Pakatoa Island, Private island in Hauraki Gulf, New Zealand

Pakatoa Island is a 24-hectare island in the Hauraki Gulf, 38 km east-northeast of Auckland's city centre and 1.6 km north of Waiheke Island. It measures about 960 m long and up to 490 m wide, rising 50 m above the gulf, and has a jetty on its northwest side. It is reached only by boat or helicopter.

Pakatoa Island was bought by the Salvation Army in 1907 and opened as an alcohol treatment centre for men that December, after the Habitual Drunkards Act of 1906. In February 1911 the men moved to Rotoroa Island and Pakatoa became a home for women with alcohol problems, running until 1942. It was sold in 1949; former cinema owner Robert Kerridge bought it in 1964 and opened a holiday resort in 1965, closed after a fire in the 1980s.

The island's name Pakatoa comes from Māori, and the land was bought by the New Zealand Company on 23 September 1826 with one double-barrelled gun, eight muskets and a barrel of gunpowder, the deed signed by missionary Thomas Kendall. Later the Salvation Army ran an alcohol treatment centre here from December 1907, and sailors repeatedly brought drink to the inmates.

Access to the island is by boat only, with a modern wharf serving as the landing point. Visitors should prepare for changing weather conditions since the island sits exposed in open water.

The actor Russell Crowe worked on the island during his youth when it operated as a resort. This moment from his early career connects the island to an internationally recognized figure.