Leask Bay

European settlement of Leask Bay began in the 1840s and 1850s, before Halfmoon Bay became the main point of settlement.^[1]

Leask Bay has been occupied by the Leask family for six or seven generations, after emigrating to Stewart Island from Orkney.^[2][3] The Leasks were involved in the early construction of Stewart Island infrastructure: in 1897 Thomas and James Leask built the road from Oban to Harrold Bay.^[1] The Leasks were some of the original boat builders of Stewart Island, and current descendants are still involved in the fishing industry.^[1][4]

In 1933, the skull of the first recorded Shepherd's beaked whale was stored at Leask Bay, before being taken to Southland Museum.^[5]

In a 1953 publication, it was noted that Leask Bay was an outlier on Stewart Island as it hosted exotic trees when the rest of the Island has only native trees.^[6]

In the 1980s, an oil seep was discovered in Leask Bay. It is hypothesised that the oil naturally migrated from the Great South Basin into a shallow basin margin in Leask Bay.^[7][8]

The Polynesian rat (kiore) is largely not found on the New Zealand mainland, but have been found at Leask Bay.^[9]