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Cook Strait lies between the North and South Islands of New Zealand. It connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast, and runs next to the capital city, Wellington. It is wide at its narrowest point,〔McLintock, A H, Ed. (1966) (''Cook Strait'' ) from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2007. Note: This is the distance between the North Island and Arapawa Island; some sources give a slightly larger reading of around , that between the North Island and the South Island.〕 and is considered one of the most dangerous and unpredictable waters in the world.〔McLauchlan, Gordon (Ed.) (1987) ''New Zealand encyclopedia'', Bateman, P. 121. ISBN 978-0-908610-21-1.〕 The strait is named after James Cook, the first European commander to sail through it, in 1770. In Māori it has the name ''Raukawa'' or ''Raukawa Moana''. ''Raukawa'' may mean "bitter leaves".〔 p 99.〕 ==History== In Māori legend, Cook Strait was discovered by Kupe the navigator. Kupe followed in his canoe a monstrous octopus called Te Wheke-a-Muturangi across Cook Strait and destroyed it in Tory Channel or at Pātea. When Dutch explorer Abel Tasman first saw New Zealand in 1642, he thought Cook Strait was a bight closed to the east. He named it ''Zeehaen's Bight'', after the ''Zeehaen'', one of the two ships in his expedition. In 1769 James Cook established that it was a strait, which formed a navigable waterway. Cook Strait attracted European settlers in the early 19th century. Because of its use as a whale migration route, whalers established bases in the Marlborough Sounds and in the Kapiti area.〔McNab, Robert (1913) (''A History of Southern New Zealand from 1830 to 1840'' ) Whitcombe and Tombs Limited. ASIN B000881KT4.〕〔Martin, Stephen (2001) ''The Whales' Journey'': (Chapter 4: The northerly migration ) Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-86508-232-5〕 From the late 1820s until the mid-1960s Arapawa Island was a base for whaling in the Sounds. Perano Head on the east coast of the island was the principal whaling station for the area. The houses built by the Perano family are now operated as tourist accommodation.〔(Perano Homestead )〕 During the 1820s Te Rauparaha led a Māori migration to, and the conquest and settlement of, the Cook Strait region. From 1840 more permanent settlements sprang up, first at Wellington, then at Nelson and at Wanganui (Petre). At this period the settlers saw Cook Strait in a broader sense than today's ferry-oriented New Zealanders: for them the strait stretched from Taranaki to Cape Campbell, so these early towns all clustered around "Cook Strait" (or "Cook's Strait", in the pre-Geographic Board usage of the times) as the central feature and central waterway of the new colony. Between 1888 and 1912 a Risso's dolphin named Pelorus Jack became famous for meeting and escorting ships around the Cook Strait. Pelorus Jack was usually spotted in Admiralty Bay between Cape Francis and Collinet Point, near French Pass, a channel used by ships travelling between Wellington and Nelson. Pelorus Jack is also remembered after he was the subject of a failed assassination attempt. He was later protected by a 1904 New Zealand law. At times when New Zealand feared invasion, various coastal fortifications were constructed to defend Cook Strait. During the Second World War, two 9.2 inch (23 cm) gun installations were constructed on Wrights Hill behind Wellington. These gun could range across Cook Strait. In addition thirteen 6-inch (15 cm) gun installations were constructed around Wellington, along the Makara coast, and at entrances to the Marlborough Sounds. The remains of most of these fortifications can still be seen. The Pencarrow Head Lighthouse was the first permanent lighthouse built in New Zealand. Its first keeper, Mary Jane Bennett, was the first and only female lighthouse keeper in New Zealand. The light was decommissioned in 1935 when it was replaced by the Baring Head Lighthouse. A number of ships have been wrecked with significant loss of life, such as the ''Maria'' in 1851,〔(Disasters and Mishaps – Shipwrecks ), from ''An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand'', edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966, updated 2007-09-18.〕 the ''City of Dunedin'' in 1865,〔(Steamer 'City of Dunedin'- Mysterious Sinking )〕 the ''St Vincent'' in 1869,〔 the ''Lastingham'' in 1884,〔(Dive Lastingham Wreck )〕 in 1909 and in 1968. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cook Strait」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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