The name 'Great Barrier' stems from its sighting by Captain James Cook in 1769. He quickly recognised the role the island played in sheltering the waters of the Hauraki Gulf.
Great Barrier Island (Aotea) has a rich history dating back to the initial settlement of New Zealand by the East Polynesian ancestors of today's Maori population. From the 1840’s the island's natural resources attracted European settlement and a number of 'boom and bust' industries that exploited the island's forest, minerals and the migrating whales.
The Ngati Rehua, hapu of Ngati Wai, who live on the island today trace their association back over many centuries. Evidence of this long history is seen at the island's many archaeological sites, which are generally found in coastal locations
Gold and silver were discovered in the 1890’s and numerous shafts and adits are located in the Okupu / Whangaparapara area. Remains of the 1899 Oreville stamping (ore crushing) battery at Whangaparapara are an impressive reminder of the mining area, with its massive stone walls above and below the road.
Great Barrier's kauri forests were logged with increasing intensity from the mid 19th to the mid 20th century. Kauri driving dams were erected to drive large quantities of kauri downstream.
One of the island's best known historic landmarks is the Kaiarara main dam on the Kaiarara Stream below Mt Hobson.
Another reminder of the logging days are the ruins of the Kauri Timber Company sawmill at Whangaparapara where some of the walking tracks follow the early tramlines used by the logging industry. The remains of New Zealand's last established whaling station can also be seen here.
The Harataonga Homestead (c.1906), managed by the Department of Conservation, is one of the few surviving early homesteads on the island. Nearby is a small cemetery where members of the Alcock family, one of the early European settler families on the island, are buried.
A headstone to Dr Hanson also features in the cemetery and is an anomaly. Dr Hanson is said to have been buried above the Oreville stamping battery as his workmates had used the burial money for alcohol. When a headstone later arrived from England it was set up in the Alcock cemetery for convenience.
