Bluff Things to Do

The rocky outcrops you see at Bluff Hill are norite. This rock that never reached the surface during the volcanic activity in this region 235 million years ago is also called Bluff granite.

Along the spiral track from the carpark to the lookout you find an information panel next to a split rock that reveals a hard, dark-grey stone beneath the weathered surface. The outstanding qualities of norite are its durability and the fact that it is easy to polish. That’s why it is used for headstones at the cemetery, decorative panels and memorials, just like the one you see at Bluff’s waterfront. The construction of Bluff’s island harbour in the 1950s was the largest project for which norite was used.

In the early days of the 19th century the norite was taken from beach boulders. Later it was quarried. But over time it became uneconomic to work. So quarrying it ceased in the middle of the 20th century.

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The Old Bluff Cemetery sits at a spectacular location at the end of Lagan Street. This is the highest street at the western end of Bluff, parallel to Bluff Hill.

You have splendid panoramic views to the north, west and south – not so to the east because Bluff Hill blocks your view.

The cemetery itself is very interesting, telling the stories from the past about infant deaths, drownings at sea and an influenza epidemic in 1918. The most noticeable internment site is that of Sir Joseph Ward who was prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and 1928 to 1930. (He resigned due to poor health and died later that year.)

I, of course, went to the cemetery to find the grave of Fred and Myrtle Flutey, the late owners of the famous Paua House.

There is a register at the entrance of the cemetery where you can locate specific plots.

You will also see beautifully sculpted angels on the cemetery, as well as ornate iron fences around the graves. Some graves are in bad shape, their cover plates broken, as most of them are rather old and have weathered many storms and probably earthquakes. Many headstones were made of the locally quarried dark norite while white gravel from Awarua Bay sets a striking contrast.

The land was defined as a cemetery in 1863 and designated as such in 1869. The first known burial was that of John Fox Overingham on 3 December 1860, well before the cemetery became a cemetery.

We were told the cemetery as been “full” for a long time and people from Bluff are now buried further west at Greenpoint.

Directions:

When you drive on the main street – Gore Street which becomes Marine Parade further east – turn uphill into Liffey Street, Boyn Street or Shannon Street. At the respective end of these streets turn right into Lagan Street. You will end up at the carpark in front of the cemetery.

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You find Frey and Myrtle Flutey’s grave without consulting the register of the plots. Just walk up the staircase, and at its end it is on the right, one of the neatest and well looked after graves on the Old Bluff Cemetery.

On the reddish headstone the letters are still golden, and you will find a photo of those well-loved icons, just the way they were and how New Zealanders will remember them, with these lovely smiles on their faces. If I am not mistaken this photo was taken on their 70th wedding anniversary.

We were told the cemetery was already “full” when they died in 2000 and 2001. But they had a plot because – as we did not know and only found out when we stood at their grave – their two children had died long before them, a son at the age of 25 years in 1954 and a daughter at the age of 30 years in 1973.

Often couples get torn apart after such tragic events but obviously they have connected the Fluteys even stronger. They found a new lease of life in the creation of their Paua House and the hosting of more than a million visitors. Losing children at such young age and then turning 89 and nearly 98 years old is one of the things in life you just do not really understand but have to accept. Fred and Myrtle are shining examples of how people should be, just loving and giving.

After having seen them so many times in the little film at Canterbury Museum and absolutely loving them, finally standing at their grave put a huge smile on my face. The only regret I have is that I have never met them when they were still alive. Long live their spirit!

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I do not know if the new owners of the Paua House have become sick of people photographing their home and congregating on the footpath in front of it.

Fact is that they have painted it with this dull purple colour, making the fresh and friendly white and turquoise look that had make Fred and Myrtle Flutey’s home stand out from the crowd disappear.

I have visited the reconstructed Paua House in Canterbury Museum so many times that I would have recognised it in any colour and any place.

I also knew that it was located on the waterfront, so it was no problem to spot it when walking along Marine Parade.

Some broken cladding on the low wall surrounding the garden revealed the turquoise colour underneath the purple.

If I tell you the house number – which is 258 – I do not reveal a secret because the Paua House is still listed as an attraction on the map of Bluff I got at the ferry terminal. They must have printed a lot of copies – or they forgot about it. Fred died on 31 December 2001…

The original living room in the reconstructed Paua House in Canterbury Museum opened in July 2008.

I really missed some hints in Bluff of the town honouring their most famous citizens. I surely would celebrate it.

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Please do not read the tourism.net website – and if you do, do not believe everything you read there.

... because Stirling Point is NOT the southernmost point of New Zealand. Slope Point further east is located five kilometres further south. And all this, of course, excludes Stewart Island. We speak of the two main islands of New Zealand.

Once this is clear, let’s just go as far as saying Stirling Point is the southernmost point of Bluff which again is mainland New Zealand’s southernmost town.

At Stirling Point, one kilometre south of the town, there is a signpost showing the distance and direction to various major cities and locations around the world, including the Equator and the South Pole.

In recent times a sculpture of giant chain links has been installed at Stirling Point, symbolically linking New Zealand’s South Island to Stewart Island. There you will find a similar sculpture on Lee Bay beach at the gateway to Rakiura National Park. This anchor chain was installed in 2002 and was quite controversial. According to www.stuff.co.nz (that’s the Fairfax media’s website) it was shot soon after its unveiling. I did not see any damage on my visit to Stewart Island.

Local artist Russell Beck, who created the Stewart Island anchor chain sculpture, has also made the Stirling Point anchor chain sculpture which was unveiled in 2008. The Stirling Point anchor chain illustrates the mythological link between the waka (canoe) of Maui and its anchor stone.

I do not know if you know that according to Maori mythology New Zealand’s South Island is the canoe from which their god Maui fished the North Island out of the sea. So this canoe had to be attached to this anchor – and this anchor stone obviously was 60 kilometres further out to sea at Stewart Island. (Yes, I know… sometimes I spoil the nicest stories…)

The Southland Community Trust that commissioned the work launched a new logo on the occasion of getting the project underway in early 2008: "Te Pou Arataki Pounamu o Murihiku", meaning "the stanchion that all pathways in Murihiku lead to where people obtain the treasures that enable them to fulfil their aspirations".

This building does not carry this name, only I named it the new Paua House because the paua shells on the wall reminded me of Fred and Myrtle’s living room.

Of course, it not even close to the kitschy splendour of what Fred and Myrtle called home.

But for someone searching for hints of this iconic couple I found it quite pleasing, demonstrating that they are not forgotten.

The room are the premises of the fish’n’chips shop next to the RSA building on Gore Street, close to where it becomes Marine Parade, called The Galley.

You would not get muttonbird pies in many places in New Zealand. The reason for it is that only Maori are allowed to hunt them at certain times of the year in Foveaux Street – which is the rocky strait between New Zealand’s South Island and Stewart Island. For all other people this is a protected species.

The other name of the muttonbirds is Sooty Shearwater (Puffinus griseus), or Titi in Maori.

If you use the ferry from Bluff to Stewart Island you will pass the Muttonbird Islands and possibly spot huge flocks of them floating on the water. They are big dark birds, about 44 centimetres in size and weighing 800 grams.

I have my own opinion on killing muttonbirds which sounds more acceptable when you call it harvesting. Maori legally kill the fattest chicks, about 250,000 each year. Numbers have declined but thanks to the protected breeding colonies on the Snares, Auckland and Chatham Islands their overall population is secure. If Maori do not get them muttonbirds can get 25 years old.

I do not support the legal killing of such wonderful birds, so I only photographed this pie in the Bluff Bakery & Tea Rooms (64 Gore Street) and did not eat it. It is said that the meat is very fatty, so if you want to gain some weight just try some of the pies ;-)) I photographed it in a local café in Bluff. As you see on the price tag, the fat costs extra ;-)) Usually the best award-winning pies in Christchurch or anywhere else would not cost more than NZ$ 5 to 6.

Apart from muttonbird you can, of course, also taste the famous Bluff Oysters when they are in season (1 March to 1 August). Read more about this is my tip about this controversial delicacy and the Bluff Oyster Festival in my Local Customs tip.

No, I do not seriously suggest you buy a hotel.

I am posting this because it reflects the general mood in town.

There were two old Art Déco hotels for sale when we were in Bluff which really felt a bit like at the end of the world. There were only a few people in the streets on both our visits, with a second-hand book sale in a public building attracting more than a handful of people.

Everyone was friendly, and we got the best help in finding out where Fred and Myrtle Flutey are buried.

The hotels could be turned into wonderful buildings with some renovation. Were Bluff at a more convenient location I would consider turning one of the hotels into a great stately home;-))