Friday 20 June 2014
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. The pass was used by Ma ori in pre-European times, but not on a regular basis. It is one of the three passes where a road crosses over the Southern Alps, the other two being Lewis Pass and Arthur's Pass, although the Homer Tunnel also passes under the Main Divide. The road through Haast Pass (State Highway 6) was converted from a rough track to a formed road in 196 and finally received a complete tarmac surface by 1995. In the early 20th century, a railway from the West Coast through the pass to Otago was considered; it would have linked the Ross Branch with the Otago Central Railway, which then terminated in Omakau. Source
