Point Britomart

Point Britomart (Māori: Te Rerenga Ora Iti) was a headland in the Waitematā Harbour, in Auckland (Tāmaki Makaurau), New Zealand.

[3][4] After signing the Treaty of Waitangi, Ngāti Whātua paramount chief Āpihai Te Kawau, gave land for British settlement on the Waitematā.

It was Te Rerenga Ora Iti where the Union Jack was first raised in Auckland on 18 September 1840 by Felton Mathew, and the point soon became the site of one of the first British military fortifications in New Zealand, Fort Britomart.

[6] The point received its European name in 1848 from HMS Britomart, the crew of which undertook a detailed survey of the harbour of the new capital.

In 2018 Ngāti Whātua-o-Ōrākei and Ports of Auckland created Te Toka o Apihai Te Kawau, a memorial commemorating the founding of Auckland that includes a rock which marks the spot where Rerenga Ora Iti met the water, and where the city began.

The Auckland waterfront with Māori waka and the original St Paul's building above Point Britomart, painted in 1852.
Point Britomart at the far right, seen from the east end of Official Bay, with Fort Britomart atop it.
Point Britomart being quarried away. The original St Paul's building above the works was pulled down in 1885 as a result of being made structurally unsound from these works. [ 1 ]
Waterfront in ca 1930, with the older coastline of 1841 also shown as a darker line. Point Britomart is the sharp headland in the centre.