Haast Pass
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Haast Pass / Tioripatea is a
mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...
in the
Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
of the
South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
of New Zealand.
Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
used the pass in pre-European times. The pass takes its name from Julius von Haast, a 19th-century explorer who also served as provincial geologist for the provincial government of
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
. Following the passage of the
Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 The Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 is an act of parliament passed in New Zealand relating to Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. The act's purpose is to settle all of the tribe's claims under the Treaty of Wa ...
, the name of the pass was officially altered to Haast Pass / Tioripatea. The pass lies within the limits of
Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage Site. History Moun ...
and forms part of the boundary between the
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
and West Coast regions. The Haast Pass is one of the three passes where a road crosses over the Southern Alps – alongside the
Lewis Pass Lewis Pass is the northernmost of the three main mountain passes through the Southern Alps in the South Island of New Zealand. With an elevation of 907 metres, it is slightly lower than Arthur's Pass and higher than Haast Pass. The pass is ...
and
Arthur's Pass Arthur's Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats, and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for explori ...
, although the Homer Tunnel passes under the Main Divide. The Haast Pass rises to a height of above sea level at the saddle between the valleys of the Haast and Makarora Rivers. As such, it is the lowest of the passes traversing the Southern Alps. The route through Haast Pass (now ) was converted from a rough track to a formed road that reached the Haast township in 1960, but was not linked with the rest of the West Coast until 1965. No settlements exist on the Haast Pass road between Haast and
Makarora Makarora is a small community within the Queenstown-Lakes District of the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on on the eastern side of the Haast Pass and adjacent to the Makarora River. Local tourism operators of ...
. The road passes through predominantly unmodified
beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...
forest. Between the township of Haast and the summit of the pass, State Highway 6 follows the route of the Haast River, and provides access and viewing points for several notable waterfalls including (west-to-east): Roaring Billy Falls, Thunder Creek Falls, and Fantail Falls.


History

Ngāi Tahu Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori people, Māori (tribe) of the South Island. Its (tribal area) is the largest in New Zealand, and extends from the White Bluffs / Te Parinui o Whiti (southeast of Blenheim, New Zealand, Blenhe ...
used the pass to cross from
Lake Wānaka Lake Wānaka is New Zealand's List of lakes in New Zealand#Largest lakes, fourth-largest lake and the seat of the town of Wānaka in the Otago region. The lake is 278 meters above sea level, covers , and is more than deep. "Wānaka" is the So ...
to the West Coast. At the time of European exploration, it was notorious for its use in 1835 by a war party led by Te Pūoho-o-te-rangi; a surprise crossing enabled Te Pūoho to ambush seasonal villages in the Makarora valley. Europeans first learnt of the pass when Huruhuru drew a map for the explorer
Edward Shortland Edward Shortland (1812–1893) was a New Zealand medical doctor, administrator, scholar and linguist. Life Shortland was born at Courtlands near Lympstone in Devon, England, the third son of Thomas George Shortland and brother of Willoughby a ...
in 1844. The first European ascent was from the Wānaka side in March 1861, when the exploring survey John Holland Baker, seeking new sheep country, looked down from the saddle towards the West Coast. Charles Cameron, a gold prospector, claimed to have made the first crossing to the coast in 1863. However he was widely believed to have only got to the upper reaches of the Haast River / Awarua. The honour of first official crossing was claimed by Julius Haast, Canterbury's provincial geologist, who led a five-man expedition in January 1863. He named the Haast River after himself, "directed, so he said, by his provincial superindendent", and returned to Lake Wānaka "nearly shoeless" after six weeks. By 1880, there was a good packhorse track across the pass, but work to form a road across the pass did not commence until 1929 when work began at Lake Hāwea. A further phase commenced from the east at
Makarora Makarora is a small community within the Queenstown-Lakes District of the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is situated on on the eastern side of the Haast Pass and adjacent to the Makarora River. Local tourism operators of ...
in 1936, and proceeded as far as the Gates of Haast, but was then halted for several years because of diversion of resources to the Second World War. Further work on the western side of the Gates of Haast did not begin again until 1946. Progress was slow, and by 1955, there was still 10 miles of roadway to be formed on the western side of the gorge. The Haast Pass road between Otago and southern Westland was officially opened in November 1960, but it was announced that a complete road closure would be required in the New Year to replace the existing temporary
Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, Prefabrication, pre-fabricated, Truss Bridge, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British Empire in World War II, British for military use during the World War II, Second World War and saw ...
at Gates of Haast with a permanent structure. In September 1961, the new
Callender-Hamilton bridge The Callender-Hamilton bridge is a modular portable pre-fabricated truss bridge. It is primarily designed for use as permanent civil bridging as well as for emergency bridge replacement and for construction by military engineering units. Assemblin ...
was opened, after 3 months of total road closure. During this period, supplies for the Haast township, normally delivered via the road from Cromwell in Otago had to be hand-carried across a catwalk over the river from one truck on the Otago side to another truck on the West Coast side. The official opening of the entire Haast Highway was held on 6 November 1965, following the completion of the last section between Haast and Paringa. However, a chipseal surface on the entire route was not completed until 1995. In the early 20th century, a railway from the West Coast through the pass to
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
was suggested by local MP Tom Seddon; it would have linked the Ross Branch with the
Otago Central Railway The Otago Central Railway (OCR) or in later years Otago Central Branch Railway, now often referred to as the Taieri Gorge Railway, was a secondary railway line in Central Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand. Construction Construction o ...
, which then terminated in
Omakau Omakau (sometimes spelled Ōmakau) is a settlement in Central Otago, New Zealand, located between Alexandra and Ranfurly on the northwest bank of the Manuherikia River. The smaller settlement of Ophir is located on the opposite bank, three kilo ...
. However, the line never came to fruition; the Otago Central Railway terminated in Cromwell and no railway was built south of Ross, just a lightly laid
bush tramway A bush tram and line-side log hauler owned by the Tamaki Sawmill Co., Raurimu. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1917. In New Zealand railway terminology, a bush tramway is an industrial tramway, most commonly used for logging. They ...
to serve logging interests near Lake Ianthe.


See also

* List of mountain passes#New Zealand


References

{{Authority control Mountain passes of the Southern Alps Landforms of Otago Westland District Mount Aspiring National Park State Highway 6 (New Zealand)