Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
B2
C3
History
James Cook sighted the peninsula in 1770. Thinking it was an island, he named it after the
naturalist Sir Joseph Banks.
In 1831, Onawe
pa
(fortified village) was attacked by the Ngati Toa chief Te Rauparaha
and in the massacres that followed, the local Ngai Tahu population was dramatically re-
duced. Seven years later, whaling captain Jean Langlois negotiated the purchase of Banks
Peninsula from the survivors and returned to France to form a trading company. With
French government backing, 63 settlers headed for the peninsula in 1840, but only days
before they arrived, panicked British officials sent their own warship to raise the flag at
Akaroa, claiming British sovereignty under the Treaty of Waitangi. Had the settlers ar-
rived two years earlier, the entire South Island could have become a French colony, and
NZ's future might have been quite different.
The French did settle at Akaroa, but in 1849 their land claim was sold to the New Zeal-
and Company, and in 1850 a large group of British settlers arrived. The heavily forested
land was cleared and soon farming became the peninsula's main industry.
Sights
Akaroa
GARDEN
Giant's House
(
www.thegiantshouse.co.nz
;
68 Rue Balguerie; adult/child $20/10; noon-5pm Jan-Apr, 2-4pm May-Dec)
An on-
going labour of love from local artist Josie Martin, this playful and whimsical combina-
tion of sculpture and mosaics cascades down a hillside garden above Akaroa. Echoes of
Gaudà and Miró can be found in the intricate collages of mirrors, tiles and broken china,
and there are many surprising nooks and crannies to discover. Martin also exhibits her
