List of New Zealand places named by James Cook

This is a list of New Zealand places named by James Cook. Cook was the first European navigator to circumnavigate and chart the archipelago. He chose names from dull to droll to descriptive, from metaphorical to a narrative of events, or to honour people and to record the existing Māori language names of places. The list below is in the order described in Cook's journals of his first and second voyages to the Pacific.

First voyage

The first voyage was in New Zealand waters during late 1769 and early 1770.

+Name (and today's name)DateReason for namingCoordsNotesPoverty Bay (Tūranganui-a-Kiwa / Poverty Bay)11 October“because it afforded us no one thing we wanted”Young Nicks Head / Te Kuri o Pāoa11 OctoberAfter the 11-year-old boy who won a gallon of rum for being the first to sight landTable Cape (Table Cape / Kahutara Point)12 OctoberShape and flat topIsle of Portland

(Portland Island)12 October"on account of its very great resemblance to Portland in the English Channel"Cape Kidnapper

(Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Māui)15 OctoberFor the attempt to kidnap Tupaia's young acolyte, TaiataHawkes Bay15 OctoberSir Edward HawkeCape Turnagain17 OctoberCook sailed Endeavour south to this point, where upon meeting adverse conditions he turned and headed north againGable End Foreland Head20 October"on account of the very great resemblance the white cliff at the very point hath to the Gable end of a House"Tegadoo (Anaura Bay)22 October"hath nothing to recommend it I shall give no discription of it"Tolaga Bay23 OctoberThe crew mistook the local name for this bay as Tolaga. It was actually UawaEast Cape31 OctoberEasternmost point of land on the whole coastEast Island (East Island / Whangaokeno)31 OctoberOff East CapeCape Runaway31 OctoberFive Māori waka frightened away by grape shot fired over their headsHicks's Bay (Wharekahika / Hicks Bay)First sited by Lieutenant Zachary Hickes The lieutenant spelt his name Hickes; Cook wrote it without the "e" and it's stuckWhite Island (Whakaari / White Island)1 NovemberAppeared to be white in colour White Island is an active volcano. It was evidently asleep at the time Bay of Plenty (Bay of Plenty / Te Moana-a-Toi)In contrast to Poverty BayThe name and its connotation endures, despite being made from the deck of a ship out at seaMowtohora (Moutohora Island or Whale Island)2 NovemberMount Edgecumbe (Mount Edgecumbe / Putauaki2 NovemberMayor Island (Mayor Island / Tuhua)3 NovemberIn recognition of the Lord Mayor's Day to be held in London a few days laterAldermen Islands3 NovemberA cluster of islands and rocks reminiscent of the Court of AldermenMercury Bay16 NovemberTransit of Mercury observed from hereThe long sandy beach in Mercury Bay where Cook landed is now called Cooks BeachOpoorage (Purangi Estuary)16 NovemberSome scholars argue that Opoorage applied the whole of Mercury BayRiver of Mangroves16 November"As we did not learn that the Natives had any name for this River, I have called it the River of Mangroves, because of the great quantity of these Trees that are found in it"Thames River (Waihou River / Firth of Thames)21 November"on account of its bearing some resemblance to that River in England"Cape Colvill (Cape Colville)24 November"in honour of the Right hon'ble the Lord Colvill"Cook served under Rear Admiral Lord Colville in NewfoundlandBarrier Isles (Great Barrier Island)24 Novembera chain of islands lying across the mouth of the harbour now known as Coromandel HarbourPoint Rodney (Cape Rodney)24 NovemberBream Bay25 November"we caught between 90 and 100 Bream (a fish so called)"It is thought these fish were snapper. In a jovial mood, he called the two headlands of the bay, Bream Head and Bream TailHen and Chicken Islands25 NovemberA group of islands shaped like a hen and her chickensPoor Knights (Poor Knights Islands)25 NovemberPossibly for a resemblance to a kind of dessertCape Brett (Cape Brett Peninsula /Rākaumangamanga) 27 NovemberAfter Peircy Brett“At the very point of the Cape is a high round Hillock… with a hole pierced thro' it like the Arch of a Bridge, and this was one reason why I gave the Cape the above name, because Piercy seem'd very proper for that of the Island”Point Pococke (Cape Wiwiki) 27 NovemberCavalle Isles Cavalli Islands27 NovemberAfter the cavally fish sold to the crew from a passing Māori wakaBay of Islands5 December"on account of the Great Number which line its shores"Whale Rock (Te Nunuhe Rock / Whale Rock)5 DecemberA sunken rock hit by Endeavour with no perceptible damageDoubtless Bay9 December"the wind not permitting us to look into this Bay"Knockle Point (Knuckle Point)10 DecemberJuts out from a Doubtless Bay headlandMount Camel (Tohoraha / Mount Camel)10 DecemberA large hill with a small dip in the top, standing upon a barren desert-like shoreSandy Bay (Rangaunu Bay)10 December"nothing but white sand thrown up in low irregular hills"From here Endeavour tacked out to the Three Kings Islands and back to Cape Maria van Dieman named by Abel TasmanNorth Cape19 DecemberNorthernmost point of land on the whole coastThe Desert Coast (Ripiro Beach)“wears a most desolate and inhospitable aspect” and “Nothing is to be seen but long sand Hills”Named for the extensive barren sand hills along the coast. Some records record it as The Desart Coast and some The Desert Coast.False Bay (Kaipara Harbour)8 January"the appearance of a Bay or inlet, but I believe it is only low land"Woody Head10 JanuaryLushly woodedNo such point nowadays on maps; near Te Toto Gorge.Gannet Island (Motutakupu Island / Gannet Island))10 January"on account of the Great Number of these Birds we saw upon it"Historic maps show this island to be at (-37.97693, 174.57320), where no Island can be found. Albetross Point

(Albatross Point)10 JanuaryAfter the birdlifeNo such point nowadays on maps; near Arohaki Bay.Mount Egmont (Mount Taranaki, or Mount Egmont) 13 JanuaryAfter the Earl of Egmont, First Lord of the Admiralty from 1763 to 1766Today, the volcano has two official namesCape Egmont13 JanuaryAt the foot of Mount EgmontSugar Loaf Isles (Sugar Loaf Islands / Ngā Motu)13 JanuarySugar Loaf Point on the mainland "riseth to a good height in the very form of a Sugar Loaf"Entry Isle (Kapiti Island) 14 FebruaryA high remarkable Island guarding the entrance to Cooks StraitQueen Charlotte's Sound (Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui)15 JanuaryQueen Charlotte, the wife of the reigning British monarchShip Cove (Meretoto / Ship Cove) 16 JanuaryHere the ship Endeavour was careened "(she being very foul)"Cook returned here numerous times, using it as a base on his second and third voyagesIsle Hamote (Long Island)31 JanuaryAn island in the outer Queen Charlotte SoundWest Bay (Endeavour Inlet)A placeholder name until someone came up with a better oneCannibals Cove (Anaho)A bay, possibly called Anahou or Anaho, was labelled by Cook and several others as "Cannibals Cove" on their mapsMotuouru Island Motuara Island)31 JanuaryAn island in the outer Queen Charlotte Sound where there was a PāAfter gaining permission from Topaa, an elder from the pa, Cook and his men erected a post on the highest part of the Island, and hoisted the British flagEahei no Mauwe (North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui)On 29 January, Cook climbed to "the Top of a pretty high hill" on Arapaoa Island, and later after consulting with Topaa, he determined that the land he had seen to north...T’avai Poenammoo (South Island or Te Waipounamu) 31 January... and to the south (from where he had stood) was not part of a continent, but rather two islands separated by a straitCook's Strait (Cook Strait)"some of the Officers had just started, that Aeheino Mouwe was not an Island… For my own part, I had seen so far into this Sea the first time I discover'd the Strait, together with many other Concurrent testimonies of its being an Island, that no such supposition ever enter'd my thoughts; but being resolved to clear up every doubt that might Arise on so important an Object, I steer'd North-East" until all the officers were satisfiedWhile this name appears on Cook's chart, it is worth noting Cook is not known for naming places after himself, and it is speculated that Joseph Banks bestowed the name of the strait (or as Banks spells it in his diary "Cooks streights")Cape Teerawhitte Cape Terawhiti31 JanuaryA cape to the east on the North Island side of Cook StraitSome scholars have pointed out that Topaa may simply have pointed out "east" rather than a particular headlandCape Koamaroo Cape Koamaru7 FebruarySoutheast head of Queen Charlotte Sound "called by the Natives, Koamaroo"Similar to Cape Terawhiti, this name may have been misinterpretedCape Pallisser (Cape Palliser)7 FebruaryAfter Hugh PalliserPalliser was captain of , Cook's first ship in the Royal NavyCloudy Bay (Te Koko-o-Kupe / Cloudy Bay)7 FebruaryWeather cloudyCape Campbel (Cape Campbel) / Te Karaka)8 FebruaryJohn Campbell, who introduced Cook to the Royal SocietyCastle Point Castlepoint11 FebruaryA remarkable hillockLookers-on (Kaikōura Peninsula)14 FebruaryThe occupants of four waka gazed in wonder, but could be tempted to paddle closerGore's Bay (Gore Bay, New Zealand)16 FebruaryPresumably to flatter Lieutenant Gore following a fruitless search for land that Gore saw, or thought he saw out to sea east of Banks Island. Cook was certain it was cloudsBanks Island (Banks Peninsula) 17 FebruaryAfter Joseph BanksCook mistook Banks Peninsula for an island – one of his few mistakesCape Saunders25 FebruaryCharles SaundersSouth East Bay (Foveaux Strait)"we could not see this land join to that to the Northward of us, there either being a total separation, a deep Bay, or low land between them"Along with South East Bay and Bench Island, Cook initially draw Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island / Rakiura on his chart; however, he later amended it to depict Steward Island as a peninsula, possibly to hide his discovery for reasons of military and colonial policy or more likely because he made an error, as his focus was on finding the southern extent of New Zealand, and conditions were unfavourable for more closely exploring the possible straitBench Island (Ruapuke Island)6 March"low land, making like an Island"The Traps (North Trap and South Trap)9 MarchLedges of rock, that lie "such as to catch unwary Strangers", from which Endeavour had "a very fortunate Escape"South Cape (South Cape / Whiore) 10 MarchSouthernmost point of land on the whole coastSolander's Isles (Solander Islands / Hautere)11 MarchDaniel SolanderWest Cape14 MarchWesternmost point of land upon the whole CoastDusky Bay (Dusky Sound)14 MarchCook wanted to go in but found the distance too great to run before duskFive Fingers Point14 March"5 high peaked rocks, standing up like the 4 fingers and thumb of a Man's hand"Doubtful Harbour (Doubtful Sound / Patea)14 March"it certainly would have been highly imprudent in me to have put into a place where we could not have got out""I mention this because there was some on board that wanted me to harbour at any rate, without in the least Considering either the present or future Consequences"Mistaken Bay (in vicinity of Big Bay)16 March"appearance of an inlet into the land; but upon a nearer approach found that it was only a deep Valley"Cascades Point (Cascade Point)17 March"deep Red Clifts, down which falls 4 Small streams of Water"Open Bay

(Jackson Bay / Okahu)17 MarchSnowey Mouintains (Southern Alps)18 MarchCook did not sight (or name) Aoraki / Mount Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand; however, he did describe the range of snow covered alps that runs down the island almost from one end to the otherCape FoulwindAbout 21 MarchFoul gales for days on endRocks Point23 MarchMany dangerous rocks awashAdmiralty Bay31 MarchSeeking a promotion?Stephens Island (Stephens Island / Takapourewa) 31 MarchPhilip StephensCape Stephens31 MarchNorthernmost point of Rangitoto ki te Tonga / D'Urville IslandBlind Bay