Sugar Loaf Islands
The Sugar Loaf Islands (often Sugarloaf; Māori: Ngā Motu, lit. 'the islands') are a collection of five small uninhabited islands and several sea stacks near Port Taranaki, New Zealand.
Ngā Motu (Māori) | |
|---|---|
Seagull Rock and Round Rock, with Saddleback in the background | |
| Geography | |
| Location | near Port Taranaki |
| Coordinates | 39°2′58″S 174°1′40″E |
| Administration | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
The largest, Moturoa Island, covers approximately 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres). Motumahanga is the island furthest from shore, at approximately 1.5 kilometres (0.93 miles).
Ngā Motu was one of the first areas inhabited by descendants of Te Whiti o Rongomai, and the islands and reefs were all named by Ngāti Te Whiti. The island group was given its English name in 1770 by James Cook because they reminded him of the way sugar was stored in heaps in Europe.
The Sugar Loaf Islands Marine Protected Area (SLIMPA) was established in 1991 to protect the area from oil exploration. This strengthened the protection that had been in place since the formation of a marine park in 1986.
In 2013 New Plymouth district councillors unanimously agreed to gift the protected area back to the government for treaty settlement negotiations with Taranaki and Te Āti Awa iwi.