Knights Point

Knights Point
Knights Point
Point
	View from Knights Point lookout to Arnott Point
	Knights Point Location of Knights Point
	Coordinates: 43°42′45.9″S 169°13′30″E / 43.712750°S 169.22500°E
Location	Westland District, New Zealand
Offshore water bodies	Tasman Sea
Etymology	Named after the dog of one of the construction crew who built the road through the area
Defining authority	New Zealand Geographic Board

Knights Point is on the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island.

The 1950s were a time of infrastructure development in New Zealand.^{[citation needed]} A related project was the building by the Ministry of Works of a road from the South Island's east coast, across Haast Pass and up the west coast to join the road that terminated at Ross.

Progress was made by pushing the road across the Haast Pass to near the mouth of the Haast River where a bridge was constructed to take the road north along the coast. A second crew began construction south of Ross and progressed south.

The obelisk monument at Knights Point was set up to celebrate the completion of the highway connecting Westland with Otago.

The two teams met north of Haast, on the coast. As the time for the official opening of the road drew near, officials from the Ministry of Works journeyed to the meeting point to make arrangements for a commemorative monument by the roadside. In the course of conversation with the construction crew, it was mentioned that the location should be named after a senior official of the Ministry of Works employed in the head office in Wellington, the national capital.

The construction crew informed the delegation from Wellington that the area had already been named Knights Point. The officials inquired who "Knight" was and were informed that he was the surveyor's dog. Knights Point was named after Norman McGeorge's dog Knight.

The official opening of this last section of the highway that is now State Highway 6 was on 6 November 1965.^[2]

Today the site includes a car park and viewing platform overlooking the coast towards Arnott Point, a resting area for New Zealand fur seals and occasionally elephant seals.^[3]

References

^ "Place name detail: Knights Point". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
^ Plaque at obelisk
^ Information panel at lookout

External links

Department of Conservation - visitor information for the area

[1] "Place name detail: Knights Point". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 24 September 2023.

[2] Plaque at obelisk

[3] Information panel at lookout

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[2]

[3]

v t e Landforms of Westland District, New Zealand
Alpine passes	Arthur's Pass Browning Pass / Nōti Raureka Copland Pass Haast Pass
Bays	Bruce Bay Jackson Bay
Canyons, gorges and waterfalls	Fantail Falls Gates of Haast Hokitika Gorge Otira Gorge Roaring Billy Falls Thunder Creek Falls
Glaciers	Agassiz Glacier Douglas Glacier Fox Glacier Franz Josef Glacier Garden of Eden Ice Plateau Olivine Ice Plateau Volta Glacier
Headlands	Abut Head Awarua Point Gillespies Point Knights Point
Islands	Open Bay Islands
Lakes and lagoons	Abel Lake Alpine Lake / Ata Puai Lake Ellery Lake Gault Lake Ianthe Lake Kaniere Lake Mahinapua Lake Mapourika Lake Matheson Lake Moeraki Ōkārito Lagoon Lake Paringa Saltwater Lagoon Lake Wahapo
Mountain ranges	Butler Range Southern Alps
Mountains	Mount Adams Aoraki / Mount Cook Mount Aspiring / Tititea Mount Brewster Mount Dampier Mount Graham Mount Haast Mount Hopkins La Perouse Lendenfeld Peak Mount Rolleston Mount Sefton Silberhorn Mount Tasman Mount Vancouver Mount Whitcombe
River flats	Pleasant Flat
Rivers	Adams River Arahura River Arawhata River Balfour River Barlow River Barn River Bettne River Big Wainihinihi River Burke River Butler River Callery River Cascade River Clarke River Clearwater River Cook River / Weheka Copland River Cropp River Deception River Donald River Douglas River Drake River Duncan River Edison River Fork River Fox River Gorge River Gunn River Haast River Hacket River Hall River Hapuka River Harman River Hinatua River Hokitika River Hope River Jackson River Jerry River Kaniere River Karangarua River Kokatahi River Lambert River Landsborough River Lord River Macfarlane River Mahitahi River Jacobs River Manakaiaua River Maori River Martyr River Mikonui River Moeraki River Morse River Mueller River Mungo River Ngatau River North Barlow River Ohinemaka River Ōhinetamatea River Ōkārito River Okuru River Ōmoeroa River Oneone River Otehake River Ōtira River Ōtoko River Paringa River Perth River Poerua River Rolleston River Rotokino River Ruera River Ship Creek Smoothwater River Smyth River Spoon River Stafford River Strauchon River Styx River Taipo River Taramakau River Te Naihi River Te Rahotaiepa River Toaroha River Tōtara River Totarakaitorea River Troyte River Tuke River Turnbull River Waiatoto River Waiho River Waikūkūpa River Waipara River Waita River Waitaha River Waitangitāhuna River Waitangiroto River Wanganui River Whakaikai River Whakapohai River Whataroa River Whitcombe River Wilkinson River Willberg River Williamson River Wills River