Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake is an area in New Zealand's

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 ...

, at the southeastern extremity of the city of

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 River / ...

Taylors Mistake is a bay adjacent to the locality, on the north side of Awaroa / Godley Head, on the northern edge of

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest cit ...

Toponymy

The name Te Onepoto / Taylors Mistake is one of New Zealand's dual placenames. The

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 ...

portion, Te Onepoto, means short or little beach. For the English portion, the ''

Lyttelton Times The ''Lyttelton Times'' was the first newspaper in Canterbury, New Zealand, publishing the first edition in January 1851. It was established by the Canterbury Association as part of its planned settlement of Canterbury and developed into a libera ...

'' in 1865 said it was "originally called Vincent's Bay, and more recently Taylor's Mistake." The name "Taylor's Mistake" originated from an incident involving a man named Edward Taylor, who was the first European settler to own land in the area. The story goes that in the mid-19th century, Edward Taylor was surveying the coastline for potential land to purchase. He mistook the bay near what is now known as Taylors Mistake for the nearby Pigeon Bay, which he intended to buy. However, upon realizing his mistake, he continued to call the area "Taylor's Mistake." Over time, the name stuck, and it became the official name for the bay and surrounding area.

Baches

There are almost 50 small century-old seaside baches remaining on the coastal strip between Hobsons Bay to the north, and Boulder Bay to the south. Some are cave baches, with Whare Moki being considered the oldest surviving example in New Zealand. Most of the baches were, in 1995 or 2016, recognised as heritage assets by either Heritage NZ or by the Christchurch City Council under the resource management act. The baches appear in vernacular works of art and poetry, including a 1956 painting by

Bill Sutton (artist) William Alexander Sutton (1 March 1917 – 23 January 2000) was a New Zealand portrait and landscape artist. A graduate of the Canterbury College School of Art (now the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts) he returned there to teach f ...

held at the

Christchurch Art Gallery The Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū, commonly known as the Christchurch Art Gallery, is the public art gallery of the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It has its own substantial art collection and also presents a programme of New ...

Beach

The beach is popular with swimmers and surfers, and a livecam operated by some of the bach-holders allows conditions to be checked in advance. The Taylors Mistake Surf Life Saving Club was established at the beach, by bach-holders and others, in 1916. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, hills above the beach were fortified with two machine gun posts, to guard the Godley Head coastal defence battery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Te Onepoto Taylors Mistake Bays of Canterbury, New Zealand Populated places in Canterbury, New Zealand Populated coastal places in New Zealand