Six stations on Whale Song map
Whale Song names Waiorua, Long Point, Tokomapuna, Te Kahuoterangi, Motungarara and Tahoramaurea as six whaling stations; Te Uruhi (two points) and Wharemauku are oil landing locations.
The historical record
The historical whaling landscape extended well beyond a single beach. Archaeological maps identify sites at Long Point, Taepiro, Tokomapuna, Wharekohu, Motungarara and Tahoramaurea around Kāpiti Island, together with mainland and neighbouring-island sites such as Korohiwa, Mana and Paremata.
The often-quoted figure of six stations and 23 boats refers specifically to the working Kāpiti–Mana district in 1839, as recorded by Dieffenbach. It should not be confused with the total number of places where whaling activity has been recorded across different decades.
Nigel Prickett’s archaeological survey provides a location map and individual histories for the station sites. Some survive as stone walls, hearths, terraces or trypots; others are principally known through accounts, maps and shipping records.
Historical source: Nigel Prickett, The Archaeology of New Zealand Shore Whaling (2002), Kāpiti chapter, pp. 83–97; drawing on Dieffenbach, Wakefield, contemporary station records and archaeological surveys.
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