Register Number
7684
Registration Type
Historic Place
- Category I
Region
Otago Region
Date Registered
15-Dec-2006
City/District Council
- Queenstown-Lakes District Council
Location Description
Skippers Road runs from Arthurs Point (about 3 miles north of Queenstown) to Skippers Point however, only part of the road is included in the registration.
Legal Description
Road Reserve, Otago Land District
Other Names
- Skipper Canyon Road
- Skippers Canyon Bridge
- Skipper's Road
Status Explanation
As at Registration 15 December 2006 (BD2006/12/15).
Brief History
Skippers Road is one of the most outstanding of New Zealand's surviving nineteenth century roads.
Built in four stages from 1883 to 1890, and only a single lane wide, its construction had to overcome major physical obstacles before it could be completed. The most spectacular of these (Pinchers Bluff) required the removal of large amounts of rock to create a road platform. The road and the country it travels through are both spectacular and scenic. The road is most significant too as, in all likelihood, the only nineteenth century road that has remained in continuous use without major upgrading.
The road was built to improve access to the upper Shotover River for miners, particularly for those seeking to install large machinery. It also provided a better means of access for those living in the canyon than the existing packtrack (1863). Mining's heyday was over by the time the road was completed but it continued to be used by farmers and tourists and those mining operations that lingered on in the twentieth century.
Although much of the road remains as it did in the nineteenth century, the topography, harsh climate, widening, and regular maintenance have led to the loss of some significant features, including some of its stone walls, famous features intended to prevent vehicles from toppling off the road. Today tourism is the road's biggest user, with many people coming to see the road or use it as a means of access to bungy jumping operations or white water rafting. Skippers Road is an iconic New Zealand road of outstanding heritage significance.
Notable Features
Skippers Suspension Bridge
Bells Bridge (Long Gully)
Deep Creek Bridge
Various tors (rock outcrops) and bluffs
Pinchers Bluff road formation
Stone revetting (various)
Stone walls (various)
Construction Dates
- Designed: 1883
- Original Construction: 1883 - 1890
- Modification - Replacement of bridge at Londonderry Creek with Skippers Bridge. New road constructed from old turn-off to bridge and from there to Skippers township.: 1901
- Modification - Replacement of Deep Creek Bridge: 1954
- Modification - Replacement of Long Gully Bridge: 1961
Construction Professionals
Other Information
A fully referenced registration report is available from the Southern Region (Dunedin) Office of the NZHPT.
The registration report was funded by the Queenstown-Lakes District Council and the Queenstown-Lakes Branch Committee of the New Zealand Historic Places Trust. The nomination was prepared by heritage consultant Michael Kelly, and edited by the Otago/Southland Area Office of the NZHPT.
Entry Written By
Michael Kelly / Heather Bauchop
Entry Date
26-Jun-2006
Information on
this page is correct to the best of the Trust's knowledge. If you have any additional
information you would like to share with the Trust, please
contact the Registrar.
You may wish to contact the Trust to view our paper records.