Martins Bay

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Martins Bay
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Martins Bay
Location
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Martins Bay
Martins Bay (South Island)
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Martins Bay
Martins Bay (New Zealand)
Location Fiordland, Southland District, New Zealand
Coordinates 44°21′43″S167°59′06″E / 44.362°S 167.985°E / -44.362; 167.985
River sources Hollyford River

Martins Bay (Whakatipu Waitai or Te Remu) is an indentation in the southwest coast of New Zealand's South Island. It lies immediately to the south of Big Bay and some 30 kilometres north of the mouth of Milford Sound at the northern tip of Fiordland. The Hollyford River reaches the Tasman Sea at Martins Bay.

The area around the bay is uninhabited, connected to the country only via the Hollyford Track, a popular tramping route. In the early days of European settlement, it was planned to be the harbour for a town, Jamestown, located immediately inland on the shores of Lake McKerrow. Jamestown was founded in 1872, [1] but the terrain, weather, and difficulty of getting supplies to the township caused the project to fail. Today, little trace remains of either Jamestown or the port. [2] Those pioneering days were the subject of Alice Mackenzie's book The Pioneers of Martins Bay, which recounted her childhood as a settler at Jamestown and Martins Bay.

The origin of the bay's name is uncertain, though it may have been the name of one of the surveyors who mapped the area in the 1870s, or of the captain of a sealing vessel. [1]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hollyford Valley</span> Valley in Southland Region, New Zealand

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haast-Hollyford road</span> Road in New Zealand

The Haast-Hollyford road or Haast-Hollyford Highway is a long-standing proposal to link Haast via the Hollyford Valley to Milford Sound and Te Anau in the South Island of New Zealand. Proposals for this road have been mooted since the 1880s.

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Charles Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

Taitetimu / Caswell Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

Te Houhou / George Sound is a fiord of the South Island of New Zealand. It is one of the fiords that form the coast of Fiordland.

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References

  1. 1 2 Reed, A.W. (1975). Place names of New Zealand. Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p. 255.
  2. Downes, S., "Offbeat New Zealand: Martins Bay, Fiordland's lost metropolis", stuff.co.nz 7 January 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2018.