Coromandel’s History & Culture: Know interesting story about Coromandel Peninsula
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Coromandel’s History & Culture: Coromandel Express, one of the major trains of the Indian Railways, fell victim to an accident on Friday evening. The eastern coast of the country adjacent to the Bay of Bengal is called the Coromandel Coast. That is why this train has been named Coromandel Express.
Know where the name Coromandel came from
The land that was ruled by the great Chola dynasty of Tamil Nadu is called Cholamandalam in Tamil. This is where the word Coromandel comes from.
Two thousand years ago the Coromandel Peninsula was covered with rich forests and dense scrub right up to the water’s edge. It was a sight to behold. The Maori people who settled on the land enjoyed the beaches and the fertile wetlands. When the British explorer, Captain Cook, discovered the Coromandel in 1769, he thought he had arrived in heaven as he raised the Union Jack for the first time in New Zealand.
History of Captain Cook and the Coromandel
When Captain Cook was exploring the Coromandel region he was taken with the shape of the trees due to the scarcity of timber in England. He found a huge tree, but it was difficult to get leaves from such a tall tree, so a smaller one was cut down so that the wood could be studied. What he discovered was a cowrie tree. Cowries are one of the largest and longest-lived specimens in the world and can live up to 2,000 years. They can grow up to 50 meters tall. He is the king of the jungle of New Zealand. The huge trees, good anchorage and fertile soil impressed Captain Cook a lot. He took the report about the Coromandel back home to England and brought it to the attention of Europe.
timber trade
Soon, Europeans started coming and cutting trees to make up for the shortage of wood in England. They were in demand because they were easy to mill and had long straight trunks. The wood was prized as spares for sailing ships, and the elasticity of the wood and the length of the tree’s trunk made it well suited for ship hulls. Cowrie was therefore an extremely popular material in shipbuilding. Saw milling was an important industry until the mid-1800s, but it resulted in the destruction of large kauri forests. Logs were driven out of the valleys, sometimes in thousands by building a dam across a river.
By the time people became aware of the effects of deforestation, it was too late as about 75 percent of the kauri forests had already been cleared. Coromandel got its name from one of the ships of the British Navy, “HMS Coromandel” in 1820. Like many other ships that visited the Coromandel region, it left the shores of New Zealand, destined for England with kauri logs. Today whatever is left of the cowrie forests is fiercely protected.
Bill Webster was the first European to settle in the Coromandel region. In the 1830s he deserted from an American whaling ship and established a trading post on Whanganui Island at the entrance to Coromandel Harbour. Webster learned the Māori language and used Māori labor to build small schooners to bring timber to Australia.
gold rush
After the cowrie boom, gold was discovered and mining began in the 1860s. The remains of the mines and batteries can still be seen along some of the Coromandel Walks. At the height of the gold rush, the Coromandel district had a population of over 12,000 and 19 hotels. Some old buildings are still standing today.
Today’s Coromandel Coast
Today the population of the Coromandel-Thames district is approximately 28,000. While gold and cowry milling are a thing of the past, tourism and oyster farming provide a healthy economy for the area. The area is a popular summer holiday destination for New Zealanders. Holiday homes in New Zealand are called bachs and many can be found close to the spectacular beaches on the Coromandel Peninsula. The area attracts artists, craftsmen and alternative lifestyles as life on the peninsula is very relaxed.
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