Mount Sefton ( Māori: Maukatua) is a mountain in the Aroarokaehe Range of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

of New Zealand, just south of

Aoraki / Mount Cook Aoraki / Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. Its height, as of 2014, is listed as . It sits in the Southern Alps, the mountain range that runs the length of the South Island. A popular tourist destination, it is also a favourite ...

. To the south lies Mount Brunner, and to the north The Footstool, both more than shorter. The mountain is prominently visible from Mount Cook Village in the Hooker Valley, with Tuckett Glacier flowing down the south-eastern side of the mountain and

Mueller Glacier The Mueller Glacier is a long glacier flowing through Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies to the west of Mount Cook Village within the Southern Alps, flowing roughly north-west from its névé near Mo ...

in the valley below it. With a height of , Mount Sefton is the 13th-highest peak in the Southern Alps, and the 4th-highest mountain in New Zealand when excluding peaks of little prominence that are closer than a kilometre to a higher peak. The

Douglas River The Douglas River, formerly known as the Twain, is a river of the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Its source is high in the Southern Alps, south of Mount Sefton, and its upper reaches are fed by water from the Douglas Glacier. It ...

(formerly known as the Twain River) begins on Mount Sefton. An early resident, Charles French Pemberton, named the area, whilst the geologist

Julius von Haast Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Early life Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bo ...

named the mountain after

William Sefton Moorhouse William Sefton Moorhouse ( 1825 – 15 September 1881) was a British-born New Zealand politician. He was the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province. Early life Moorhouse was born in Yorkshire, England, and baptised on 18 December 1825; th ...

, the second

Superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

Canterbury Province 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 En ...

. The Māori name of the mountain is Maukatua, which translates as 'mountain of the gods'. Edward FitzGerald, with

Matthias Zurbriggen Matthias Zurbriggen (15 May 1856 in Saas-Fee – 21 June 1917 in Geneva) was a Swiss mountaineer. He climbed throughout the Alps, the Andes, the Himalayas and New Zealand. Ascents He made many first ascents, the best known of which is Aconcag ...

as his guide, completed the first recorded climb to the summit shortly after Christmas 1894.

References

{{Authority control Sefton Sefton Aoraki / Mount Cook National Park Sefton