South Cape (New Zealand)

- 47.29167.53777777778Koordinaten: 47 ° 17 ' 24 "S, 167 ° 32' 16" E

The South West Cape ( Māori: Puhiwaero ) is a cape on the southern coast of New Zealand's Stewart Iceland ( Māori: Rakiura ). The Cape is the most southern point of the island, but not the southernmost point of the main chain of islands of New Zealand since about three kilometers west of the Cape the little Murphy Island is further south.

The southernmost island in New Zealand territory, however, is a small unnamed island about 50 meters south of Jacquemart Iceland 52 ° 37 ' S, 169 ° 8' O 52.608447222222169.13566388889 good 590 kilometers further south than the South West Cape. However, New Zealand also claims the Antarctic Ross Dependency, which thus lies further south beyond the 60th parallel.

The South West Cape was especially true in times of cargo shipping under sail, but it still is today in modern sailors as an important waypoint for Pacific crossings.

To the west of the cape are Big South Cape Iceland and several belonging to the Titi Islands smaller islands.

History

The first European who discovered the Cape and charted, was in 1770 James Cook on his first voyage of discovery. However, Cook did Stewart Iceland for a part of New Zealand's South Island, which is why he gave the name of Cape South over the area. Cooks erroneous map was copied abroad (including 1798 in Rome). It was not until about February 1809 discovered Captain bunker with the Pegasus, the waterway between the New Zealand South Island and Stewart Iceland ( Foveauxstraße ) and recognized by the fact that Stewart Iceland is an island. In August, the ship sailed under Captain S. Chace the south coast of the then uninhabited Stewart Iceland along. On board was also the first officer William Stewart after Stewart Iceland was later named and charted parts of the south coast.