Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki is, at 919 metres (3,015 ft), the highest peak on Banks Peninsula, New Zealand.[1] It is south of Lyttelton Harbour with the township of Diamond Harbour at its northern foot.
| Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki | |
|---|---|
 Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki as viewed from Te Ara Pātaka | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 919 m (3,015 ft) |
| Prominence | 905 m (2,969 ft) |
| Coordinates | 43°41′23″S 172°44′31″E / 43.689590°S 172.741960°E |
| Naming | |
| Etymology | Named for Sidney Herbert, a member of the Canterbury Association, and Te Ahu Pātiki, a passenger on the Āraiteuru waka |
| Native name | Te Ahu Pātiki (Māori) |
| Geography | |
  Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki .png) Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki | |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Region | Canterbury |
| Territorial local authority | Christchurch City |
| Geology | |
| Formed by | Volcanic eruption, erosion |
| Rock age | Late Miocene |
| Rock type | Basalt |
| Volcanic arc/belt | Banks Peninsula Volcano |
| Last eruption | c. 5mya |
The peak takes its name from prominent European and Māori figures. Originally known as Te Ahu Pātiki in honour of a Māori ancestor who came to the region on board the Āraiteuru waka who is said to have turned to stone after failing to return to the waka by daylight, Pākehā settlers to the area renamed the peak after Sidney Herbert, a member of the Canterbury Association.[2][3] In 1998, these two names were combined to give the peak its current dual name by the Ngāi Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998.[4]
In the 1860s, the mountain gave its name to a general electorate for some years. In the 1865 electoral redistribution, the Mount Herbert electorate was formed; it was first used in the 1866 election. In the 1870 electoral redistribution, the electorate was abolished.[5]
In 2021, a 500 ha (1,200 acres) property covering the mountain and nearby Mount Bradley was purchased by the Rod Donald Trust after a successful crowdfunding campaign and support from the Christchurch newspaper The Press.[6] The purchase returned Mount Herbert / Te Ahu Pātiki to public ownership under a charitable trust model in conjunction with local iwi and began a process of forest regeneration in the area.[7] The peak is increasingly accessible to the public since the purchase, with tracks for walking and mountain biking being established and connected to existing tracks in Orton Bradley Park and elsewhere on the peninsula.[8] This includes the establishment of Te Ara Pātaka, a 35-kilometre-long (22 mi) track across much of central Banks Peninsula.[9]
Climate
editAccording to the Köppen Climate Classification, Mount Herbert is a dry subpolar oceanic climate, with slightly more precipitation in the winter than in the summer.
| Climate data for Mount Herbert
43.69°S 172.74°E, 889m | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean maximum °C (°F) | 25 (77) |
25 (77) |
22 (72) |
19 (66) |
15 (59) |
13 (55) |
11 (52) |
12 (54) |
15 (59) |
17 (63) |
20 (68) |
23 (73) |
25 (77) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 17 (63) |
17 (63) |
15 (59) |
12 (54) |
9 (48) |
6 (43) |
5 (41) |
6 (43) |
9 (48) |
11 (52) |
13 (55) |
16 (61) |
11 (53) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 11 (52) |
11 (52) |
9 (48) |
6.5 (43.7) |
4 (39) |
1.5 (34.7) |
1 (34) |
1.5 (34.7) |
3 (37) |
5 (41) |
6.5 (43.7) |
9.5 (49.1) |
5.8 (42.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 5 (41) |
5 (41) |
3 (37) |
1 (34) |
−1 (30) |
−3 (27) |
−3 (27) |
−3 (27) |
−3 (27) |
−1 (30) |
0 (32) |
3 (37) |
0 (33) |
| Mean minimum °C (°F) | −1 (30) |
−1 (30) |
−4 (25) |
−6 (21) |
−7 (19) |
−8 (18) |
−8 (18) |
−8 (18) |
−9 (16) |
−8 (18) |
−7 (19) |
−3 (27) |
−9 (16) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 33 (1.3) |
37 (1.5) |
39 (1.5) |
35 (1.4) |
53 (2.1) |
48 (1.9) |
56 (2.2) |
53 (2.1) |
39 (1.5) |
47 (1.9) |
43 (1.7) |
42 (1.7) |
525 (20.8) |
| Average precipitation days | 8.8 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 7.8 | 9.3 | 9.7 | 9.9 | 10.5 | 8.5 | 10.5 | 9.7 | 10.5 | 111.5 |
| Source: Meteoblue [10] | |||||||||||||
References
edit
- ^ "Banks Peninsula tramping tracks". Department of Conservation. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ "Place name detail – Te Ahu Pātiki". Kā Huru Manu. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ Hight, James; C.R. Straubel (1957). A History of Canterbury Volume I: to 1854. Christchurch: Whitcombe and Tombs Ltd. p. 121.
- ^ "Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998".
- ^ McRobie, Alan (1989). Electoral Atlas of New Zealand. Wellington: GP Books. pp. 36–41. ISBN 0-477-01384-8.
- ^ Allott, Amber. "We bought a hill! Fundraising target smashed – but there is still time to help". www.stuff.co.nz. Stuff. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Te Ahu Pātiki « Rod Donald Trust". roddonaldtrust.co.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Mt Herbert is Open for Fizz-ness – Spoke Magazine". 3 October 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Te Ara Pātaka/Summit Walkway". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 22 June 2024.
- ^ "Simulated historical climate & weather data for Mount Herbert Reserve". meteoblue. Retrieved 7 December 2023.