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Bluff is a town and Seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand . Bluff is at the end of a Peninsula that forms the western side of Bluff Harbour and Awarua Bay, with the port located in the relatively narrow entrance channel. It is on State Highway 1 , which terminates one kilometre to the south of the town at Stirling Point. It is 30 km by road from Invercargill , and the southern terminus of the Bluff Branch , the continuation from Invercargill of the Main South Line . This was one of New Zealand's earliest railways, opening on 5 February 1867 . Contrary to a popular misconception, Bluff is not the southernmost point on the New Zealand Mainland . That honour goes to Slope Point , some 50 km east of Bluff. It is, however, the southernmost town in the South Island. According to the 2001 New Zealand Census Of Population And Dwellings the usually resident population was 1935, a decrease of 150 since 1996 . Among the attractions of the town is the Paua house, created by the (now deceased) Fred and Myrtle Flutey. This house was an ordinary Bungalow transformed by having the outside walls totally covered in Paua shells. The interior is also extensively decorated with paua and there is an extensive collection of (often Kitsch ) paua-decorated ornaments, utensils and trinkets. The house is now a Museum . Bluff is dominated by Bluff Hill, an Extinct Volcanic Cone which provides some shelter from the prevailing westerly winds. The town is named for this Bluff , which was known to early Whaler s as Old Man's Bluff or Old Man Bluff. Across the channel from Bluff is Tiwai Point , home to New Zealand's only Aluminium Smelter and its Wharf . Bluff Harbour is the terminus for the twice-daily Catamaran Ferry to Stewart Island/Rakiura , 60 km south across Foveaux Strait . The harbour is also home to the Foveaux Strait Oyster Fleet . Bluff oysters are renowned for their succulence and flavour, and are considered a delicacy nationwide. Unfortunately the oyster quota was severely reduced during the late 1990s due to the effects of the toxic Protozoan Parasite '' Bonamia Ostreae '' upon the oyster beds. REFERENCES EXTERNAL LINK |
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