Island Trivia

A page for incidental and whimsical facts Waiheke

Do you know how many steps there are up Jacob's Ladder? Or down to Fisherman's Rock? Or how many power cuts the island had last year? Or the time it takes to get to the Barrier by tinnie? Or where there's a good feed of mussels? Add your miscellaneous tidbits of interest to the Island Trivia page.

Have a seat

Dozens of roadside seats have sprung up around the island in within a couple of years, as far out as past Cactus Bay even - and all built thanks to the generosity of an anonymous benefactor.

Penguin rescue

During the building of the new wharf at Matiatia in 1992, 13-year-old Tom Delamore came back from a soccer game in town to find diggers moving the rock wall. Tom was horrified at the imminent destruction of a nest of little blue penguin and, as a result of his protest, work ceased. The penguin were relocated to Tiritiri Matangi. Little blue still live in the Matiatia seawall and can be heard at dusk.

Oh, Rhett

Legend has it Vivienne Leigh (Gone with the Wind) once visited the Harbour Masters house at Matiatia, coming to the island on board the mayor of Auckland's yacht. The mayor had brought her to visit Fred Alison, the landowner at Matiatia.

Behind The Green Door

Local legend has it that the green barn down at Matiatia was once upon a time something far more entertaining than a mechanic's workshop. Can anyone remember the precise shenanigans that went on in there?