Still trying to figure out how the islands got their name, but today I found this lovely oblique aerial dated 1956 of the Chicken islands/Marotere. Named by Captain James Cook in 1769, the islands are part of the Hen and Chickens Group which stands off Bream Bay on the east coast of the Northland peninsula. Today these islands are a part of the Hen and Chickens Nature Reserve, notable for their tuatara (lizard-like reptiles), seabirds and tīeke (saddlebacks). Interestingly, as I read up on the history…the Canadian–Australian mail liner Niagara sank nearby in June 1940 after hitting a German mine laid by a German auxiliary cruiser called Orion. The stuff you learn on a Thursday. Source: Hen and Chickens Island, Auckland. Ref: WA-41914-G. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand. /records/30632483 #aerial #aerialimage #aerialphotography #archaeologynz #aotearoa #breambay #newzealand #northlandnz #history #heritage #pacific #oblique #seamine #nzarchaeology #wreck
