and morepork ( ruru ). [ 2 ] North Island brown kiwi were introduced to the island by the New Zealand Wildlife Service , a forerunner of the Department of Conservation , in 1964, at the request of the island's owner. Fourteen kiwi were released, six from Little Barrier Island and eight from Northland . Ponui now has one of the highest densities of the North Island brown kiwi anywhere in New Zealand. [ 14 ] The Department of Conservation has no plans to take Ponui kiwi to supplement existing populations elsewhere, because of their mixed genetic origins, according to a 2006 report, [ 14 ] but in 2025 ten kiwi were translocated to nearby Waiheke Island , which had no existing population. [ 15 ] References [ edit ] ^ "Ponui Island (Chamberlins Island), Auckland - NZ Topo Map" . Land Information New Zealand . Retrieved 17 October 2017 . ^ a b c d Denny, Kirsty Marie (2009). The diet of moreporks ( Ninox novaeseelandiae ) in relation to prey availability, and their roost site characteristics and breeding success on Ponui Island, Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand . mro.massey.ac.nz (MSc thesis). Archived from the original on 6 July 2024 . Retrieved 18 March 2025 . ^ Davidson, Janet M. (1978). "Auckland Prehistory: A Review" . Records of the Auckland Institute and Museum . 15 : 1– 14. ISSN   0067-0464 . JSTOR   42906259 . OCLC   270925589 . Wikidata   Q58677062 . ^ a b "Sale to the New Zealand Company" . kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz . Retrieved 17 March 2025 . ^ Wakefield, Edward Jerningham (1845). Adventure in New Zealand, from 1839 to 1844: With Some Account of the Beginning of the British Colonization of the Islands. Volume 1 . London: John Murray. pp.  4– 5 – via Princeton University. ^ "Frederick Chamberlin - An account of my proceedings since my arrival in New Zealand in 1853, with a diary" . Auckland War Memorial Museum . Retrieved 18 March 2025 . ^ "Auckland Council District Plan - Hauraki Gulf Islands Section - Operative 2013: The history of human settlement of the islands" (PDF) . Auckland City Council . 2013 . Retrieved 15 April 2022 . ^ a b Leahy, Anne (1 January 1960). "Wrecks in Oranga Bay, Ponui Island" . DigitalNZ . Retrieved 18 March 2025 . ^ "What happened to the steam ferries?" . Steam Ferry Toroa . 28 May 2018 . Retrieved 17 March 2025 . ^ Auckland Council Libraries (1966). "Oranga Bay, Ponui Island" . kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz . Retrieved 17 March 2025 . ^ "Woman dies working on farm on Auckland's remote Ponui Island" . www.stuff.co.nz . 8 February 2020 . Retrieved 18 March 2025 . ^ "Fun in the sun on Ponui Island" . Issuu . Retrieved 18 March 2025 . ^ "Our Story - Scripture Union NZ" . 1 December 2023 . Retrieved 18 March 2025 . ^ a b Latham, Julia Evelyn (2006). The ecology of ship rats (Rattus rattus) on Ponui Island: implications for North Island brown kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) (MSc thesis). University of Auckland. pp.  5– 6. hdl : 2292/2142 . ^ Lyth, Jaime (18 May 2025). "Kiwi return to Waiheke in major conservation milestone" . The New Zealand Herald . Retrieved 19 May 2025 . v t e Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana , Auckland , New Zealand Populated islands Great Barrier Island Awana Bay Claris Harataonga Medlands Beach Kaitoke Beach Motairehe Ōkiwi Okupu Palmers Beach Port Fitzroy Tryphena Whangaparapara Whangapoua Beach Waiheke Island Blackpool Matiatia Oneroa Onetangi Onetangi Bay Ostend Palm Beach Rural Waiheke Surfdale Te Matuku Bay Others Rākino Island Pakatoa Island Pakihi Island Ponui Island Geographic features Uninhabited islands Aiguilles Dragon Gannet Rock Kahakaha / Frenchmans Cap Kaikōura Kotanui Island / Frenchmans Cap Little Barrier Mokohinau Motuihe Motukorea Motukaraka Motutapu The Noises Rakitu Rangitoto Rotoroa Takangaroa Tarahiki Te Hāwere-a-Maki / Goat Tiritiri Matangi Water bodies Colville Channel Cradock Channel Wairahi River Landforms Mount Hobson Windy Canyon Facilities and attractions Aotea Conservation Park Fullers360 Glenfern Sanctuary Regional Park Great Barrier Aerodrome Karamuramu Island Mine Mansion House Motuora Nature Reserve Okiwi Airfield Pumphouse ruins Sculpture on the Gulf SeaLink Ferry Smelting House ruins Stony Batter Tāwharanui Marine Reserve Te Matuku Marine Reserve Waiheke Island Aerodrome Whakanewha Regional Park Government Auckland Council Aotea / Great Barrier Island Local Board Waiheke Local Board Organisations Air Auckland Community and People of Waiheke Island Waiheke Radio Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ponui_Island&oldid=1337166728 " Categories : Islands of the Hauraki Gulf Islands of the Auckland Region Private islands of New Zealand Populated places around the Hauraki Gulf Hidden categories: Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas Articles with short description Short description matches Wikidata Use New Zealand English from April 2024 All Wikipedia articles written in New Zealand English Use dmy dates from July 2019 Pages using infobox mapframe without shape links in Wikidata Coordinates on Wikidata All articles lacking reliable references Articles lacking reliable references from May 2025 Pages using the Kartographer extension This page was last edited on 7 February 2026, at 21:42  (UTC) . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. , a non-profit organization. Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Contact Wikipedia Legal & safety contacts Code of Conduct Developers Statistics Cookie statement Mobile view Search Search Toggle the table of contents Ponui Island 9 languages Add topic ## Source - url: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponui_Island