About & Description

Little Barrier Island, or Hauturu in Māori language, lies off the northeastern coast of New Zealand's North Island. Located 80km to the north of Auckland, the island is separated from the mainland to the west by Jellicoe Channel, and from the larger Great Barrier Island to the east by Cradock Channel. The two aptly named islands shelter the Hauraki Gulf from many of the storms of the Pacific Ocean.Settled by the Maori sometime between 1350 and 1650, the island was occupied by those people until the New Zealand government declared the island a wildlife sanctuary in 1897. Since the island came under control of the government, it has been under limited access, with only a few rangers living on the island. In the Māori language, the name of the island name means "the resting place of lingering breezes". Along with its larger neighbour Great Barrier, it was given its English name by Captain James Cook in 1769.The island is a nature sanctuary which has been described by the MBIE as "the most intact ecosystem in New Zealand". However, several invasive species were introduced by both Maori and European settlers, including cats which are destructive to local small bird and reptile species.