The Mercury Islands are a group of seven islands off the northeast coast of New Zealand's North Island. They are located off the coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, and northeast of the town of Whitianga. History The Ngāti Karaua (a hapu of the Ngāti Whanaunga) and the Ngāti Hei inhabited the islands since the 14th century. A settler claimed to have bought Great Mercury Island in 1839. Great Mercury (Ahuahu), Kawhitu or Stanley Island and Double Island (Moturehu) were purchased and taken as crown land in 1858–65. These included Whakakapua (73 acres) and Kowhaka (21 acres) being purchased in January 1865. Despite inhabiting Ahuahu, the Ngati Hei were not consulted about this purchase. A 2017 settlement recognized the Ngāti Hei as having a legitimate claim to Great Mercury Island. Description The main chain of the Mercury Islands consists of the large Great Mercury Island (also known as ) to the west, Red Mercury Island () to the east, and five much smaller islands between the two (Korapuki, Green, Atiu/Middle, Kawhitu/Stanley and Moturehu/Double Islands). All the islands, except Ahuahu/Great Mercury Island, have statutory protection and are managed by the Department of Conservation as highly valuable Nature Reserves where public access prohibited. Ahuahu/Great Mercury Island is privately owned and public access is allowed (excluding residential sites and the planted pine forest). One lone island, Repanga/Cuvier Island, also a protected Nature Reserve, lies to the north of Ahuahu/Great Mercury Island, although this island is not normally considered part of the Mercury Island group. Approximately 18,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the islands were hilly features surrounded by a vast coastal plain. Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, after which the islands separated from the rest of New Zealand. When sea levels were lower, the Opitonui River flowed east to the Pacific Ocean between Cuvier Island and Ahuahu/Great Mercury Island. Ahuahu / Great Mercury Island Ahuahu / Great Mercury Island, 1872 ha, is the largest of Mercury Islands and the only one with permanent residents or public access. It is the remnants of a Pliocene rhyolitic volcano. In pre-colonial times, the island was the location of at least 20 pā, including Matakawau, a pā on the western side of the island where extensive archaeological excavations were undertaken in the 1950s. During the latter 19th century, the island was