Haast-Hollyford road
Encyclopedia
The Haast-Hollyford road or Haast-Hollyford Highway is a long-standing proposal to link Haast
via the Hollyford Valley
to Milford Sound
and Te Anau
in the South Island
of New Zealand. Proposals for this road have been mooted since the 1880s.
Proposals for the road have been suggested since the 1870s. The road was originally seen as the only land access to the port of Jackson Bay
from the Otago goldfields
, but it has never been possible to cross the Main Divide to Lake Wakatipu
. A road has, however, been constructed north from Lake Te Anau
to Milford Sound
, which is a major tourist route, and most more recent proposals have focussed on extending this road north. The South Island Local Bodies Association regularly passed remits from the 1950s through to the 1980s in support of a road but the Ministry of Works
, a government department responsible for road building during that period, repeatedly stated that such a road was not a priority for funding.
. Currently, most tourists come from Queenstown and this results in a peak of activity in the middle of the day. The final stretch of the current road from the Hollyford Valley to Milford Sound is also subject to many closures during winter, significantly reducing tourist numbers around Te Anau
.
Construction of a Haast-Hollyford road would also give tourists an opportunity of seeing far more of the South Island within the same given time. A Haast-Hollyford route would significantly reduce the length of road tourists would travel if they were journeying between Fiordland and the West Coast. A purpose-built scenic drive designed to minimise environmental damage and maximise tourist enjoyment would put Haast only 175 kilometres (108.7 mi) from Milford Sound; the distance at present is 539 kilometres (334.9 mi).
There is significant opposition to these proposals, however, as any road would have to pass through unspoilt land of significant natural beauty; the area is within Fiordland National Park
, part of the Te Wahipounamu
World Heritage area. Environmentalists strongly oppose construction of the road.
An estimated cost for the construction of the road is NZ$300 million, and it is widely acknowledge that the proposed road would likely be a toll road
. The high cost of constructing the road is given as a reason for putting it on an indefinite hold.
and podocarp forest that has never been logged. There are a number of rivers and lakes along the proposed route.
One of the proposed routes would go through Fiordland National Park
and Mount Aspiring National Park
as well as the Awarua Point Conservation Area, and would follow the Hollyford Track
(a tramping track in the Hollyford Valley
).
to explore. Pyke came back with an idea for a Clyde-Haast railway that was never fulfilled but provided some basis for a road to Wanaka, which opened 100 years later. A Haast-Hollyford road was considered key to further Westland development.
The road's history forms a not-so-small chapter in the story of West Coast settlement in the 1870s, promoted by then Prime Minister Sir Julius Vogel
. In 1876 Duncan Macfarlane, the Government agent at Jackson Bay, and Gerhard Mueller, Westland's chief surveyor, focused on the alpine route in 1876 and 1884 respectively. Some construction occurred at the northern end in 1885, and again in 1891.
Mueller and James McKerrow drew up a topographical plan of the area between the Jackson
and Hollyford River
s in 1884, showing the proposed route between Lake Wakatipu
and Jacksons Bay. This was published in the appendices to the journal of the House of Representatives 1884 Volume 1 Page 73, now held at National Archives. Two years later, Mueller proposed a road from the Cascade Plateau to the junction of the Pyke
and Hollyford Rivers. A full survey and plan of the 47 mile stretch was completed about this time. By 1898 there was a metalled horse-track between the Cascade and Barn Bay.
, when it was seen as a possible unemployment relief work scheme. By April 1931 about 200 men were employed on the Milford Road, and over the course of 18 months, 33 miles (53.1 km) of road were completed. In April 1934, a preliminary survey of the mountain country through which the Milford Road would pass was completed. By June, an announcement that the Government had decided to complete the Eglinton Valley Road through to Milford Sound was made. The road had by now reached Marian Corner, where the route meets the valley of the Hollyford River. The crossing of the main divide between the Hollyford River
and Milford Sound
basin was the most difficult and costly part of the undertaking, and necessitated the driving of a long tunnel. It was generally considered that the Gertrude Saddle was the most favourable point at which to cross the divide, but the tunnelling required on this route was found to be nearly 107 chains (2,152.5 m) in length, whereas it was possible to pass under the Homer Saddle with one tunnel of 60 chains (1,207 m) in length.
J.H. Christie and T. Evans, the Town Clerk of Hokitika, made a report and assessment for the Public Works Department of the proposed Haast Pass road in 1935. The report sparked the new Labour Government to approve the road from Bruce Bay
to the Haast Pass
, and also a road from Haast to Hollyford as part of the same project. Christie said that a road from the Arawhata River
to the Upper Hollyford was estimated to cost £175,000. By 11 April advance workers on the Te Anau-Milford Sound Road had reached the 58-mile peg, approximately 5 miles (8 km) from the eastern entrance to the tunnel. By November, preparations were complete for the driving of a tunnel through the Homer Saddle at a height of 3400 feet (1,036.3 m) above sea level. The work was expected to be slow but uneventful, with the bore passing through scree at both ends and solid granite in between. Power for the work's 12 compressed air drills was supplied by a hydro-electric plant situated about six miles from the scene of operations. Tunnelling was all done from the Southern end, as it was impossible to transfer materials and plant to the Cleddau Valley section. It was estimated that the 72 miles (115.9 km) road from Te Anau to Milford Sound would be completed by late 1937.
Later the same year J. Collins, New Zealand Trade Commissioner and representative of the Tourist and Publicity Department in Canada and the United States, stated that if the proper facilities were provided for travellers, the road to Milford would be travelled by 25,000 tourists during the summer season. A large number of those to visit the road would be New Zealanders, but if its attraction were given proper publicity abroad it would attract thousands of tourists from overseas. He advised that provision should be made, if possible, for air-strips.
The lower Hollyford end of the Haast–Hollyford road was started heading north from the Marian Corner in August 1936. Work was also started on the route the following month in South Westland, with the idea of providing relief work for the unemployed. Work was abandoned due to the necessities of the war effort in October 1940. This drew an end to work on the road until the 1960s.
recorded the settlers' desire for a road over the Haast–Hollyford route. An appendix to the book by Dr F. G. Hall-Jones noted that settlers suspected Otago
's provincial leaders would not support the road because it would lead directly from the Wakatipu goldfields to the Jackson Bay harbour and on to Australia, leaving Dunedin merchants "far out of the picture".
In 1961, the Labour Department made funds available for the employment of seasonal workers on the southern section of the road along the Hollyford Valley, which reached the Humbolt Falls (originally known as High Falls) where work continued until 1967. Only normal maintenance work has been carried out since, though from 1968 Westland County Council began building a road south towards the Hollyford Valley, eventually reaching Cascade Valley.
T.C.H. Mouatt made another report on the feasibility of a Haast–Hollyford road in 1964, stating that "the route is an obvious and desirable roading possibility". The following year Prime Minister
Keith Holyoake
opened the Haast Pass
road. He stated at the time that he hoped to return to Westland in 10 years’ time to open a completed Haast–Hollyford road.
In 1973, plans were made to mine high-grade asbestos
from the Red Hills. Mackley and Graham Ferguson were employed by American mining company Kennecott Utah Copper Ltd and Cassiar Explorations Ltd, a Canadian company, to build a haul-road from the foot of the Red Hills to Big Bay
. To get the machinery to Big Bay, it was driven through from Cascade Valley. Between June and October two bulldozers, a Caterpillar D8H and an International TD20 along with two support tractors, fuel sledges, a bunk-house, and cook-house traversed the country along the coast to the west end of the Pyke Gorge. Due to a fall in value of asbestos
plans for the mine were abandoned. The Ferguson brothers retraced their tracks, arriving back at the Cascade Valley in December.
engineer R.C. Holland, and in 1987 by Westland County manager Jon Olsen. The latter report estimated the cost of a road at $40 million. A further costing of the original inland route was done by McDermott Miller in 1989. This put the cost at $70 million. Later the same year the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department report, "Haast-Hollyford Road Reconnaissance" estimated the cost at $101.1 million.
The campaign for a road was bolstered by the move to name the South Island west coast as a World Heritage Site
. A visit to the area in 1989 by conservationist Dr David Bellamy
. Bellamy said that the road should be restarted as “travellers should have access to an area people have fought hard to preserve as a World Heritage Site”. Minister of Tourism Jonathan Hunt
, pledged support for a “World Heritage Drive”, saying that he and then Minister of Conservation Philip Woollaston
were in favour of the link, and that the proposal was on its way to the Parliamentary select committee
for economic development. In 1990, 2.6 million hectares of land — almost 10% of New Zealand's total land area — was designated as the Te Wahipounamu
World Heritage area. This area includes four national parks (Westland Tai Poutini, Aoraki/Mount Cook
, Mount Aspiring
and Fiordland
), as well as the land beside and in between them.
At the opening of the new Milford Sound terminal building in 1992, New Zealand Minister of Tourism John Banks said “…. the completion of the Lower Hollyford–West Coast Road is the only safe logical step to increase tourism into this area….” Further encouragement for reconsidering a road option came from former Minister of Tourism Rob Talbot
. Civil engineers Duffill Watts & King prepared a report on the preferred coastal route the following year, estimating a total capital cost of $85 million. Southland and Westland District Councils, McConnell Dowell and several members of parliament suggested that a coastal route could be open by 1997. Southland's Mayor Frana Cardno said the road would be a major tourist attraction in its own right. New proposals were detailed in an article in the Fiordland Focus which suggested that the proposed road would shorten the journey from Milford to Haast from five hours to two hours. The plan incorporated a number of new features, and favoured financing it from non-governmental sources, partly through making it a toll-road. The proposed road was designed to conform to high environmental standards.
In 1994, the Southland Times ran a series articles on the proposed road, written by Les Hutchins, a conservationist and tourism operator. Hutchins noted that the road over Wilmot Pass
and the Milford Road were evidence that a link could be put through with minimum damage to the environment. He said there was no doubt the road would be of tremendous value to international and domestic tourism, and also noted the positive effect the proposed road would have on dangerous congestion problems on the Milford Road.
In August, the Southland and Westland District Councils gave their support to the link and began investigating its feasibility as a toll road using private funding. A toll of $20 per user was mooted. Both councils recognised the environmental value of the region and the need for any construction to be carried out to strict standards. On 30 August, representatives from both District Councils and the construction firm McConnell Dowell met the Ministers of Tourism and Conservation, and following that meeting suggested a feasibility study be prepared (study to cost $360,000) and a public consultation process started. In preparation for this the Westland District Council surveyed the road line down the Cascade Valley as far as Barn Bay in 1997, in a failed attempt to legalise that section of road.
On 20 September 2000, Nelson businessman Fred Willetts proposed in the Nelson Mail that a World Heritage Drive including both a Karamea–Collingwood road and a Haast–Hollyford road would bring unlimited opportunities to New Zealand, opening up tourism opportunities and employment for the country. Each road was estimated to cost around $130 million.
and the Green Party
.
Prior to the 2002 general election, the Leader of the Opposition Don Brash
and others were given a reconnaissance helicopter flight over the full length of the route; all were very receptive to the concept and proposal.
In 2004, Ted Loose, Chairman of Environment Southland, said in an editorial that “since [a Haast-Hollyford road] was first mooted, progress has been stymied by people purporting to care about the social, economic, and ecological effects of building a road through a National Park. And all the while, problems associated with congestion at, and on the road to Milford have been escalating." The re-elected Mayor for Southland District, Frana Cardno, said in an editorial to the Southland Times on 9 October that the suggestion of the Haast–Hollyford road needed to be revived.
In 2005, the Department of Conservation called for submissions on a new conservation plan. The old plan had said a road through the Hollyford Valley was “unlikely”. Over 800 submissions were put received on many issues, but a large proportion (over 500) were in support of a link road. Submissions to the Westland District Council
2009-2019 Long Term Council Community Plan in 2009 supported the opening of the road. The Council reiterated its support the road and allocated $100,000 towards the gravelled road from Jackson Bay
to the Cascade River
.
In 2010, Christchurch businessman Earl Hagaman commissioned a report(the Octa Report) suggesting a toll road could be built for $225–315 million. Hagaman, founder of the Scenic Circle Hotels chain, argued the road would be of national significance, boosting the $21.7 billion tourism industry and significantly reducing driving time to Milford Sound. Minister of Economic Development Gerry Brownlee
met with the Westland and Southland district councils and with Hagaman, saying "I'm personally supportive of [a road] but it's not something that the Government is actually considering at the present time." The Ministry of Economic Development briefly considered a new proposal for the road the same year, but did not not see any net gain from an economic viewpoint.
News
Haast, New Zealand
Haast is an area in the Westland District territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island. The Haast region covers over ....
via the Hollyford Valley
Hollyford Valley
Hollyford Valley is a valley in Fiordland, New Zealand, in the southwest of the South Island. It is named for the Hollyford River, which runs north-north-west along its length from the Southern Alps to the Tasman Sea...
to Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
and Te Anau
Te Anau
Te Anau is a town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Lake Te Anau is the largest lake in the South Island and second only within New Zealand to Lake Taupo. The 2001 census recorded the town's population as 1,857...
in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand. Proposals for this road have been mooted since the 1880s.
Proposals for the road have been suggested since the 1870s. The road was originally seen as the only land access to the port of Jackson Bay
Jackson Bay
Jackson Bay is a gently curving bay 24 kilometers wide, located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It faces the Tasman Sea to the north, and is backed by the Southern Alps...
from the Otago goldfields
Central Otago Gold Rush
The Central Otago Gold Rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand...
, but it has never been possible to cross the Main Divide to Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of Otago Region, near its boundary with Southland.With a length of , it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at , its third largest...
. A road has, however, been constructed north from Lake Te Anau
Lake Te Anau
Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. Its name was originally Te Ana-au, Maori for 'The cave of swirling water'. The lake covers an area of 344 km², making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand and the largest in the South Island...
to Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
, which is a major tourist route, and most more recent proposals have focussed on extending this road north. The South Island Local Bodies Association regularly passed remits from the 1950s through to the 1980s in support of a road but the Ministry of Works
New Zealand Ministry of Works
The New Zealand Ministry of Works, formerly the Department of Public Works and sometimes referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988...
, a government department responsible for road building during that period, repeatedly stated that such a road was not a priority for funding.
Pros and cons of a Haast-Hollyford road
One of the reasons for constructing the 160 km long road is to relieve tourism congestion at Milford SoundMilford Sound
Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
. Currently, most tourists come from Queenstown and this results in a peak of activity in the middle of the day. The final stretch of the current road from the Hollyford Valley to Milford Sound is also subject to many closures during winter, significantly reducing tourist numbers around Te Anau
Te Anau
Te Anau is a town in the South Island of New Zealand. It is on the eastern shore of Lake Te Anau in Fiordland. Lake Te Anau is the largest lake in the South Island and second only within New Zealand to Lake Taupo. The 2001 census recorded the town's population as 1,857...
.
Construction of a Haast-Hollyford road would also give tourists an opportunity of seeing far more of the South Island within the same given time. A Haast-Hollyford route would significantly reduce the length of road tourists would travel if they were journeying between Fiordland and the West Coast. A purpose-built scenic drive designed to minimise environmental damage and maximise tourist enjoyment would put Haast only 175 kilometres (108.7 mi) from Milford Sound; the distance at present is 539 kilometres (334.9 mi).
There is significant opposition to these proposals, however, as any road would have to pass through unspoilt land of significant natural beauty; the area is within Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km², and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
, part of the Te Wahipounamu
Te Wahipounamu
Te Wāhipounamu is a World Heritage site in the south west corner of the South Island of New Zealand.Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 and covering 26,000 km², the site incorporates several National Parks:...
World Heritage area. Environmentalists strongly oppose construction of the road.
An estimated cost for the construction of the road is NZ$300 million, and it is widely acknowledge that the proposed road would likely be a toll road
Toll road
A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...
. The high cost of constructing the road is given as a reason for putting it on an indefinite hold.
Geography
The planned routes for the proposed road pass though an area that has had very little in the way of human impact. The area is covered with beechNothofagus
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 35 species of trees and shrubs native to the temperate oceanic to tropical Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and Australasia...
and podocarp forest that has never been logged. There are a number of rivers and lakes along the proposed route.
One of the proposed routes would go through Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km², and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
and Mount Aspiring National Park
Mount Aspiring National Park
Mount Aspiring National Park is located in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, and between Otago and south Westland. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site.-Geography:...
as well as the Awarua Point Conservation Area, and would follow the Hollyford Track
Hollyford Track
The Hollyford Track is a tramping track in New Zealand. Located at the northern edge of Fiordland, in the southwestern South Island, it is unusual among Fiordland's major tracks in that it is largely flat and accessible year-round...
(a tramping track in the Hollyford Valley
Hollyford Valley
Hollyford Valley is a valley in Fiordland, New Zealand, in the southwest of the South Island. It is named for the Hollyford River, which runs north-north-west along its length from the Southern Alps to the Tasman Sea...
).
Nineteenth century
Otago provincial leaders identified the need for a road between Otago and South Westland's goldfields in 1865, and sent surveyor Vincent PykeVincent Pyke
Vincent Pyke was a 19th century politician in Otago, New Zealand and Castlemaine, Victoria, Australia.-Early life:He was born in Somerset, England...
to explore. Pyke came back with an idea for a Clyde-Haast railway that was never fulfilled but provided some basis for a road to Wanaka, which opened 100 years later. A Haast-Hollyford road was considered key to further Westland development.
The road's history forms a not-so-small chapter in the story of West Coast settlement in the 1870s, promoted by then Prime Minister Sir Julius Vogel
Julius Vogel
Sir Julius Vogel, KCMG was the eighth Premier of New Zealand. His administration is best remembered for the issuing of bonds to fund railway construction and other public works...
. In 1876 Duncan Macfarlane, the Government agent at Jackson Bay, and Gerhard Mueller, Westland's chief surveyor, focused on the alpine route in 1876 and 1884 respectively. Some construction occurred at the northern end in 1885, and again in 1891.
Mueller and James McKerrow drew up a topographical plan of the area between the Jackson
Jackson River (New Zealand)
The Jackson River is a river of the southwestern South Island of New Zealand. It flows predominantly northeast, flowing into the Arawhata River close to the latter's outflow into Jackson Bay.-References:...
and Hollyford River
Hollyford River
The Hollyford River is located in the southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for eighty miles in Fiordland, its source being ten kilometres to the north of the northern tip of Lake Te Anau and close to the Homer Tunnel....
s in 1884, showing the proposed route between Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu
Lake Wakatipu is an inland lake in the South Island of New Zealand. It is in the southwest corner of Otago Region, near its boundary with Southland.With a length of , it is New Zealand's longest lake, and, at , its third largest...
and Jacksons Bay. This was published in the appendices to the journal of the House of Representatives 1884 Volume 1 Page 73, now held at National Archives. Two years later, Mueller proposed a road from the Cascade Plateau to the junction of the Pyke
Pyke River
The Pyke River is a river in the south west of New Zealand's South Island. It flows generally south into Lake Wilmot then Lake Alabaster, before becoming a tributary of the Hollyford River....
and Hollyford Rivers. A full survey and plan of the 47 mile stretch was completed about this time. By 1898 there was a metalled horse-track between the Cascade and Barn Bay.
1901-1945
Little was done on the planned road until the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, when it was seen as a possible unemployment relief work scheme. By April 1931 about 200 men were employed on the Milford Road, and over the course of 18 months, 33 miles (53.1 km) of road were completed. In April 1934, a preliminary survey of the mountain country through which the Milford Road would pass was completed. By June, an announcement that the Government had decided to complete the Eglinton Valley Road through to Milford Sound was made. The road had by now reached Marian Corner, where the route meets the valley of the Hollyford River. The crossing of the main divide between the Hollyford River
Hollyford River
The Hollyford River is located in the southwest of the South Island of New Zealand. It runs for eighty miles in Fiordland, its source being ten kilometres to the north of the northern tip of Lake Te Anau and close to the Homer Tunnel....
and Milford Sound
Milford Sound
Milford Sound is a fjord in the south west of New Zealand's South Island, within Fiordland National Park, Piopiotahi Marine Reserve, and the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
basin was the most difficult and costly part of the undertaking, and necessitated the driving of a long tunnel. It was generally considered that the Gertrude Saddle was the most favourable point at which to cross the divide, but the tunnelling required on this route was found to be nearly 107 chains (2,152.5 m) in length, whereas it was possible to pass under the Homer Saddle with one tunnel of 60 chains (1,207 m) in length.
J.H. Christie and T. Evans, the Town Clerk of Hokitika, made a report and assessment for the Public Works Department of the proposed Haast Pass road in 1935. The report sparked the new Labour Government to approve the road from Bruce Bay
Bruce Bay
Bruce Bay or Mahitahi is a bay in South Westland, New Zealand, New Zealand on the Tasman Sea. It is south of the mouth of the Mahitahi River, 80 km from Haast Junction and 224 km from Hokitika...
to the Haast Pass
Haast Pass
Haast Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It is named for Julius von Haast, a 19th century explorer who was also geologist for the Provincial government of Canterbury...
, and also a road from Haast to Hollyford as part of the same project. Christie said that a road from the Arawhata River
Arawhata River
The Arawhata River is in the West Coast region of the South Island of New Zealand....
to the Upper Hollyford was estimated to cost £175,000. By 11 April advance workers on the Te Anau-Milford Sound Road had reached the 58-mile peg, approximately 5 miles (8 km) from the eastern entrance to the tunnel. By November, preparations were complete for the driving of a tunnel through the Homer Saddle at a height of 3400 feet (1,036.3 m) above sea level. The work was expected to be slow but uneventful, with the bore passing through scree at both ends and solid granite in between. Power for the work's 12 compressed air drills was supplied by a hydro-electric plant situated about six miles from the scene of operations. Tunnelling was all done from the Southern end, as it was impossible to transfer materials and plant to the Cleddau Valley section. It was estimated that the 72 miles (115.9 km) road from Te Anau to Milford Sound would be completed by late 1937.
Later the same year J. Collins, New Zealand Trade Commissioner and representative of the Tourist and Publicity Department in Canada and the United States, stated that if the proper facilities were provided for travellers, the road to Milford would be travelled by 25,000 tourists during the summer season. A large number of those to visit the road would be New Zealanders, but if its attraction were given proper publicity abroad it would attract thousands of tourists from overseas. He advised that provision should be made, if possible, for air-strips.
The lower Hollyford end of the Haast–Hollyford road was started heading north from the Marian Corner in August 1936. Work was also started on the route the following month in South Westland, with the idea of providing relief work for the unemployed. Work was abandoned due to the necessities of the war effort in October 1940. This drew an end to work on the road until the 1960s.
1946-1975
Alice McKenzie's 1947 book Pioneers of Martins Bay: Life in New Zealand's Most Remote SettlementThe Pioneers of Martins Bay
The Pioneers of Martins Bay is a historical book by Alice Mackenzie, describing her early life at Martins Bay in the 1870s and 1880s.As a child, Alice Mackenzie and her family moved from Hokitika to Jackson Bay in Westland. After that they moved to Jamestown on Lake McKerrow. The township of...
recorded the settlers' desire for a road over the Haast–Hollyford route. An appendix to the book by Dr F. G. Hall-Jones noted that settlers suspected Otago
Otago Province
The Otago Province was a province of New Zealand until the abolition of provincial government in 1876.-Area:The capital of the province was Dunedin...
's provincial leaders would not support the road because it would lead directly from the Wakatipu goldfields to the Jackson Bay harbour and on to Australia, leaving Dunedin merchants "far out of the picture".
In 1961, the Labour Department made funds available for the employment of seasonal workers on the southern section of the road along the Hollyford Valley, which reached the Humbolt Falls (originally known as High Falls) where work continued until 1967. Only normal maintenance work has been carried out since, though from 1968 Westland County Council began building a road south towards the Hollyford Valley, eventually reaching Cascade Valley.
T.C.H. Mouatt made another report on the feasibility of a Haast–Hollyford road in 1964, stating that "the route is an obvious and desirable roading possibility". The following year Prime Minister
Prime Minister of New Zealand
The Prime Minister of New Zealand is New Zealand's head of government consequent on being the leader of the party or coalition with majority support in the Parliament of New Zealand...
Keith Holyoake
Keith Holyoake
Sir Keith Jacka Holyoake, KG, GCMG, CH, QSO, KStJ was a New Zealand politician. The only person to have been both Prime Minister and Governor-General of New Zealand, Holyoake was National Party Prime Minister from 20 September 1957 to 12 December 1957, then again from 12 December 1960 to 7...
opened the Haast Pass
Haast Pass
Haast Pass is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. It is named for Julius von Haast, a 19th century explorer who was also geologist for the Provincial government of Canterbury...
road. He stated at the time that he hoped to return to Westland in 10 years’ time to open a completed Haast–Hollyford road.
In 1973, plans were made to mine high-grade asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
from the Red Hills. Mackley and Graham Ferguson were employed by American mining company Kennecott Utah Copper Ltd and Cassiar Explorations Ltd, a Canadian company, to build a haul-road from the foot of the Red Hills to Big Bay
Big Bay, New Zealand
Big Bay is a deep indentation in the southwestern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is located 40 kilometres north of Milford Sound. The bay is eight kilometres in width, and extends eight kilometres into the South Island, making an almost square indentation in the island's coastline. It is...
. To get the machinery to Big Bay, it was driven through from Cascade Valley. Between June and October two bulldozers, a Caterpillar D8H and an International TD20 along with two support tractors, fuel sledges, a bunk-house, and cook-house traversed the country along the coast to the west end of the Pyke Gorge. Due to a fall in value of asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
plans for the mine were abandoned. The Ferguson brothers retraced their tracks, arriving back at the Cascade Valley in December.
1976-2000
Further feasibility reports and engineering appraisals were made in 1976 by Ministry of WorksNew Zealand Ministry of Works
The New Zealand Ministry of Works, formerly the Department of Public Works and sometimes referred to as the Public Works Department or PWD, was founded in 1876 and disestablished and privatised in 1988...
engineer R.C. Holland, and in 1987 by Westland County manager Jon Olsen. The latter report estimated the cost of a road at $40 million. A further costing of the original inland route was done by McDermott Miller in 1989. This put the cost at $70 million. Later the same year the New Zealand Tourist and Publicity Department report, "Haast-Hollyford Road Reconnaissance" estimated the cost at $101.1 million.
The campaign for a road was bolstered by the move to name the South Island west coast as a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. A visit to the area in 1989 by conservationist Dr David Bellamy
David Bellamy
David James Bellamy OBE is a British author, broadcaster, environmental campaigner and botanist. He has lived in County Durham since 1960.-Career:...
. Bellamy said that the road should be restarted as “travellers should have access to an area people have fought hard to preserve as a World Heritage Site”. Minister of Tourism Jonathan Hunt
Jonathan Hunt (New Zealand)
Jonathan Lucas Hunt, ONZ is a New Zealand politician, and was New Zealand's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2005 to March 2008. He formerly served as Speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the Labour Party, and was until recently the longest-serving MP...
, pledged support for a “World Heritage Drive”, saying that he and then Minister of Conservation Philip Woollaston
Philip Woollaston
Hon Philip Tosswill Edmond Woollaston was a New Zealand member of Parliament of the Labour Party from 1981 to 1990 and Mayor of Nelson, New Zealand from 1992 to 1998....
were in favour of the link, and that the proposal was on its way to the Parliamentary select committee
Select committee
A select committee is a special subcommittee of a legislature or assembly governed under a committee system, like Robert's Rules of Order. They are often investigative in nature, collecting data or evidence for a law or problem, and will dissolve immediately after they report their findings to...
for economic development. In 1990, 2.6 million hectares of land — almost 10% of New Zealand's total land area — was designated as the Te Wahipounamu
Te Wahipounamu
Te Wāhipounamu is a World Heritage site in the south west corner of the South Island of New Zealand.Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1990 and covering 26,000 km², the site incorporates several National Parks:...
World Heritage area. This area includes four national parks (Westland Tai Poutini, Aoraki/Mount Cook
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park is in the South Island of New Zealand near the town of Twizel. Aoraki/Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest mountain and Aoraki/Mount Cook village lie within the park...
, Mount Aspiring
Mount Aspiring National Park
Mount Aspiring National Park is located in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, and between Otago and south Westland. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site.-Geography:...
and Fiordland
Fiordland National Park
Fiordland National Park occupies the southwest corner of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the largest of the 14 national parks in New Zealand, with an area of 12,500 km², and a major part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site...
), as well as the land beside and in between them.
At the opening of the new Milford Sound terminal building in 1992, New Zealand Minister of Tourism John Banks said “…. the completion of the Lower Hollyford–West Coast Road is the only safe logical step to increase tourism into this area….” Further encouragement for reconsidering a road option came from former Minister of Tourism Rob Talbot
Rob Talbot
Robert Leslie Gapper Talbot was a New Zealand politician of the National Party. A Muldoon loyalist, he was a cabinet minister 1981-84 in the Third National Government, as Postmaster-General and Minister of Tourism ....
. Civil engineers Duffill Watts & King prepared a report on the preferred coastal route the following year, estimating a total capital cost of $85 million. Southland and Westland District Councils, McConnell Dowell and several members of parliament suggested that a coastal route could be open by 1997. Southland's Mayor Frana Cardno said the road would be a major tourist attraction in its own right. New proposals were detailed in an article in the Fiordland Focus which suggested that the proposed road would shorten the journey from Milford to Haast from five hours to two hours. The plan incorporated a number of new features, and favoured financing it from non-governmental sources, partly through making it a toll-road. The proposed road was designed to conform to high environmental standards.
In 1994, the Southland Times ran a series articles on the proposed road, written by Les Hutchins, a conservationist and tourism operator. Hutchins noted that the road over Wilmot Pass
Wilmot Pass
The Wilmot Pass is a high pass on the main divide of New Zealand's South Island. It connects Doubtful Sound, a deep indentation in the coast of Fiordland, to the valley of the West Arm of Lake Manapouri. The pass is named after E. H. Wilmot, a former surveyor-general of New Zealand, who had noted...
and the Milford Road were evidence that a link could be put through with minimum damage to the environment. He said there was no doubt the road would be of tremendous value to international and domestic tourism, and also noted the positive effect the proposed road would have on dangerous congestion problems on the Milford Road.
In August, the Southland and Westland District Councils gave their support to the link and began investigating its feasibility as a toll road using private funding. A toll of $20 per user was mooted. Both councils recognised the environmental value of the region and the need for any construction to be carried out to strict standards. On 30 August, representatives from both District Councils and the construction firm McConnell Dowell met the Ministers of Tourism and Conservation, and following that meeting suggested a feasibility study be prepared (study to cost $360,000) and a public consultation process started. In preparation for this the Westland District Council surveyed the road line down the Cascade Valley as far as Barn Bay in 1997, in a failed attempt to legalise that section of road.
On 20 September 2000, Nelson businessman Fred Willetts proposed in the Nelson Mail that a World Heritage Drive including both a Karamea–Collingwood road and a Haast–Hollyford road would bring unlimited opportunities to New Zealand, opening up tourism opportunities and employment for the country. Each road was estimated to cost around $130 million.
Since 2000
In April 2001, a tabloid publication was circulated via daily newspapers in the South Island by backers of the plan for both the Haast-Hollyford and Karamea-Collingwood links. The publication was widely criticised by environmentalist groups, including Fish and Game New Zealand, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New ZealandRoyal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand
The Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand Inc. is an environmental organisation specialising in conservation of indigenous plant and animal life in and around New Zealand....
and the Green Party
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is a political party that has seats in the New Zealand parliament. It focuses firstly on environmentalism, arguing that all other aspects of humanity will cease to be of concern if there is no environment to sustain it...
.
Prior to the 2002 general election, the Leader of the Opposition Don Brash
Don Brash
Donald "Don" Thomas Brash , a New Zealand politician, was Leader of the Opposition, parliamentary leader of the National Party from 28 October 2003 to 27 November 2006 and the leader of the ACT Party for 28th April 2011 - 26 November 2011...
and others were given a reconnaissance helicopter flight over the full length of the route; all were very receptive to the concept and proposal.
In 2004, Ted Loose, Chairman of Environment Southland, said in an editorial that “since [a Haast-Hollyford road] was first mooted, progress has been stymied by people purporting to care about the social, economic, and ecological effects of building a road through a National Park. And all the while, problems associated with congestion at, and on the road to Milford have been escalating." The re-elected Mayor for Southland District, Frana Cardno, said in an editorial to the Southland Times on 9 October that the suggestion of the Haast–Hollyford road needed to be revived.
In 2005, the Department of Conservation called for submissions on a new conservation plan. The old plan had said a road through the Hollyford Valley was “unlikely”. Over 800 submissions were put received on many issues, but a large proportion (over 500) were in support of a link road. Submissions to the Westland District Council
Westland District
Westland District is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's South Island. Its population is - Government :The Westland District is governed by an elected Council, headed by an elected Mayor. The Mayor is elected at large. The current Mayor is Maureen Pugh. Councillors are...
2009-2019 Long Term Council Community Plan in 2009 supported the opening of the road. The Council reiterated its support the road and allocated $100,000 towards the gravelled road from Jackson Bay
Jackson Bay
Jackson Bay is a gently curving bay 24 kilometers wide, located on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. It faces the Tasman Sea to the north, and is backed by the Southern Alps...
to the Cascade River
Cascade River, New Zealand
The Cascade River is a river of the South Island of New Zealand. It flows north for 30 kilometres from its source in Mount Aspiring National Park in the Southern Alps, forming a deep valley between the Olivine Range and Red Hills Range...
.
In 2010, Christchurch businessman Earl Hagaman commissioned a report(the Octa Report) suggesting a toll road could be built for $225–315 million. Hagaman, founder of the Scenic Circle Hotels chain, argued the road would be of national significance, boosting the $21.7 billion tourism industry and significantly reducing driving time to Milford Sound. Minister of Economic Development Gerry Brownlee
Gerry Brownlee
Gerard Anthony "Gerry" Brownlee is a New Zealand politician. He served from 17 November 2003 to 27 November 2006 as deputy-leader of the National Party – during that period the second-largest party in the New Zealand Parliament, and thus forming the core of the Opposition...
met with the Westland and Southland district councils and with Hagaman, saying "I'm personally supportive of [a road] but it's not something that the Government is actually considering at the present time." The Ministry of Economic Development briefly considered a new proposal for the road the same year, but did not not see any net gain from an economic viewpoint.
See also
- New Zealand State Highway networkNew Zealand State Highway networkThe New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
- Environment of New ZealandEnvironment of New ZealandThe environment of New Zealand is characterised by unique flora and fauna and a variety of landforms contained within a small island nation...
- Tourism in New ZealandTourism in New ZealandTourism is an important industry in New Zealand, contributing NZ$15 billion of the country's gross domestic product in 2010. It is also New Zealand's largest export industry, with about 2.4 million international tourists visiting per year , providing 18% of the country's export earnings...
- Environmental impact of roadsEnvironmental impact of roadsThe environmental impact of roads include the local effects of highways such as on noise, water pollution, habitat destruction/disturbance and local air quality; and the wider effects which may include climate change from vehicle emissions...
External links
- Te Wāhipounamu - South West New Zealand World Heritage Area at the Department of Conservation
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