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A fascinating history

Whakatipu Waitai is a place of immense significance to Ngāi Tahu, an important settlement area between 1650 and the 1800s, giving easy access to food resources in the nearby lakes, sea and forests, as well as pounamu (greenstone).

Evidence of the extent of early occupation is noted in the various archaeological reports that have been compiled, but more importantly such values still exist on the landscape today. 

Whakatipu Waitai was home to the 19th century fighting Chief Tūtoko and his whānau. Tūtoko had participated in the Ngāi Tahu struggle to gain control of pounamu and mana whenua status (territorial status) over the Tai Poutini (West Coast).

In 1863 Captain Daniel Alabaster met Chief Tūtoko at Martins Bay and named Tūtoko’s two daughters Sara and May. Dr. James Hector, the first provincial geologist of Otago, visited later the same year and named the hills either side of the bay after the two daughters. These hills are now also known by the Māori names Hokau (Sara Hills) and Pine-rua (May Hills).

The highest peak in Fiordland in the Darran Range overlooking the Hollyford Valley, was named after Chief Tūtoko. (Mt Tūtoko, 2,723 metres.) And one of the Hollyford Conservation trustees, Kara Edwards, is a seventh-generation descendant from Chief Tūtoko.

Either side of the lower Hollyford River, and in an area known as Jamestown on Lake McKerrow, are 19 freehold sections of land. These private landholdings date back to an attempt, albeit unsuccessful, to create a settlement here in the 1860s. It was thought that the area could provide a West Coast port to service the Otago goldfields. The settlement failed because of the lack of road access and not least because of the notorious river entrance.

One family remained, the McKenzies, subsistence farming into the 1920s when they were bought out by the famous runholder, Davey Gunn. Davey Gunn ran cattle in the area until he drowned crossing the Hollyford River on Christmas Day in 1955. He also pioneered guided tramping trips through the valley, the precursor of today’s commercial operation.

Davey Gunn

Fiordland National Park, established in 1952, absorbed most of Davey Gunn’s cattle run, but the 19 sections remained with freehold title. Some of the trustees on the Hollyford Conservation Trust are landholders of these few pieces of private land. 

Still accessible today are the remnants of the historic site of the McKenzie homestead behind the dunes at the southern end of Martins Bay. The remains of a cemetery can be found near Jamestown, testament to those who struggled and lost their lives and their loved ones trying to survive in the harsh and inhospitable climate and conditions. 

Few of today’s landholders at Martins Bay live there all year round. Most come and go, but all have an enduring passion and sense of guardianship for the restoration of the ecology of our Fiordland tūrangawaewae.

There are many excellent books on the Hollyford area. We recommend:

  • Pioneers of Martins Bay – by Alice McKenzie

  • Hidden Water – by Philip Houghton

  • The Land of Doing Without – Julia Bradshaw

McKenzie Homestead
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