South Cape / Whiore is a
cape marking the southernmost point of
Stewart Island / Rakiura, and by extension the main
New Zealand archipelago. It is one of the four Cardinal Capes of New Zealand identified by Captain
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 ...
on his
first voyage, along with
North Cape,
Cape East and
West Cape. Cook originally named the place "Cape South". At the time, Cook incorrectly charted the island as a peninsula attached to 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, with a narrow isthmus in place of
Foveaux Strait. South Cape is also one of the world's five
Great Capes, along with capes in South America, Africa, and Australia.
In 1998, South Cape became one of 90 place names to be given a
dual name with the passage of the
Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998
The Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998 is an act of Parliament passed in New Zealand relating to Ngāi Tahu, the principal Māori (tribe) of the South Island. It was negotiated in part by Henare Rakiihia Tau. The documents in relation to the ...
, representing part of a settlement of claims made against the New Zealand government by the
Ngāi Tahu iwi for breaches of the
Treaty of Waitangi.
The new name, South Cape / Whiore, includes a traditional
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 ...
name for the Cape alongside the name given to it by Cook.
See also
*
Extreme points of New Zealand
This article lists the extreme points of New Zealand – the places that lie farther north, south, east or west than any other location in New Zealand.
State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1 runs throughout the two main islands from Ca ...
References
''The Circumnavigation of New Zealand'' from The Captain Cook Society
*
ttp://www.joshuaslocumsocietyintl.org/awards.htm ''Slocum Awards: Golden Circle Award'' from the Joshua Slocum Society International
Headlands of Southland, New Zealand
Landforms of Stewart Island
{{Southland-geo-stub