Story: Canterbury places

Crossing the Harper Pass

Crossing the Harper Pass

This sketch by Nicholas Chevalier is entitled ‘The shoot after passing the Hurunui Saddle’. It shows the artist’s wife, Caroline, and fellow travellers crossing Harper Pass in 1866. Caroline is believed to be the first woman to make this arduous crossing, during a journey around scenic parts of the South Island. Originally known as the Hurunui Saddle, the pass crosses the Southern Alps between the head of the Hurunui River in Canterbury and the head of the Taramakau River on the West Coast. It was later named after Leonard Harper, the first European to cross it all the way to the coast.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library
Reference: A-102-029
Pencil sketch by Nicholas Chevalier

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page:

John Wilson, 'Canterbury places - Hanmer and Lewis Pass', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/artwork/10166/crossing-the-harper-pass (accessed 29 March 2024)

Story by John Wilson, reviewed & revised 6 Jul 2015, updated 17 Aug 2015