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'Arthur's Pass' (el. 920 m.) is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It marks part of the boundary between Westland and Canterbury, 140 km from Christchurch and 95 km from Greymouth. The pass lies in a saddle between the valleys of the Otira River, a tributary of the Taramakau in the west and the Bealey River in the east.
A hamlet of the same name ('Arthur's Pass') is located about 5 km south of the mountain pass.

Contents

History

Road Link

Rail Link

Arthur's Pass Township

Facilities

References

External links

History

The pass is named after Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson (1841-1934), who led the first party of Europeans across the pass in 1864. He had been informed of the presence of a pass which had been used occasionally by Māori hunting parties by a West Coast Māori Chief, Tarapuhi. It is also believed that writer and explorer Samuel Butler had seen the pass several years earlier, but was unable to explore it at that time. The timing was perfect, as the West Coast was soon to be hit by a goldrush, and easy access to the Tasman's coast became imperative.

Road Link

State Highway 73 passes over Arthur's Pass and is the highest of only three roads crossing the Southern Alps, the other crossings being the Haast Pass and the Lewis Pass.
Previously prone to be blocked by landslides or avalanches, the road on the western side of the pass has seen extensive civil engineering work in the late 1990s. Most notably, the impressive ''Otira Viaduct'', near the settlement of Otira and spanning 440 metres of unstable terrain, was completed in 1999.

Rail Link

The Midland Line, connecting Christchurch and the West Coast, crosses the Main Divide by means of the Otira Tunnel, between Arthur's Pass township and Otira. When opened in 1923, the tunnel was the longest in the British Empire.

Arthur's Pass Township

This tiny hamlet is a popular base for exploring Arthur's Pass National Park.

Facilities

★ Accommodation

★ General Store

★ Cafe / Restaurant

★ DOC Office

★ Camp Ground

★ Train Station
Arthur's Pass township, a hamlet about 5 km south of the pass, is a popular base for exploring Arthur's Pass National Park.

References

★ The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names, , A. W., Reed, Reed Books, 2002, ISBN 0-7900-0761-4

★ Edward Dobson

External links

★ Arthur's Pass mountaineering conditions

★ Arthur's Pass Webscape

★ Arthur's Pass scenic photography

★ The Dobson family in the 1966 ''Encyclopaedia of New Zealand''