Arthur’s Pass from the slopes of Avalanche Peak

Arthur’s Pass, previously called Camping Flat then Bealey Flats and for some time officially Arthurs Pass, is a township in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, located in the Selwyn district. It is a popular base for exploring Arthur’s Pass National Park.

Arthur’s Pass Township

“Arthur’s Pass township is about 5 km south of the mountain pass with the same name. Its elevation is 740 metres above sea level surrounded by beech forest. The Bealey River runs through the township. The township and the pass are named after Sir Arthur Dudley Dobson (1841–1934).

Arthur Dobson had been tasked by the Chief Surveyor, Thomas Cass, to find out if there was an available pass out of the Waimakariri watershed into valleys running to the West Coast. In 1864, his brother Edward joined him and accompanied him into the valley of the Otira River.

Arthur had been informed of the presence of a pass which had been used occasionally by Māori hunting parties by a West Coast Māori Chief, Tarapuhi. When Arthur returned to Christchurch, he made a sketch of the country traversed and gave it with a report to Cass. Arthur Dobson did not name the pass, which he found to be very steep on the western side. Dobson named the site that was to become the township Camping Flat.

Finding a Pass

When the gold rush began, a committee of businessmen offered a £200 prize for anyone who would find a better or more suitable pass from Canterbury to the West Coast. At the same time, Edward Dobson (Arthur’s father) was sent to examine every available pass between the watershed of the Taramakau, Waimakariri, and the Hurunui, and after examining passes at the head of every valley he reported that “Arthur’s” pass was by far the most suitable for the direct crossing.

The township, then named Bealey Flats after the second Superintendent, Samuel Bealey, was originally built as a construction village for the building of the Otira Tunnel, which was started on 14 January 1908. Arthur’s Pass township was reached by the railway in 1914, while the Westland section having advanced to Otira. Construction of the tunnel was very slow. The tunnel was finally completed in 1923.

Arthur’s Pass National Park

A power station was built below the Devil’s Punchbowl Falls to provide electricity for the tunnel construction and the village itself. In 1929 the Arthur’s Pass National Park was created, New Zealand’s third National Park. The Geographic Board had a policy of omitting apostrophe in place names, and the name was officially changed to Arthurs Pass. This caused a great upset with the local population, and the Minister of Lands reinstated the old version with the apostrophe. Since 16 September 1975, the Post Office also adopted the spelling with the apostrophe.”

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