Cape Foulwind is a
headland
A headland, also known as a head, is a coastal landform, a point of land usually high and often with a sheer drop, that extends into a body of water. It is a type of promontory. A headland of considerable size often is called a cape.Whittow, John ...
on the
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to:
Geography Australia
* Western Australia
*Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia
* West Coast, Tasmania
**West Coast Range, mountain range in the region
Canada
* Britis ...
of the
South Island
The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...
of New Zealand, overlooking the
Tasman Sea
The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...
. It is located west of the town of
Westport. There is a lighthouse located on a prominent site on the headland. A walkway beginning at the lighthouse carpark traverses the rocky headland to Tauranga Bay and passes close by a colony of
New Zealand fur seals
''Arctocephalus forsteri'' ( common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New ...
. There is limestone quarry in the area, and a cement works operated nearby from 1958 to 2016.
In the lee of the cape, eastwards toward the
Buller River
The Buller River ( mi, Kawatiri) is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. One of the country's longest rivers, it flows for from Lake Rotoiti through the Buller Gorge and into the Tasman Sea near the town of Westport. Within the Bulle ...
mouth lies
Carters Beach
Carters Beach is a suburb of Westport on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Located west of Westport on State Highway 67A, it offers a pristine sheltered sandy beach
A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which ...
, claimed to be the only safe swimming beach on the West Coast of the South Island.
Toponymy
The headland was named Rocky Cape by
Abel Tasman
Abel Janszoon Tasman (; 160310 October 1659) was a Dutch seafarer, explorer, and merchant, best known for his voyages of 1642 and 1644 in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was the first known European explorer to reach New Z ...
, the first European to sight it, in 1642.
However, the present name was given by English explorer
James Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean an ...
in 1770
after his ship ''
Endeavour'' was blown quite a distance offshore from this point.
Lighthouse
The first lighthouse at Cape Foulwind was illuminated on 1 September 1876. The timber support structure of this first lighthouse did not survive the environmental conditions, and a replacement lighthouse was erected on a concrete tower in 1926. The lighthouse is operated by Maritime New Zealand and is registered as a Category 2 Historic Place.
Walkway
![View over Cape Foulwind seal colony](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/View_over_Cape_Foulwind_seal_colony.jpg)
The Cape Foulwind Walkway is a (one-way) pathway above rocky headlands between Tauranga Bay and the carpark at the
Cape Foulwind Lighthouse
The Cape Foulwind Lighthouse is a lighthouse that is located at Cape Foulwind, west of the town of Westport on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Perched above the Tasman Sea, the light guides vessels along the Buller coast, ...
. The features of the walkway include views of mountains and coastline, a colony of
New Zealand fur seals
''Arctocephalus forsteri'' ( common names include the Australasian fur seal, South Australian fur seal, New Zealand fur seal, Antipodean fur seal, or long-nosed fur seal) is a species of fur seal found mainly around southern Australia and New ...
(kekeno), and the lighthouse.. The cliffs of Cape Foulwind and the small offshore islands are roosting and breeding grounds for seabirds including
Australasian gannets.
sooty shearwaters,
fluttering shearwaters and
fairy prions. A small rocky islet, Wall Island, offshore from the seal colony at Tauranga Bay, provides important habitat for seabrid colonies and
Little penguins
The little penguin (''Eudyptula minor'') is a species of penguin from New Zealand. They are commonly known as little blue penguins or blue penguins owing to their slate-blue plumage and are also known by their Māori name .
The Australian lit ...
(kororā).
Hector's dolphin
Hector's dolphin (''Cephalorhynchus hectori'') is one of four dolphin species belonging to the genus ''Cephalorhynchus''. Hector's dolphin is the only cetacean endemic to New Zealand, and comprises two subspecies: ''C. h. hectori'', the more nu ...
and
orca
The orca or killer whale (''Orcinus orca'') is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family, of which it is the largest member. It is the only Extant taxon, extant species in the genus ''Orcinus'' and is recognizable by its black ...
may also be seen occasionally from the walkway.
Cement works
![Holcim, Westport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Holcim%2C_Westport.jpg)
In 1924, the Grey River Argus reported that the National Portland Cement Company was to be floated, to mine and process deposits of limestone and marl at Cape Foulwind. A proposal to construct a cement works at Cape Foulwind was announced in 1946. In 1953, it was reported that British interests had purchased a large area of land at Cape Foulwind. However, it was not until 1955 that the British company Tunnel Portland Cement (subsequently
Hanson Cement
Hanson Cement is a cement production company located in the United Kingdom. It was called Castle Cement until it was rebranded in 2009. The company is now owned by HeidelbergCement.
History
The company was formed in 1981 through an amalgamation ...
) made a firm commitment to construct a plant. The plant was expected to have a production capability of 120,000 tons per annum, and employ 200 workers. The facility would use 40,000 tonnes of Buller coal annually. The capital required for the plant would be £2,500,000 with only £100,000 to be raised in New Zealand.
The first production from the new plant at Cape Foulwind was in November 1958, and the official opening was held on 15 February 1959.
In 2013, the owner
Holcim
Holcim is a Swiss-based global building materials and aggregates flagship division of the Holcim Group. The original company was merged on 10 July 2015 with Lafarge to form LafargeHolcim as the new company and renamed to Holcim Group in 2021 ...
, announced plans to close the factory, and cease making cement in New Zealand. The Cape Foulwind cement works closed in June 2016 after 58 years of operation, with the loss of 105 jobs.
Mineral sands mining
In May 2022, a mining company Westland Mineral Sands, was granted resource consent by a joint hearings panel of the West Coast Regional Council and
Buller District Council
Buller District Council is the territorial authority for the Buller District of New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () a ...
, for a proposal to mine 500,000 tonnes of mineral sands over seven years, at its property at Okari, to the south of Cape Foulwind. A group of local residents appealed the decision of the hearings panel in the Environment Court, seeking lower limits on noise levels and more restrictions on operating hours.
Mining of the mineral sands was forecast to commence in October 2022, with to be strip-mined at a time.
Railway line
The Cape Foulwind Railway was a branch railway line built in 1886 by the Westport Harbour Board, to transport rocks from their quarry to the breakwaters in the Buller River.
Gallery
References
External links
Photo of Cape Foulwind Video clip of cement works (1959)
{{Buller District
Buller District
Foulwind