Stoddart Point Reserve — Attraction in Banks Peninsula Community

Mark Stodddart named his farm Diamond Harbour, explaining to others of how the "sun glittered on the nearby waters like diamonds". A poet indeed.

When Mark Stoddart arrived in New Zealand in 1851 he bought a block of land for sheep farming in Canterbury, on the north side of the Rakaia River.

You are not truly a Cantabrian unless  you have experienced the famous Canterbury Nor’wester.

In 1851 Stoddart recorded: "This beautiful spot, however, has peculiar drawbacks of its own—the nor’-west winds, the curse of New Zealand, pour thro’ this embrasure of the mountains with a force which must be witnessed to be believed and converts the avenue-like bed of the river into the most howling scene of desolation—horsemen are blown out of the saddle, sheep drift before it miles upon miles, cultivation is uprooted and the soil carried bodily away."

Stoddart tried to tame the harsh landscape farming at Rakaia Gorge before “howling, bellowing, horrid” nor’west gusts drove him off. He then set up a farm in North Canterbury naming it Glenmark Station.This didn’t suit him either, so at last he settled at Diamond Harbour. Being from Australia, Stoddart was no fool, it can be a lot hotter and drier in the inland areas. He had finally found his coastal paradise.

We all breathe in the pollens, grasses and dust from the Nor’westers to the general spring time air. As a result, you might suffer hay-fever or other allergies.

People swear they get migraine headaches from the change in the  ionised atmosphere,  which  again, if you are sensitive to this, will create the many symptoms people suffer which cause a problem with equalization of pressure around the skull, leading to sinus reactions, hay-fever and headaches.

The foehn wind, brings heavy rain to the mountains on the West Coast of the South Island, and then it blows hot, drier, strong and gustily winds across the Canterbury plains, creating a visible distinctive cloud formation known as the nor’west  arch in the sky.

This wind is expected to become more frequent, thanks to climate change. The hottest temperatures are expected to be recorded across the Canterbury Plains, with the highest ever recorded temperature in New Zealand at 42.4 degrees in Rangiora. By 2040, days with very high or extreme fire danger are projected to increase, due to hotter, drier, and windier conditions.

Mt Herbert at 919 metres, is the highest peak on Banks Peninsula and is notorious for the strong wind which usually blows across the top. The strongest wind ever recorded was over 220 kilometers per hour  in 2016.

Charlotte Godley (wife of Christchurch’s founder John Robert Godley) didn’t miss a thing.  Being a woman and having only spent a short time in New Zealand, she had already scoped out the lay of the land and observed a Mr. Mark Pringle Stoddard.

She writes “I believe it is rather the Australian plan to live in this discomfort, unless there is a lady concerned; but it seems rather extraordinary because Mr. Stoddard appears to have money.  He is, more-over, when he appears in the world, quite a gentleman, fond of drawing, poetry, reading and so on; so clever and pleasant, that he made them spend a very agreeable evening, in spite of the locality…” - 27th April 1852

Nicknamed 'shagroons' by the Canterbury pilgrims, Australian squatters such as Stoddart had unlimited faith in the squatting system, and a great contempt for the Canterbury Pilgrims' desire for freehold agricultural farms. Squatting means renting large areas cheaply and running stock on the native pasture.

The Australians were nicknamed 'Prophets' or 'Shagroons' and it was they who nicknamed the Association's settlers the...

This is a great place to stop for a rest and a snack on the way from the ferry to the cafe at Diamond Harbour. There is a restroom. There are nice clean seats and tables with good views. The park area is well maintained. Has vehicle access from Diamond Harbour. Great...

As a legal self contained RV, I stayed in the allocated space, near the toilets. Don't park in the ferry customer spaces. If you are not legally SC, go elsewhere, or risk an instant fine. Respect locals who need to park for...