Pourangahau / Mount Robert is a mountain in the

Tasman District Tasman District () is a local government district in the northwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It borders the Canterbury Region, West Coast Region, Marlborough Region and Nelson City. It is administered by the Tasman District Council ...

of New Zealand's

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 ...

. It is within the

Nelson Lakes National Park Nelson Lakes National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand, at the northern end of the Southern Alps. It was created in 1956 (one of four created in the 1950s). The park contains beech forests, multiple lakes, snow-covered mountains and v ...

. For many years, Mount Robert formed part of landowner and politician John Kerr of

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

's Lake Station, but was returned to the crown in the years following his death in 1898. The partially unsealed Mt Robert Road, just west of the town of Saint Arnaud leads to a car park that is the start of tramping tracks into the Nelson Lakes National Park, and also a five-hour loop walk up the mountain: the Pinchgut Track zigzags steeply up to near the top of Mount Robert, then continues along a ridge to Bushline Hut, before descending via the more gentle Paddy's Track. The track offers view over Lake Rotoiti and Saint Arnaud. The treeline on the northeastern slopes of Mount Robert is unusually low due to erosion following the loss of the original beech forest by fire in 1887 and subsequent grazing. Mature beech forest remains on the western and southern sides of the mountain. On its northern side is an abandoned skifield. In 2005, the rope tows were removed and shifted to the nearby Rainbow Ski Area. A lack of snow was cited as one of the reasons for removing the tows. At times a helicopter shuttle was used for access to the skifield. In August 2014, the official name for Mount Robert was altered to Pourangahau / Mount Robert, following the

Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō is a Māori people, Māori iwi (tribe) in the upper South Island of New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal lands) include the areas around Golden Bay / Mohua, Golden Bay, Tākaka, Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, Motueka, Nelson, Ne ...

Treaty of Waitangi settlement Claims and settlements under the Treaty of Waitangi () have been a significant feature of New Zealand politics since the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975 and the Waitangi Tribunal that was established by that act to hear claims. Successive governme ...

with the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...

References

{{Tasman District

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

Nelson Lakes National Park