Arthur’s Pass National Park (3)

26 May 2025

It is still pouring with rain this morning but the wind has dropped and it feels a lot warmer. The forecast is for it to clear by lunchtime so I have a slow start to my day (Chloe is working).

Inspired by the stories that were told at our dinner last night, I decided that today would be a history day. In the morning I would read and research, and then once the weather cleared I would explore the Arthur’s Pass Historic Walk through the village.

According to last year’s census the population of Arthur’s Pass is 40 today which swells with visits of people to their holiday baches/cabins (and some visitor accommodation). Many of the families have been coming here for generations and there is a lot of history that they hold. I discover that many of them are authors of books on all different aspects of the area and the Arthur’s Pass Association has been active in pulling together the history for the village. Arthur’s Pass National Park was created in 1929 and the community is gearing up to celebrate its centenary, including publishing a book.

The summit of Arthur’s Pass (at 737m above sea level) over the Southern Alps between the headwaters of the Ōtira and Bealey rivers marks the boundary between Canterbury and the West Coast. The pass was known to Māori, who used it to bring pounamu (greenstone) across the Southern Alps. It was crossed for the first time by Europeans in 1864 and named after the surveyor Arthur Dobson who ‘discovered’ it.

When the West Coast gold rush began in 1865, ‘Arthur’s’ pass was considered to be the most suitable for a direct crossing from Canterbury to the West Coast. The Canterbury provincial government began constructing a road from Christchurch to Hokitika over the newly named Arthur’s Pass.

The road across Arthur’s Pass was built in less than a year (1865), during a bitterly cold winter. A thousand men with axes, picks, shovels, crowbars and wheelbarrows, rock drills and explosives worked in the rugged terrain. They would often spent a whole day clearing snow, only to find the next morning they had to do it over again. The road opened to coach traffic in July 1866.

Jacks Hut that we saw a couple of day’s ago is a rare surviving example of a roadman’s cottage. All early highways were maintained by roadmen who lived with their families in cottages placed along the section they were responsible for. As the motor age and mechanisation arrived, the roadman role disappeared. Jack’s Hut was built elsewhere in 1879, and moved to its current site in 1909-10.

Although the Bealey Hotel had been a staging post for a long time, the village itself was not formed until the decision to build the Otira rail tunnel. In March 1908 work began on building a tunnel to take water from above the Punchbowl Waterfall to feed a power station that was needed for construction purposes. At the same time as the power station was being constructed, work also began on the village at Bealey Flat. Fifty huts were originally built in 1908 along the single street called Punch Bowl Street, with a large dining hall for single men at one end. By the end of the year a new boarding house was required as well.

Today the main highway follows the line of Punch Bowl Street. Most of the original cottages have been removed but a few remain. They have been added to and updated but still retain the historic character of the original huts. The dining hall was bought by Guy and Grace Butler and became a lodge -it is now run by the YMCA as an outdoor education lodge. The Butlers bought Jack’s Hut for their daughter Grace Adams. (The Adams family were long time owners of the cabin Chloe bought.)

The Arthur’s Pass Historic Walk through the village provides a great way to learn about the key aspects of the history of the area, while you stroll around the current village seeing what has changed and what has stayed the same. It is a little sad to see so many buildings sitting empty because they have been closed due to earthquake risk or just not enough business.

I started my exploration back up by where we started our walks the last couple of days, going over the Bealey Swingbridge (#5 on the map) towards the Devil’s Punchbowl Falls. There was a lot more water going under the bridge today but it was well below bridge level so there was no risk of it being washed away as it has a few times in the past.

From there I followed the river on the other side downstream a bit to the site of the old Punchbowl Power Station (#6 on the map). There wasn’t a lot left there now – just the foundations. A cute little tomtit accompanied me all the way there and back again to the bridge.

Back across the river again and near the swing-bridge is a restored cabin Aniwaniwa that was built back in 1926 when accommodation was first starting to be built for leisure purposes. It is now Heritage NZ Category 2 listed. Its simple form and stone cladding that fits in with its surroundings was the start of an architectural style associated with Arthur’s Pass. Chloe’s cabin is also one of the first holiday homes that was built in the area; it was originally a log cabin but had to be reclad.

A bit further back into the village there are some of the original tunneller’s cottages (#4 on the map). One won a Canterbury Heritage Award in 2018 for its retention and restoration. They are now private holiday homes.

The Chalet is a bit further along, built by Hans Bohny in the early 1960s and extended and extended over several years. It was run as accommodation by Hans and his wife, and they opened the village’s first restaurant in 1963. It has been empty for 12 years and Chloe looked at potentially buying it some time ago – she didn’t, which was a good thing. It is quite a rabbit warren and would require a huge amount of work to repair it, let alone make it into a more sensible layout and update it.

I loved the tiny post office and library (in a fridge!).

Another family business is Coberger’s Shop (#3 on the map). Oscar Coberger arrived from Germany in 1928 and worked as a ski instructor. With wife Dagmar, they raised a family there and ran a mountain equipment shop for many decades. Today the building houses the Alpine Parrot Cafe & Bar.

The original Brake’s Store (#2 on the map) operated until the 1950s when the building was replaced with the first purpose-built Youth Hostel in NZ. It still operates as an accommodation lodge. Today there is a large combined store, cafe, bottle shop, and petrol station across the road.

Further along the road a.bridge crosses Avalanche Creek (#7 on the map). Originally there was a ford across the creek on the main route with a road bridge where the current Glasgow Foot Bridge (#1 on the map) is. Near the Glasgow Bridge is a memorial to 5 mountaineers lost on Mt Rolleston in 1966. A boot from one of the climbers was used as a cast for the memorial.

The Arthur’s Pass Chapel built in 1956 sits alongside Avalanche Creek. It is a interdenominational church built in timber and stone, as well as steel and concrete, to resemble a mountaineer’s tent, Māori meeting house and a colonial shed. The thing that I like most about it is the huge set of windows at the front that look out on an impressive waterfall so that the altar is to Mother Nature. You can walk up to a lookout just beside the Glasgow Bridge to see the waterfall closer up.

Beside this is the original dining hall that is now run by the YMCA as an outdoor education lodge.

Further along there is a good view of the Bealey River Rail Bridge leading to the entrance of the Otira Tunnel (#8 on the map).. The Otira Tunnel celebrated its centenary in 2023. Alongside you can see the remains of the Locomotive Turntable where the steam engines had to be turned around to head back down. Diesel trains replaced steam in the late 1960s. Stretching along the edge of the river are the site of the old railway yards. The current Arthur’s Pass Railway Station (#9 on the map) was built in 1966 after the previous station burnt down. There is also a plaque commemorating the old coaching link from Arthur’s Pass to Otira (#10 on the map): before the tunnel opened, passengers were transported between the two rail heads by The Cobb & Co coaches – an “exhilarating, sometimes dangerous and weatherwise often miserable trip.”

I enjoyed walking along JC’s Track (named after long term local John Charles) along the side of the very swollen river. Chloe’s tranquil swimming hole from yesterday is considerably more boisterous today. New waterfalls are pouring down out of the forest into the river. I sit and contemplate the water for a while.

Walking around the village was a lovely way to spend an afternoon. Then I returned to the cabin to capture it all for this blog post.