The sheltered waters of Banks Peninsula

Press, 24 April 1984, Page 39

The sheltered waters of Banks Peninsula

PICTURES BY

DES WOODS

Banks Peninsula, a prominent feature of the Canterbury coastline, extends east for about 48 kilometres dividing Canterbury Bight to the south from Pegasus Bay in the north. It was named by the explorer Captain James Cook after the British naturalist, Sir Joseph Banks, who accompanied Cook on his first Th ya^n to the South Paci ?S between 1769 and 1770. The hilly headland was originally an island with two mountain peaks which were decapitated by volcanic eruptions in the last half million years. Lyttelton Harbour on the north coast, and Akaroa Harbour to the south, were formed from two craters, which have since been enlarged through erosion. In addition to the two harbours, many attractive inlets indent the coastline. Scenic drives traverse much of the peninsula, the major one, the Summit Road, follows the crater ridge of Lyttelton Harbour, from Evans Pass south of Sumner, to Gebbies Pass above Governors Bay. The earliest connecting link between Lyttelton and Christchurch was the Bridie Path, the track the pioneers used to cross the Port Hills to reach the Canterbury Plains in 1850. Because of the abundance of bird life in the bush-covered hills, and the many inlets that provided shelter from the sea, the peninsula was one of the most popular Maori settlements in the South Island. European association with the peninsula began in the 1830 s with the arrival of the whalers.