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Story: Swiss

Lauper Stream, Rakaia Valley

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Lauper Stream, Rakaia Valley

One of the earliest associations between Swiss people and the New Zealand mountains came about when Jakob Lauper accompanied John Henry Whitcombe on the first crossing of Whitcombe Pass, between Canterbury and Westland, in 1863. On their journey, the pair followed a stream from the Rakaia River up to the Main Divide. The stream bears Lauper’s name, which until 2002 was misspelt as ‘Louper’.

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How to cite this page

Helen Baumer, Swiss – Swiss settlement, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/236/lauper-stream-rakaia-valley (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Helen Baumer, published 4 March 2009, updated 1 August 2024.