Aramoana — pathway to the sea

Aramoana is a small coastal settlement 27km north of Dunedin at the entrance to Otago Harbour opposite Taiaroa Head at the end of Otago Peninsula. The name Aramoana is Maori in origin and means pathway to the sea. The main channel of the harbour is kept clear by the Aramoana mole — an artificial breakwater which extends for 1200m from Aramoana. On November 13, 1990, Aramoana was the scene of what was then the deadliest mass murder in New Zealand history when David Gray went on a shooting spree that left 13 people dead before Gray was himself shot by police. A year later a memorial to the victims was unveiled and stands in a small hollow in the sand dunes beyond the settlement.