It was from a hill on Arapawa Island in 1770 that Captain James Cook first saw the sea passage from the Pacific Ocean to the Tasman Sea, which was named Cook Strait. This discovery banished the fond notion of geographers that there existed a great southern continent.
From the late 1820s until the mid 1960s, Arapawa Island was a base for whaling in the Sounds. Perano Head on the east coast of the island was the principal whaling station for the area. The houses built by the Perano family are now operated as tourist accommodation.
Arapawa Island is known for the breeds of pigs, sheep and goats found only on the island. The origin of these breeds is unknown, and is a matter of some speculation. Common suggestions are that they are old English breeds introduced by the early whalers, or by Captain Cook or other early explorers, which are now extinct in England.
The two large bays of Golden Bay and Tasman Bay lie on the South Island coast immediately to the west of the strait, whereas the North Island coast to the west recedes towards the giant curve of the Kapiti Coast and South Taranaki Bight.
To the east of the strait, it is the south island which recedes, the coast running southwest after reaching the headland of Cape Campbell.
At its narrowest point, the strait is 24 kilometres wide, this being between Cape Terawhiti in the North Island and Perano Head on ArapawaIsland in the Marlborough Sounds.
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