Image of the Week: 12 March - 18 March

12 March 2018

Arthur's Pass - the story

Arthur's pass was 'discovered' (crossed for the first time by a European) by surveyor Arthur Dudley Dobson in 1864, with the help of Tarapuhi the West Coast Chief.
The pass was known to Māori who used it for transporting pounamu (jade) across the Southern Alps.

The gold rush in 1865 motivated some businessmen to offer £200 (equivalent to $22,000 in 2016) to anyone who can find the best route from Canterbury to the West Coast.  Arthur’s pass was found to be the most suitable route for a direct crossing.

In July 1866, the newly named Arthur’s Pass was opened to coach traffic.
It ran over Porters Pass to Cass, up to Waimakariri Valley to Bealey.
Read more about the story at https://nzhistory.govt.nz/arthurs-pass-discovered.


Come and explore our published, photographs and archives collections about Arthur Dobson, Arthur’s Pass and West Coast at Macmillan Brown Library.

Images in this week's Image of the Week Gallery:

  1. Coach on Arthurs Pass route
    Newton, H.E., n.d., Coach on Arthurs Pass route, A.C. Graham photographs (MB1065, Ref 18853). Macmillan Brown Library, Christchurch, New Zealand.
    See more about this photograph in Kā kohika
  2. Coach on Arthurs Pass route
    Newton, H.E., n.d., Coach on Arthurs Pass route, A.C. Graham photographs (MB1065, Ref 18789). Macmillan Brown Library, Christchurch, New Zealand.
    See more about this photograph in Kā kohika
  3. Bealey River - West Coast Road
    Burton, n.d., Bealey River – West Coast Road, Burton Brothers Collection (MB1459, Ref 2889). Macmillan Brown Library, Christchurch, New Zealand.
    See more about this photograph in Kā kohika
  4. Bealey River - West Coast River
    Burton, n.d., Otira Gorge, West Coast Road, Burton Brothers Collection (MB1459, Ref 2881). Macmillan Brown Library, Christchurch, New Zealand.
    See more about this photograph in Kā kohika

Information in this article from:
'Arthur's Pass 'discovered'', URL: https://nzhistory.govt.nz/arthurs-pass-discovered, (Ministry for Culture and Heritage), updated 8-Dec-2016

Macmillan Brown Library - Te Puna Rakahau o Macmillan Brown

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Email:macbrown@libr.canterbury.ac.nz

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