The first hard evidence of Europeans setting foot on the Island was in 1801 when a logging ship from the Coromandel “The Royal Admiral” mapped the Northern Shore.
Around this time the Island became known as Waiheke, meaning, “cascading waters”. It is possible that the name arose through confusion when early Europeans mistook the name of a stream on one of the beaches to be the name of the entire Island.
The first well recorded visit to Waiheke was that of the Rev. Samuel Marsden in 1820, he recorded that Waiheke was “as large as the Isle of Wight and contained much good land..” However it was wood, not land, which enticed the first Europeans. Waiheke was thickly forested and loggers were attracted by the abundance of timber trees, especially the great Kauri used for shipbuilding and building houses. The Kauri trade was highly lucrative, however by 1850 it was all but over; the trees were logged to near extinction and only a few small strands survived. Meanwhile the increasing deforestation of the Island began as other trees were rapidly felled for house foundations, fence posts and firewood. There was also considerable mining activity, but the riches that had been uncovered at the Coromandel Peninsula were not repeated here. The first land purchase by Europeans was In 1838 by Thomas Maxwell who bought landon the East Coast, adjoining Man’O’War bay. By 1845 the number of pioneering European settler had reached 45. Farming developed and clearing of the bush continued as land purchases and settlements increased. Most early settlements were on the eastern end of the Island and around Onetangi. By 1868, only Te Huruhi (the area around Matiatia) remained in Ngati Paoa hands. There were now little more than 40 Maori remaining on the Island. In contrast, more signs of European inhabitation appeared. In 1876 the first Post office arrived and in 1882 the first school opened, it was located at Te Matuku Bay and had a roll count of 27 pupils. The potential for tourism began to be realised early on in Waiheke’s history.
By 1901 although only 162 people were recorded as residents in the census, city people flocked to popular bays for regattas and picnics. The first regatta was held at Man’O’War in 1882 and the first Onetangi beach races began in 1880.
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