Hobson Bay is a bay in the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the east of the Auckland City Centre, and is bisected by the Eastern Line and Tamaki Drive.
Hobson Bay is a tidal inlet of the WaitematàHarbour, surrounded by the suburbs of Parnell, Remuera and à ÂrÃÂkei. The Pourewa Creek and Orakei Creek both flow into the bay. A volcanic maar, the à ÂrÃÂkei Basin, is found to the south-east of the bay.
The bay is lined with mangroves.
The traditional TÃÂmaki MÃÂori name for the bay is Te Waitaramoa, either meaning "the bay of the first rays of sun", or a reference to Rubus cissoides (tÃÂtarÃÂmoa or bush lawyer). The bay was an important fishing resource for TÃÂmaki MÃÂori. The headlands of the bay were home to two Waiohua pÃÂ, home to two twin brothers, Hupiku and Humataitai, in the early 1700s. To the east was Te Pokanoa a Tarahape PÃÂ, a name which references Tarahape, a wife of Ika-maupoho, paramount chief of Waiohua. The western headland at Point Resolution was home to the Taurarua PÃÂ. Both pÃÂ were taken by NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua in the 1700s.
NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua à ÂrÃÂkei rangatira Te Tinana had a kÃÂinga to the south of Hobson Bay. The area was included in the à Âhinerau Block sale to the Crown in 1851. During the early colonial era, the bay was named after the first Governor of New Zealand, William Hobson. In 1885, Fort Resolution was constructed at Point Resolution in response to fears of invasion by the Russian Empire. The fort led to the destruction of the Taurarua Pàsite.
A sewage plant was opened at à Âkahu Bay, to the north-east of Hobson Bay, in 1908 (now the site of Kelly Tarlton's Sea Life Aquarium). The sewage plant caused significant pollution in the bay, including the NgÃÂti WhÃÂtua à ÂrÃÂkei village found on the bay's shores. Over time, Hobson Bay became more silted and shallow due to the sewage plant.
In 1925, the Eastern Line was constructed in the middle of the bay, joined by Tamaki Drive in 1926, a road linking Parnell to à ÂrÃÂkei at the mouth of the bay.
In the early 2000s, mayor John Banks proposed a new motorway for Auckland along the Eastern Transport Corridor to pass through Hobson Bay, either as a tunnel or above ground motorway.
In 2010, the ageing sewage tunnels underneath the bay were reconstructed.
The Hobson Bay Walkway can be found along the shores of the bay, and was constructed in 2006. Te Ara ki Uta ki Tai is an active shared path that extends from Hobson Bay to Glen Innes.