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The entrance to Bluff Harbour viewed from the International_Space_Station_in_2008,_with_Foveaux_Strait_at_bottom._The_town_of_Bluff,_New_Zealand.html" "title="Foveaux_Strait.html" ;"title="International Space Station in 2008, with Foveaux Strait">International Space Station in 2008, with Foveaux Strait at bottom. The town of Bluff, New Zealand">Bluff
Bluff or The Bluff may refer to:
Places Australia
* Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town
* The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich
* The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality
* Bluff River (New ...
sits on the north shore of the Bluff promontory, lower left, with the angular form of Island Harbour immediately to its north. Tiwai Point and the entrance to Awarua Bay (top) are to the left
Bluff Harbour is a harbour and lagoon in the South Island, New Zealand town of Bluff, New Zealand, Bluff. The main port facilities are located close to the entrance of a large natural inlet (also known as Bluff Harbour) which includes a large, low-lying eastern arm, Awarua Bay, immediately to the east of the promontory which gives the town and harbour its name.
History
Bluff is one of New Zealand's earliest continuously occupied European settlements, and has been visited by
whalers and sealers since at least 1823. A whaling station was established here in 1836. Bluff Wharf was constructed during the 1860s, and was linked to the nearby city of
Invercargill
Invercargill ( , mi, WaihÅpai is the southernmost and westernmost city in New Zealand, and one of the southernmost cities in the world. It is the commercial centre of the Southland region. The city lies in the heart of the wide expanse of t ...
by rail in 1867. As the city's main port, it was a major centre for the export of dairy and meat products in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
The construction of the
Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter
The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter is an aluminium smelter owned by Rio Tinto Group (79.36%) and the Sumitomo Group (20.64%), via a joint venture called New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) Limited.
The facility, New Zealand's only aluminium sm ...
in 1971 led to further upgrades in facilities.
A
flying boat
A flying boat is a type of fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in that a flying boat's fuselage is purpose-designed for floatation and contains a hull, while floatplanes rely on fusela ...
service operated from the harbour's
Ocean Beach in the 1950s and 1960s, both for civilian services and for the
RNZAF
The Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) ( mi, Te Tauaarangi o Aotearoa, "The Warriors of the Sky of New Zealand"; previously ', "War Party of the Blue") is the aerial service branch of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was formed from New Zeal ...
's patrols of subantarctic waters.
Port facilities
The port facilities are the southernmost in the South Island, and include the country's southernmost commercial deep water port. The port operates under the commercial name of South Port NZ from a artificial island, Island Harbour, and includes a container terminal. Island Harbour was constructed over the course of the 1950s, and was officially opened in December 1960.
[Bluff Island Harbour opened]
, ''New Zealand History'', Ministry for Culture and Heritage, updated 24 October 2014. Retrieved 27 December 2014. A major cargo from the port is
alumina from the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, which sits on
Tiwai Point
Tiwai Point lies at the entrance to Bluff Harbour on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A spit which extends from the western end of the Awarua Plain, it lies between Awarua Bay to the north and Foveaux Strait to the south. ...
, the low-lying eastern shore of the harbour's mouth, directly opposite Island Harbour.
The harbour is also used by Bluff's fishing fleet, mainly smaller vessels and to a large extent centred on
Foveaux Strait
The Foveaux Strait, (, or , ) separates Stewart Island, New Zealand's third largest island, from the South Island. The strait is about 130 km long (from Ruapuke Island to Little Solander Island), and it widens (from 14 km at Ruapuk ...
oyster harvesting. The
Bluff oyster
The dredge oyster, bluff oyster or Chilean oyster (''Ostrea chilensis''), is also known in Chile as ''ostra verde'', is a species of bivalve mollusc in the family Ostreidae.
This species of flat oyster is a marine bivalve mollusc of the fa ...
is a major New Zealand delicacy. Bluff is also the northern terminus of the
Stewart Island
Stewart Island ( mi, Rakiura, ' glowing skies', officially Stewart Island / Rakiura) is New Zealand's third-largest island, located south of the South Island, across the Foveaux Strait. It is a roughly triangular island with a total land ar ...
ferry, a daily service to and from
Oban, which takes one hour to cross Foveaux Strait.
Stewart Island Ferry Services
, ''Stewart Island Experience''. Retrieved 27 December 2014.
References
{{coord, 46, 35, 30, S, 168, 20, 00, E, region:NZ_type:harbor, display=title
Bluff, New Zealand
Ports and harbours of New Zealand
Populated places in Southland, New Zealand
Landforms of Southland, New Zealand
Lagoons of New Zealand
Geography of Southland, New Zealand
Foveaux Strait
