From 1792 it became a favoured site for seal hunters. This gave it an unusual prominence in earliest European visits which disappeared as Europeans became more familiar with New Zealand's geography.ĭusky Sound was consequently used as a harbour by other European navigators and merchant ships in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It is said that Ngati Moi Moi took their last stand on the beach but were killed.Ĭook saw the place as a good harbour for ships entering the Pacific from Europe by the shortest route, highlighting its maritime significance and overlooking its land-locked character. Ī large battle between Ngati Moi Moi (the lost tribe) and Ngai Tahu. Later they seemed to have disappeared and it was speculated their countrymen had killed them, perhaps for the presents Cook gave them. He encountered some Māori with whom he had friendly relations. It is believed his crew brewed the first beer in New Zealand during his stay. On his second expedition he spent two months exploring the sound in March and April of 1773, and used it as a harbour, establishing workshops and an observatory. The inlet was first sighted by Europeans and Captain Cook noted its entrance during his first voyage to New Zealand in 1770. It is believed that Māori occasionally camped by the sound's waters while hunting moa in pre-European times. The sound has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it is a breeding site for Fiordland penguins. The Seaforth River flows into the eastern end of Supper Cove. Dusky Sound narrows to the east of Cooper Island, reaching its end in two small coves, Shark Cove and Supper Cove. Inland from Long Island lies Cooper Island, about eight kilometres long and up to five kilometres wide. Bowen Channel links with Acheron Passage, a north–south channel which separates Resolution Island from the mainland and links with Breaksea Sound to the north. The narrower of the two channels, Cook Channel, lies to the south of Long Island Bowen Channel lies to the north. To the east of Anchor Island, the sound narrows to about five kilometres and splits into two broad channels, separated by the aptly named Long Island, which stretches for some 15 kilometres in length but is only around 2000 metres wide at its widest point. Immediately to the southeast of Anchor Island lies the smaller Indian Island. A number of small coves punctuate this coast, including Goose Cove and Earshell Cove. To the north of Anchor Island lies Resolution Island, and here its coast in indented by a large triangular cove which separates the Five Fingers Peninsula from the rest of the island. Immediately inside the sound's mouth lies the large Anchor Island and numerous small islets, among them the Seal, Petrel, and Many Island groups. The south Island's westernmost point, West Cape lies less than 10 kilometres south of the sound's mouth. The Seaforth River is the largest of many small rivers and creeks which flow into the sound.Īt its mouth, the sound is wide, and is bordered by the Five Fingers Peninsula to the north and by South Cape and Fannin Bay in the south. Seals and dolphins are often sighted in the sound's waters and occasionally visited by whales where the area especially nearby Preservation Inlet was one of earliest shore-based whaling ground for southern right whales, while humpback whales show sudden increases. The upper reaches of the sound are steep-sided, and the high precipitation of the region leads to hundreds of waterfalls cascading into the sound during the rainy season. Several large islands lie in the sound, notably Anchor Island, Long Island, and Cooper Island. To the north of its mouth is the large Resolution Island, whose Five Fingers Peninsula shelters the mouth of the sound from the northwest along the east coast of the island, Acheron Passage connects Dusky Sound with Breaksea Sound, to the north. One of the most complex of the many fiords on this coast, it is also the largest at 40 kilometres in length and eight kilometres wide at its widest point.
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