Quintin McPherson McKinnon, (1851–1892) was a Scottish New Zealand explorer and tour guide. Te Anau Quintin Mackinnon Statue

McKinnon was born in

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

shire in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

and emigrated to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

sometime in the 1870s. In 1879 he married Barbara Sinclair in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

. They had two sons Quintin Gillies McKinnon (b. 1881) and Robert Daniel McKinnon (b. 1882-d.1885). Although he spelt his name Quintin McKinnon, he is also referred to in both official documents and newspaper reports variously as Quintin, Quinton, MacKinnon, Mackinnon and McKinnon. McKinnon explored the central and west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. His name has been applied to various landmarks and geographical features in the Milford and

Fiordland Fiordland is a geographical region of New Zealand in the south-western corner of the South Island, comprising the westernmost third of Southland. Most of Fiordland is dominated by the steep sides of the snow-capped Southern Alps, deep lake ...

area including McKinnon Pass, Lake McKinnon, the Quintin Huts on Milford Track, and the St. Quintin Falls in Clinton Valley. In 1887 McKinnon was employed by the Otago Survey Department to try to find a tourist route into Milford Sound. He was unsuccessful in this first attempt but hopeful that a pass could be discovered. In 1888 the Otago Survey Department again employed McKinnon, this time with Ernest Mitchell. They were instructed to cut a track up the river and to find a pass while C.W. Adams, the chief surveyor, took a party to survey the country fringing Milford Sound. Included in the party were Thomas Mackenzie, William Soltau Pillans, and the commercial photographer, Fred Muir. McKinnon was successful and discovered a passage between the head of Lake Te Anau and Milford Sound. He and Mitchell crossed the pass and joined the surveying party on the other side. The pass was named Mackinnon Pass (now officially Omanui / McKinnon Pass). The route became known as the

Milford Track The Milford Track is a hiking route in New Zealand, located amidst mountains and temperate rain forest in Fiordland National Park in the southwest of the South Island. The 53.5 km (33.2 mi) hike starts at Glade Wharf at the head o ...

and this was the first practicable overland route across the South Island. After the discovery of the pass McKinnon spent time improving the track and taking regular parties of sightseers and tourists through the area. He offered a guided tour from Lake Te Anau to Sutherland Falls. He was also contracted to carry the mail between Te Anau and Milford Sound. Milford Track Mackinnon Memorial 1

On 29 November 1892 McKinnon departed to cross Lake Te Anau to go to Milford but never arrived. He was last seen sailing with a fair wind on

Lake Te Anau Lake Te Anau is in the southwestern corner of the South Island of New Zealand. The lake covers an area of , making it the second-largest lake by surface area in New Zealand (after Lake Taupō) and the largest in the South Island. It is the larg ...

by a hand from the Te Anau station. A search party was sent to the area in January 1893 but did not find any trace of him. His wrecked boat and belongings were discovered but his body was never recovered. He was presumed drowned in Lake Te Anau. A public subscription was raised to build the Quintin MacKinnon Memorial Cairn which stands at the summit of McKinnon Pass.

References

External links

Photograph of Quintin McKinnon (centre) in 1888 after finding McKinnon Pass.1888 photograph of Quintin McKinnon (left) and Ernest Mitchell
{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnon, Quintin 1851 births 1892 deaths New Zealand explorers Scottish explorers Explorers of New Zealand People from Argyll and Bute Deaths by drowning in New Zealand