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Story: Scandinavians

Spöring Memorial and Spöring Island, Tolaga Bay

Spöring Memorial and Spöring Island, Tolaga Bay

The Spöring Memorial (top) in Turku, Finland, features a rock from the island, Pourewa. This was once known as Spöring Island, after the draughtsman Herman Spöring, who became the first Finn to land in New Zealand in 1769. The island is in Tolaga Bay, just offshore from Cook’s Cove.

Using this item

Tairawhiti Museum, Te Whare Taonga O Te Tairawhiti

Photograph of the Spöring Memorial courtesy of the City of Turku (photographer Raakkel Närhi)

Permission of Tairawhiti Museum, PO Box 716, Gisborne, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Carl Walrond, Scandinavians – 1642–1870: first arrivals, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/228/sporing-memorial-and-sporing-island-tolaga-bay (accessed 25 June 2026).

Story by Carl Walrond, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 September 2024.

Comments

Dudley Meadows
23 June 2016
Hi there, This image is a little misleading. The islands shown are the Mitre Rocks (sometimes referred to as The Haystacks) which are just off Pourewa Island.