These plaques at Haast Pass note that it was an old Māori route. The first European to cross the pass was probably Charles Cameron, in January 1863. The following month Julius Haast led a party who hotly disputed Cameron’s claim. Haast gained naming rights, but in 1881 Cameron’s powder flask inscribed with the date was discovered on Mt Cameron, west of the pass. The plaques state that Haast followed the route down to the coast, which Cameron is less likely to have been done.
The plaques read:
‘The Haast Pass: an old Maori route used by Charles Cameron in January 1863 and by Julius Haast who followed it from Wanaka to the West Coast.’
‘The monument bearing these plaques was erected in honour of those who planned and constructed the road linking the provinces of Westland and Otago.’
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Private collection
by Simon Nathan
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