Ōwenga
Rural settlement on Chatham Island, New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Owenga is a small settlement on Chatham Island, in New Zealand's Chatham Islands group.[1] It is the second easternmost settlement in New Zealand, after Flower Pot Bay on Pitt Island and one of the five main settlements on Chatham Island.[2] It is located in the southeast of the island, close to Cape Fournier.
Owenga | |
|---|---|
Chatham Island, with Owenga in the southeast | |
  Owenga Location of Owenga, east of New Zealand | |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Territorial authority | Chatham Islands |
| Island | Chatham Island |
| Population | |
• Total | 51 |
| Time zone | Chatham Standard Time Zone |
Name
The official name of the settlement is Owenga,[3] however it has had multiple different names. An 1887 map from S.P. Smith and John Robertson of the General Survey Office recorded the settlement as Ouwenga,[4] however, a later annotated version of the map crossed out the 'w' and added Ko Wewenga as an alternate name.[5] The 1909 version of Smith and Robertson's map by John Strauchon published the name as Ouenga with the name Ko Wewenga in brackets.[6] A first edition map created in 1995 by the New Zealand Geographic Board depicting the settlement in 1840 showed it as Ō Wenga,[7] however, the Board later corrected this in a revised edition in 2023, providing the names Ouenga and Owenga.[8] Furthermore, the Board stated that Ouenga came from an ancestor's name, however, the meaning of Owenga is not known.[9]
For these reasons, names such as Ōwenga, Ōuenga, and Kowewenga have been used alongside the official name.[10]
The name Ouenga was used in the 2020 Moriori deed of settlement of historical claims.[11][12] In 2026, Ngāti Mutunga o Wharekauri, in their deed of settlement of historical claims, the iwi requested that the name Ōwēnga be added to the New Zealand Gazetteer as an unofficial original Māori place name.[13]
History
Owenga was one of the earliest occupation areas for Moriori on the island, containing areas of archaeological evidence including coastal dune burials.[14] The site was originally supported by a large Moriori population, however, the arrival of sealers and whalers to the Chathams brought disease, decimating the Moriori population. By 1867, there were only 30 Moriori living in the Owenga area.[15] Owenga is home to a number of fishermen and now serves as the main departure point for Pitt Island; a boat ride that takes 50 minutes.[1][16]
