Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Firefighters wade to Motuopae Island / Peach Island fire in Tauranga estuary

Samantha Olley
By Samantha Olley
Bay of Plenty Times·
5 Feb, 2020 09:15 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Fire at Motuopae Island, west of the Tauranga CBD. Photo / Supplied

Fire at Motuopae Island, west of the Tauranga CBD. Photo / Supplied

A fire at a Tauranga urupā is being described as "very concerning".

Firefighters waded through Waikareao Estuary while others took a boat to Motuopae Island, also known as Peach Island, yesterday.

Witnesses first called Fire and Emergency New Zealand at 4.50pm after seeing smoke.

Motuopae Island the day after the fire. Photo / Andrew Warner
Motuopae Island the day after the fire. Photo / Andrew Warner

Buddy Mikaere (Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Ranginui), who has grandparents buried at the island, said the fire was "very concerning".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He could not recall any others at the island and in his opinion, "it would have to have been deliberately lit".

He had not yet been to the island to see the extent of the damage.

The island is a former pā site and has been an urupā "for generations".

"It is getting close to full, most people buried there now are in vaults."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Renowned Ngāti Ranginui leaders buried at the island west of the CBD in recent years include Wiparata Ngatoko and Dr Morehu Ngatoko Rahipere.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman said "a lot of calls" came in about the blaze.

"We had to wait for a boat to transfer one appliance to the vegetation fire. We can't just drive over there. Some firefighters were wading over."

A helicopter was put on standby.

Discover more

New Zealand

Last cohort of Australian nurses leave Whakatāne

03 Feb 06:01 PM

Name suppression drops for murder accused

03 Feb 07:58 PM

Letters to the editor: Huntly and water restrictions

04 Feb 03:24 PM

Bay health authorities prepare in case of outbreak

04 Feb 07:00 PM

Mandie Thompson was driving along Takitimu Drive when she first saw the fire about 5pm.

She was "gobsmacked" by how quickly it grew.

"You could just see pillars of smoke coming up from the island and as we got further around along the expressway, you could see flames."

A funeral procession walks to Motuopae Island in 2013. Photo / File
A funeral procession walks to Motuopae Island in 2013. Photo / File

She witnessed the response for the next hour, while she waited for son's karate class to finish nearby.

First responders formed a line and passed along buckets of water to the island she said.

"The flames were huge and they were probably halfway across the island, but they managed to get it under control. It was a massive team effort."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Thompson grew up in Judea nearby and had always known the island was sacred land, so it was "devastating" to see it burning, she said.

A police spokesman said inquiries regarding the fire were "ongoing".

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

Premium
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms

Bay of Plenty Times

Kora the dog's journey: From failed police trainee to rescue hero


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit
Bay of Plenty Times

Rural community 'in shock' as industrial park greenlit

It will add up to 125 vehicle movements an hour on local roads.

16 Jul 06:00 PM
Premium
Premium
'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms
Bay of Plenty Times
|Updated

'Stay on your side of the Bombays': Rotorua developer's swipe at Auckland firms

16 Jul 06:00 PM
Kora the dog's journey: From failed police trainee to rescue hero
Bay of Plenty Times

Kora the dog's journey: From failed police trainee to rescue hero

16 Jul 05:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP