Constructing the Haast Pass highway,1939.

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DescriptionThe first European to traverse the Haast Pass was Charles Cameron, a prospector who crossed the pass in 1863, just a few days before the pass’s
namesake Julius von Haast made the journey.

By 1880 a good packhorse track had been formed that
was used by gold prospectors,cattle drovers and early settlers at Haast. This track remained unimproved until 1929, when road work began at Lake Hawea.

Up to 400 men were employed to dig the road during the Great Depression. Work was slow and difficult, and the men spent long days working with picks, shovels and horse-drawn carts.

By the late 1930s, the road finally reached the ‘Gates ofHaast’, but with the beginning of World War II, all work ceased on the road.

Construction recommenced in 1956 with modern machinery and in 1960, Wanaka and Haast were finally connected by road, ending a century of isolation for the people of Haast. The road also eased the problem of getting cattle to markets in the east. The final stretch of road north of Haast linking the rest of Westland to Otago was not finished until 1965, and the entire Haast Pass / Tioripatea road was not sealed until 1995.

Department of Conservation.

Date of Photo1939Map^[1]External LinkDept. of ConservationContributorHeather Newby

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Location (city or town)Haast PassEventHistory of Haast Pass.

Category Information

Category TagRoads

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CommentsDorothy Wills The amount of roads that were built with pick and shovel years ago is astounding

Heather Newby Damned hard backbreaking work.. Imagine how thirsty and hungry and tired they would have got!?!?

Lu Tyree Heather Newby and wet, drenched
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Mary Kearney No modern wet weather gear either.

Carrol Hunter
Carrol Hunter probably faster than they are now

Margaret Mckee We moved to Haast 1950 / 51 my father was foreman for Cummings Earthmoving from Greymouth. They were doing the bluff work on the Haast to Haast Gate

Phil Norton ...1908 they started digging the Otira rail tunnel from both ends and finished it 1918 (end of WW1 ) 700 railway worker lived in simple houses in Otira( population today 30 ? .).in Arthur's Pass alot of the workers lived in cottages and many are used today as holiday baches...

Cherrie Mcglashan Wonderful to get these insights

Kate Rafferty Cherrie Mcglashan , Hi Cherrie, it is amazing who you find on this site

Brian Langton And sometimes we think we were hard down buy. Imagine this lot today having a crack at that 10 minutes you recon.

Heather Newby less that 10 minutes

Brian Langton You are right Heather they wouldn’t turn up.
2

Heather Newby and say" I can`t , I don`t have the motivation and there is no cell phone reception here and no Mc Donalds."

Stuart McMillan That would have been a really hard days work for sure

Heather Newby imagine what it was like in the summer!!

Stuart McMillan Heather Newby yeah, the men would have needed lots of water to drink, keep them hydrated

Frank Winter
Frank Winter We owe our heritage to some truly dedicated people! Gillian
3

Peter Robertson Doubtful if Cameron was first across as he only reported it after Haast did The right man has the Pass named after him

Cherrie Mcglashan Before the road was officially opened and not passable by car-3 guys from my Training College -Christchurch went through on their motorbikes. They were featured in the Hokitika Guardian as first traffic through in 60's.

Wayne Southon
I was the surveyor for M.O.W. who surveyed the final link between Paring to Haast.Opened Nov 6th 1965.We worked out of a camp at Whakapohai and lived in tent camps as we moved closer.Great days Great bunch of guys in the survey party.Peter Rae,Bob Glendenning,John Tasker,Jack Farrell,Brendon Adams,Graeme Clark,Norm McGeorge

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Constructing the Haast Pass highway,1939.

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