Awaroa / Godley Head (), called Cachalot Head by early French explorers, is a prominent headland in
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
, New Zealand, located at the entrance to
Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō
Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is one of two major inlets in Banks Peninsula, on the coast of Canterbury, New Zealand; the other is Akaroa Harbour on the southern coast. It enters from the northern coast of the peninsula, heading in a pred ...
. The headland is named for
John Robert Godley
John Robert Godley (29 May 1814 – 17 November 1861) was an Anglo-Irish statesman and bureaucrat. Godley is considered to be the founder of Canterbury, New Zealand, although he lived there for only two years.
Early life
Godley was born in Dubl ...
.
Etymology
The headland was known to
Māori
Māori or Maori can refer to:
Relating to the Māori people
* Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group
* Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand
* Māori culture
* Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...
as Awaroa.
The wider area around Gollans Bay within Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō is also known as Otokitoki,
and this
Māori language word refers either to 'the place of tokitoki' (a native tree commonly known as
tītoki), or a brown duck (''
Anas chlorotis''), or New Zealand dabchick (''
Poliocephalus rufopectus'').
The French
whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
''Cachalot'', commanded by
Jean Langlois
Jean Langlois (February 16, 1824 – March 8, 1886) was a Quebec lawyer, professor and political figure. He represented Montmorency in the House of Commons of Canada as a Conservative member from 1867 to 1878.
He was born in Saint-Laur ...
, came to grief in this location in 1838, and the headland was then known Cachalot Head.
The headland was renamed by Captain
Joseph Thomas, the chief surveyor of the
Canterbury Association
The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by members of parliament, peers, and Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The settlement was to be called Canterbury, with its capital to be known as Christchurch ...
, in his
1849 survey of
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
.
Location
Godley Head is the easternmost end of the
Port Hills
The Port Hills are a range of hills in Canterbury Region, so named because they lie between the city of Christchurch and its port at Lyttelton. They are an eroded remnant of the Lyttelton volcano, which erupted millions of years ago.
The hi ...
. It forms the northern boundary to the entrance of Lyttelton Harbour / Whakaraupō; the headland on the southern side of the harbour is called Te Piaka / Adderley Head. The nearest settlement is
Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake
Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake is a locality in New Zealand's South Island, at the southeastern extremity of the city of Christchurch Taylors Mistake is a bay adjacent to the locality, on the north side of Awaroa / Godley Head, on the northern edg ...
. Walking access is via Pilgrims Way along the baches of Boulder Bay. Since the late 1920s, road access has been via the
Summit Road
A summit is a point on a surface that is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. The topographic terms acme, apex, peak (mountain peak), and zenith are synonymous.
The term (mountain top) is generally used only for a m ...
.
History
The land on top of Godley Head is exposed with no access to fresh water, which explains why there is no evidence of early Māori occupation.
There was a lengthy discussion during the 1850s how a railway connection between the
Christchurch Central City
Christchurch Central City or Christchurch City Centre is the geographical centre and the heart of Christchurch, New Zealand. It is defined as the area within the Four Avenues (Bealey Avenue, Fitzgerald Avenue, Moorhouse Avenue and Deans Avenue ...
and
Lyttelton could best be achieved. In the end, British civil engineer
George Robert Stephenson
George Robert Stephenson (20 October 1819 – 26 October 1905) was a British civil engineer.
Life
Stephenson was born to Robert Stephenson Senior (brother of the famed George Stephenson) in Newcastle upon Tyne. In a family of civil engin ...
was commissioned to give his recommendation based on survey plans. Stephenson discussed the option of a railway at sea level to be built along Godley Head and rejected this as "useless and unprofitable". Instead, he recommended the "direct route", and this was built as the
Lyttelton Rail Tunnel
The Lyttelton Rail Tunnel, initially called the Moorhouse Tunnel, links the city of Christchurch with the port of Lyttelton in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is the country's oldest operational rail tunnel, and is on t ...
.
Facilities
![Scott's Cabin, Godley Heads](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2d/Scott%27s_Cabin%2C_Godley_Heads.jpg)
Lighthouse
Captain Thomas noted in his 1849 report that the location was ideal for a lighthouse. The
Canterbury Provincial Council
The Canterbury Province was a province of New Zealand from 1853 until the abolition of provincial government in 1876. Its capital was Christchurch.
History
Canterbury was founded in December 1850 by the Canterbury Association of influential Eng ...
approved the project in 1859 and put
NZ£
The pound (symbol £, £NZ. for distinction) was the currency of New Zealand from 1840 until 1967, when it was replaced by the New Zealand dollar. Like the pound sterling, it was subdivided into 20 shillings (abbreviation s or /) each of 12 pen ...
200 into the budget for the 1859–60 financial year. It was not until 1 March 1865 that the structure was put into commission.
Military base
The New Zealand army built a
coastal defence battery at Godley Head in 1939. More than 400 soldiers were stationed there at one time. It closed as a military site in 1963.
Scott's cabin
Since 2013, Godley Head is home to a tiny historic cabin known under a variety of names, including Uncle Bill's Cabin (named for
Edward Wilson who was known as Uncle Bill) and Scott's cabin (named for
Robert Falcon Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott, , (6 June 1868 – c. 29 March 1912) was a British Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the ''Discovery'' expedition of 1901–1904 and the ill-fated ''Terra Nov ...
). Built in
Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
, England, as a kit set, it travelled with the
''Terra Nova'' Expedition to Antarctica as a weather station but was never assembled. It returned to
Lyttelton—the expedition's base—and was dragged up a hill above
Sumner to the home of
Joseph Kinsey, who was the Christchurch agent for this expedition. Gifted by its private owners and rescued by the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
after the Christchurch earthquakes from the top of a crumbling cliff, it was relocated to Godley Head to once again have a commanding view over the sea.
Campground
The headland is owned by the
Department of Conservation
An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...
(DOC). In October 2016, DOC opened a simple campground with 25 sites for tents and camper vans on a 12-months trial basis.
References
{{Reflist
External links
Aerial photoof Godley Head
Headlands of Canterbury, New Zealand
Geography of Christchurch