Greenpoint Ship Graveyard

Greenpoint may be far flung but the story it tells about the development of Aotearoa/New Zealand is far reaching. From the Geological formationsthat the formed the 'Bay on the way to Bluff', through to early Maori and Pakeha history, to it's proximity to the current aluminium smelter at TiWai Point, Green Point is a little living history book, complete with popup shipwrecks.

Geologically speaking, this area is a great place to see a snapshot of the volcanic, uplift and erosion processes which created much of Te Waiponamu/The South Island. Sharp rocks on the foreshore which seem to be facing the wrong way by about 90 degrees are called, officially, steeply dipping Permian Sandstone, they got there by sedimentary method but have been baked solid and the interesting shapes created by volcanic magma. This all happened several hundred million years ago, making it some of the oldest visible geology in New Zealand.

More recently, but still rather retro in human terms, is the evidence of surprisingly early Maori occupation. It has been determined that stone tools discovered here date to the 13th Century. The attraction to the area, which remains, is the abundance of kaimoana/seafood. Maori were still here when early Pakeha sealers and whalers arrived in the 1820s, and trade between the two groups began.

Birds are the other occupants of the bay, including some bar-tailed godwits, with an annual migration path traced to the Arctic. There are lots of cockles in the mudflats, and associated smells and oystercatchers.

Oysters are the highest profile seafood product here, though there are many other species to be caught. Somehow, beginning in about the 1870s Greenpoint became the place to dump the retired fishing boats as well as a few trade and passenger vessels. When the tide is low, and when the wind is also down, it is possible to see several of the wrecks and they are also visible from the air. The Bluff History group is active and their records show that some of the wrecks are the Kekeno 1882 - 1955, Orewa 1898, Dispatch 1883-1950, Hirere, Comet, Toiler, Coleen, Tartan, Marina and Savaii. One boat, called the Loyalty, used to serve as a ferry to Wellington until she was retired to the Oyster trade but sunk after an accident with explosives in 1925.

Greenpoint is itself a community, with a domain, a cemetery. This is where the new walkway to the ship graveyard starts, it has a boardwalk and culminates in a viewing platform for looking at the wrecks, and other Bluff landmarks, depending on the weather. The island just offshore is called Tikore and famous Chief Tuhawaiki sold it to an early Pakeha farmer to graze pigs. Another shipwreck is hiding in the shallows of Tikore, she was the Taratahi, the last whaler to work the Southland waters, built in Seattle, and retired in 1939. You may also see Tiwai Point and Bluff Harbour.

NZPlaces would appreciate a picture or two of Greenpoint.

Image Credit: Google Maps