(Jag Rocks) Nga Kiore

These are approximately three miles to the east of the Rangitoto Islands. There are no outlying dangers and no place for overnight anchorage. The rocks are up to 20 m high, spectacular in appearance and usually a good fishing spot. 

History

Oral tradition records that these rocks were used as a prison by Māori. People found guilty of a crime were put on the rocks without food or water. Prisoners were often washed away by waves, but if they were still on the rocks when their sentence was completed, they were set free.1

 

1. Olive Baldwin, Story of New Zealand’s French Pass and d’Urville Island (Plimmerton: Fields Publishing House, 1979) 145-146.