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Over the main divide of the Southern Alps is named after Arthur Dudley Dobson who heard of the existence of the mountain pass from a Maori chief, Tarapuhi. Dobson and his brothers, George and Edward, became the first Europeans to cross it in 1864.
The township of Arthur's Pass is 5 km south of the pass, virtually on the border of Canterbury and Westland. Dobson (then Sir Arthur) wrote later that the gold rush on the West Coast hastened interest in a pass through from Canterbury and by 1866 the highway was built, by more than a thousand men.
Arthur's Pass National Park, 99,270 ha, established in 1929, is a beautiful wilderness area, sharing a common boundary with Westland National Park, established in 1960 over 117,547 ha.
Between them the two parks contain a number of spectacular Southern Alps peaks, the Tasman, Franz Josef and Fox Glaciers, and large areas of luxuriant rain forest.
KIWI GUIDE COMMENTS
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In the heart of the Southern Alps, the first time I visited I was overcome by the beauty of the towering peaks surrounding the area. This is very similar to the Mountain passes found in the Swiss Alps. Tramping, camping, skiing and hunting are all popular activities.
This area is the home of the Native Bird the Kea which is a mountain parrot . This bird has a reputation of being very mischievous and because of it's powerful beak has been known to pull the rubbers out of car windows and pick the tires to pieces. I once left my raincoat lying against a cage which contained a kea, within five minutes the rascal had pulled my coat into the cage and totally ripped it to shreds.
K.G.
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