Cape Palliser is a promontory on the southern coast of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

and is the southernmost point of the North Island; it is in fact considerably farther south than

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

or Blenheim in 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 ...

. It is located at the eastern end of

Palliser Bay Palliser Bay is at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand, to the southeast of Wellington. It runs for 40 kilometres along the Cook Strait coast from Turakirae Head at the southern end of the Remutaka Ranges to Cape Palliser, the Nor ...

, 50 kilometres southeast of

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

- 100 kilometres by road. A small settlement -

Ngawi Ngawi may refer to: * Ngawi Regency, an administrative division of Indonesia * Ngawi (city), capital of Ngawi Regency * Ngawi railway station, a station of Paron District, Ngawi Regency * Ngawi, New Zealand, a village in New Zealand See also * ...

- is situated near Cape Palliser, where the main income comes from

crayfish Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans belonging to the clade Astacidea, which also contains lobsters. In some locations, they are also known as crawfish, craydids, crawdaddies, crawdads, freshwater lobsters, mountain lobsters, rock lobsters, mu ...

(southern rock lobster) fishing. Fishing boats are pushed into the sea on their trailers by bulldozers.

Kupe's Sail Kupe's Sail ( mi, Ngā Rā-a-Kupe) is a geological formation near the eastern end of Palliser Bay at the southern end of the North Island of New Zealand. It is composed of sedimentary rock which has been thrust up in an earthquake, resulting in ...

is another feature of Cape Palliser - a triangular upthrust of sedimentary rock shaped like a sail. Maori history and the

Kupe Kupe ( ~1180-1320) was a legendary Polynesian explorer, navigator and great rangatira of Hawaiki, who is said to have been the first human to discover New Zealand. Whether Kupe existed historically is likely but difficult to confirm. He is ge ...

legend both feature Cape Palliser. Cape Palliser was named in 1770 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 ...

in honour of his friend Admiral Sir

Hugh Palliser Admiral Sir Hugh Palliser, 1st Baronet (26 February 1723 – 19 March 1796) was a Royal Navy officer. As captain of the 58-gun HMS ''Eagle'' he engaged and defeated the French 50-gun ''Duc d'Aquitain'' off Ushant in May 1757 during the Seven Y ...

of the British

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

. The

Cape Palliser Lighthouse Cape Palliser Lighthouse is a lighthouse at Cape Palliser in the Wellington region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Maritime New Zealand. The light was built in 1897 and was originally fueled by oil. In 1954 the ...

is located here; it was first lit in 1897 but became automated in 1986. It flashes twice every 20 seconds.

Biodiversity

Cape Palliser is home to a permanent fur seal colony. The rookery was found there in 1991, the first one found in the North Island in the 20th century, indicating that the seals are recovering from previous exploitation. Cape Palliser is also a breeding site for red-billed gulls. This species has the conservation status of "Nationally at risk" and is "Regionally Vulnerable" in the Wellington region.

References

Palliser Cook Strait {{Wellington-geo-stub