Editing Musick Point

{{Short description|Headland in Auckland, New Zealand}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=April 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
[[File:2 Musick Pt.jpg|alt=|thumb|Musick Point Te Naupata from above, emerging from early morning fog]]
[[Image:Musick Point Headland Manukau.jpg|thumb|right|Musick Point from the north]]
[[File:Musick Memorial Radio Station Auckland NZ 2009.jpg|thumb|right|The radio station building]]

'''Musick Point Te Naupata''' ({{Langx|mi|Te Naupata}};<ref name="MANU">[http://www.manukau.govt.nz/default.aspx?id=10401 Manukau Council webpage]{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> officially '''Musick Point / Te Naupata''') is the [[headland]] of the [[peninsula]] that forms the eastern shore of the [[Tāmaki River]] in [[Bucklands Beach]], a suburb of [[Auckland]], New Zealand.<ref name="FISH">{{cite news |url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/4/story.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=10007654 |title=Fishing: Thank you for the Musick |date=23 January 2005 |work=[[The New Zealand Herald#Herald on Sunday|Herald on Sunday]] |accessdate=27 October 2011}}</ref> In 1942, Musick Point was named after [[Ed Musick]], an [[aviator]] who visited New Zealand in 1937,<ref name="RADIO">[http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/Branches/SARC/musick_point_history.htm Musick Point - Early History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061007100555/http://www.nzart.org.nz/nzart/Branches/SARC/musick_point_history.htm |date=2006-10-07 }} (from the New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters (NZART) website. Retrieved 2007-10-02.)</ref> although the headland is also known as ''Te Waiarohia'', after an ancient Māori stronghold. Today, it is occupied by a golf club and the Musick Memorial Radio Station.

The peninsula itself terminates between the [[Motukorea Channel]] and the [[Tāmaki Strait]] in the [[Waitematā Harbour]], [[Auckland]]. The residential areas of [[Bucklands Beach]] and [[Eastern Beach, New Zealand|Eastern Beach]] lie immediately to the south.

== History ==

The headland was originally used by [[Māori people|Māori]] of the [[Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki]] [[iwi]] (tribe), who dug a ditch across the peninsula as part of Te Waiarohia [[Pā (Māori)|Pā]] (sometimes recorded as Te Naupata Pa), until it was overrun by the neighbouring [[Ngāpuhi]] iwi in 1821.<ref name="MANU"/> Parts of the ditch are still clearly visible. The beaches and the sea were plentiful sources of food for the local population.<ref name="RADIO"/>

In 1836, {{convert|40000|acre|km2}}, including the point, were bought by [[William Thomas Fairburn]], a missionary, for 90 blankets, 24 adzes, 24 hoes, 14 spades, 80 pounds (money), {{convert|900|lb|abbr=on}} of tobacco, 24 combs, and 12 plain irons.<ref>Deed No.347 - Auckland District Vii Records (private land purchases), 23 January 1836</ref> The land was later parceled up and sold on.<ref name="RADIO"/> During the early settlers era it was called East Head,{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} and until the 1930s it was known as Tāmaki Head.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2">{{Cite book| editor-first=John| editor-last=La Roche |editor-link=John La Roche |title=Evolving Auckland: The City's Engineering Heritage |year=2011 |publisher=Wily Publications |chapter=Musick Point Radio Station |first1=Rhys |last1=Thomas |pages=181–187 |isbn=9781927167038}}</ref>

Today, it is a favourite spot for walking, wedding photos, sightseeing over the harbour and for recreational fishing, as well as being the site of a golf course.<ref name="FISH"/>

== Radio station ==

The increase in aircraft in the 1930s facilitated the need for international air communication in New Zealand.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2"/> The headland was chosen due to its remote location in Auckland,<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2"/> leading to the construction of the [[Streamline Moderne]] style Musick Memorial Radio Station. The building was constructed in 1940 by DC Street Construction Company, however the events of [[World War II]] delayed the official opening of the station until 1942.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2"/> The station was named after American pilot [[Ed Musick]], whose landing of a [[Sikorsky S-42|Sikorsky S42B]], the ''[[Samoan Clipper]]'', in [[Mechanics Bay]] heralded the beginning of air travel and greater communication with the world for New Zealanders.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2"/> Upon opening, the station facilitated most of the long range radio transmissions for Auckland, communicating with ships and aircraft, and was used by American naval forces during World War II.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2"/> A secondary radio bunker was built 300m south of the main building during the war, in case the main station was bombed.<ref name="RADIO"/> Because the area was isolated a water tower was built to store water for the small group of houses and the single workers accommodation that was built at the same time as the station, about 500m to the south of the main radio building.

The isolation of Musick Point, with its absence of man-made electrical interference, made it an ideal radio receiving site and was a welcome improvement over Auckland Radio's previous location in the Chief Post Office in downtown Auckland, which suffered interference from Auckland's electric tramway. Transmitters for the radio station were established a few kilometres away from Musick Point, in Oliver Road, Bucklands Beach, with remote control by the operators at the Point.

The station was the headquarters of the maritime coast station Auckland Radio ZLD, and of aviation radio ZLF. ZLD and ZLF were initially operated by the [[New Zealand Post Office]] before the aviation radio service was taken over by the Civil Aviation Corporation, which moved it to [[Mangere Aerodrome]] (later [[Auckland Airport]]) in 1957.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2"/> Later, ownership of Auckland Radio changed to Telecom NZ Ltd, and [[Spark New Zealand|Spark]] still uses the building for [[cell phone|cellular services]].<ref name="RADIO"/>

Following the closure of all New Zealand coast radio stations in 1993, ZLD ceased operation from Musick Point and the land became Crown land.<ref name="EvolvingAuckland8.2"/> The equipment of Auckland Radio ZLD, including most of the Oliver Road transmitters, was acquired by the non-profit Musick Point Radio Group.<ref>[http://musickpointradio.org Musick Point Radio Group]</ref> The Group, which includes several former Musick Point operators and technicians, has a long-term lease on the building, and has reactivated the station on the amateur (ham) radio bands using some of the former ZLD transmitters along with a range of modern equipment. At a 2003 rededication of the building, a plaque recognizing the "engineering heritage value" of the station was presented by the Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand.<ref>{{cite report |last=Astwood |first=Karen |date=5 October 2015 |series=IPENZ Engineering Heritage Register Report |title=Musick Memorial Radio Station, Auckland |url=http://musickpointradio.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/musick_memorial_radio_station_heritage_assessment.pdf |publisher=Institute of Professional Engineers New Zealand |access-date=9 December 2019 }}</ref>

In recognition of the station's historical importance, the group has been issued the amateur radio callsigns ZL1ZLD and ZL1ZLF. The Group maintains a radio museum in the building and operates a low-power FM broadcast station with recorded information about Musick Point. One of MPRG's projects was keeping the traditional marine radiotelegraph frequency of 512&nbsp;kHz alive, and it had a special licence to operate on this frequency which is outside the normal amateur radio bands. These transmissions ceased in mid 2013 when amateurs were allocated a new 630 metre band (427–479&nbsp;kHz) and authority to operate on 512&nbsp;kHz was withdrawn.

==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|location = Musick Point (1991–2020) 
| Jan high C  = 23.0
| Feb high C  = 23.7
| Mar high C  = 22.5
| Apr high C  = 20.5
| May high C  = 18.3
| Jun high C  = 16.0
| Jul high C  = 15.1
| Aug high C  = 15.2
| Sep high C  = 16.4
| Oct high C  = 17.8
| Nov high C  = 19.2
| Dec high C  = 21.4
| year high C = 
| Jan mean C  = 19.4
| Feb mean C  = 20.0
| Mar mean C  = 18.7
| Apr mean C  = 16.9
| May mean C  = 14.8
| Jun mean C  = 12.6
| Jul mean C  = 11.6
| Aug mean C  = 11.9
| Sep mean C  = 13.0
| Oct mean C  = 14.3
| Nov mean C  = 15.7
| Dec mean C  = 17.8
| year mean C = 
| Jan low C  = 15.8
| Feb low C  = 16.4
| Mar low C  = 15.1
| Apr low C  = 13.3
| May low C  = 11.3
| Jun low C  = 9.2
| Jul low C  = 8.1
| Aug low C  = 8.6
| Sep low C  = 9.6
| Oct low C  = 10.8
| Nov low C  = 12.2
| Dec low C  = 14.3
| year low C = 	
|source 1 = NIWA<ref>{{cite web
|url = https://data.niwa.co.nz/
|title = NIWA Datahub (Agent number: 18195)
|publisher = NIWA
|access-date = 25 Nov 2024}}</ref>
}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{coord|-36.847208|174.901357|type:landmark_region:NZ|display=title}}

{{Howick Local Board Area}}

[[Category:Radio in New Zealand]]
[[Category:Headlands of the Auckland Region]]
[[Category:Peninsulas of the Auckland Region]]
[[Category:Howick Local Board Area]]
[[Category:East Auckland]]
[[Category:Tāmaki River]]