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Approximately 250-300 million years ago the Southern
Alps and the area surrounding Lake Tekapo were part of a seafloor valley.
Movement of two large plates of the earth's crust has seen the once
horizontal seabed, hardened to rock and pushed upwards to form the land it
is today.
The last ice-age, 15,000 to
18,000 years ago, saw huge glaciers of ice
longer than the length of the lake, depositing large volumes of rock at
it's terminal, resulting in the damming of the valley and the formation of
Lake Tekapo behind it.
Glacier
The glaciers have since retreated back to the valleys
at the head of the lake, but are still clearly visible from the air and
often accessible by four wheel drive vehicle.
Godley Valley today
The Mackenzie Basin was free
of humans until several hundred years ago with the arrival of the Maori in search of food.
The Moa (a large flightless bird now extinct) and other birds were hunted
and eels fished for in the area.
The Maori called
the area Takapo, meaning "To leave in haste at night". The current
name, Tekapo is possibly a corruption of Takapo.
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In 1855 James Mackenzie, a Scottish shepherd turned
sheep stealer discovered the basin that now bears his name when he, with
the help of his dog Friday, drove flocks of sheep inland to avoid being
discovered.
Authorities were finally able to capture Mackenzie,
but struggled to take control of the sheep due to his highly intelligent
dog. It is alleged Friday continued to drive the sheep without his
master's control until finally being disabled by the authorities.
A bronze memorial to working collie dogs, such as Friday,
was commissioned in 1968 by local farmers and now stands on
the shores of Lake Tekapo near the Church of the Good Shepherd.
Collie dog statue
In 1857 the first sheep farm in the Mackenzie
was built by John and Barbara Hay on the shores of Lake Tekapo. When the
lake is low the remains of the old Tekapo Station homestead can be seen on
the eastern shores of the lake.
A hotel was established in 1861 and a ferry was set up to cross the Tekapo
River. Twenty years later construction began on the first bridge.
In the 1930s work began on Tekapo power station.
Construction was delayed by the event of World War Two, but the station
was eventually finished in 1951. The intake for the power station is
located on the south-western shores of the lake. Water travels through a
tunnel under the hill to the west of the township, to the power station
located part way down the Tekapo River.
The lake level controlled by gates constructed on the Tekapo River, was
raised, the existing bridge demolished and the hotel re-sited to its
current location.
Today Lake Tekapo is flourishing under the effects of
tourism and continues to grow as more people discover the magic of the
undisturbed beauty of the Mackenzie. |
