Stirling Point is a landmark at the southern end of the New Zealand suburb of Invercargill called Bluff, New Zealand. It is notable as the southern end of both State Highway 1 and Te Araroa; both these facilities span the length of the country. Stirling Point hosts a signpost with multiple directional signs; it is one of the most photographed items in Southland. Stirling Point has an anchor chain sculpture which replicates the sculpture on Stewart Island.

Captain William Stirling

The site is named for Captain Stirling (1812–1851) who operated a whaling station for Johnny Jones in this location from 1836 to 1844 when he took on the site's ownership. Stirling, whose real name is believed to be Pankhurst or Pankhirst, was born in Broadstairs, England and ran away to become a seafarer when he was aged 14.

Stirling Point signpost

The Stirling Point signpost was first erected in 1960. The original wooden signpost had six destination blades including Dog Island, Ruapuke Island,

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is the point in the Southern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True South Pole to distinguish ...

. After repeated vandalism, a metal post was cemented into place and twelve destination blades were fitted. Administratively, Bluff is part of Invercargill City and the signpost includes

sister cities A sister city or a twin town relationship is International relations, a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there ar ...

of Invercargill. The sister-city relationship with

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

broke down in the late 1990s. The relationship with Kumagaya in Japan was formalised in 1993 and with Suqian in China in 2013. When a Scottish tourist pointed out in 2017 that directions, distances and the coordinates displayed by the signpost were wrong, officials reviewed the setup and confirmed the errors. As part of the corrections implemented in late 2018,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

in Japan was removed from the signpost and replaced with Suqian, but the former sister city Hobart was kept on the sign.

References

{{coord, -46.6133, 168.3575, format=dms, type:landmark_region:NZ, display=title Bluff, New Zealand Tourist attractions in the Southland Region Headlands of the Southland Region State Highway 1 (New Zealand)