Taputeranga Island (or sometimes Tapu te Ranga Island) is said in mythology to be Patawa, the point from which the legendary Māori chief Kupe sighted the giant octopus Te Wheke-a-Muturangi, which he pursued across Cook Strait. In pre-European times, Island Bay was home to several pa, including Te Mupunga Kainga, today represented with a pou in Shorland Park.

When a raiding taua (war party) from Muau-poko made their way to the Ngai Tara stronghold of Te Whetu-Kairangi, a fortified pa on what is now Miramar peninsular (but was then an island) they engaged Muau-poko in battle on Island Bay beach. Two chiefs were killed, and later cremated in Haewai (Houghton Bay). This battle is commemorated with a pou on the zig-zag leading from Liffey Street to Orchy crescent.

Later during a battle in which Ngati Mutunga drove Ngati Ira from Wellington in 1827, Tamairangi, the wife of the Ngati Ira chief, is said to have sought refuge on Taputeranga Island with her children, until finally fleeing by canoe. In Treaty of Waitangi settlements, both Te Atiawa and Ngati Toa claimed tangata whenua status over Taputeranga Island but Ngati Toa’s case was finally proven in the Māori Land Court.

Tapu te Ranga Ratbusters have been kayaking out to the island to control rodents since 2006. A mix of a dozen bait stations and some Goodnature A24 traps keep the rat numbers low—but not zero yet.

Successful penguin breeding, oystercatcher breeding, and lizard sightings are positive biodiversity signs. Ratbusters members also volunteer with Places for Penguins, building and monitoring nest boxes and natural nest sites on the island. Rat reinvasion from the mainland is always a threat so it is fortunate that Predator-Free Island Bay has recently formed.

Taputeranga Island is the heart of the Taputeranga Marine Reserve. It’s well worth a respectful visit—and well worth taking longer than 27 secs.