Norma Holyoake, wife of Prime Minister Keith Holyoake, cut the ribbon to open the final section of the Haast road at Knights Point on 6 November 1965. The ceremony, held in heavy rain, was something of an anticlimax. A local resident cut the ribbon just before the Holyoakes arrived, necessitating to a hasty replacement – and the road was temporarily closed by a slip soon afterwards. Nevertheless, the Haast road had a huge impact on South Westland by reducing its isolation. The tourist industry grew rapidly, as it was now possible to visit the glaciers while making a circuit around the central part of the South Island.