Geographic Name Proposal Report
Mount Foweraker
Cass, Arthur’s Pass
new name
MAP/PHOTO
Arthur’s Pass
Waimakariri River
Cass Field
Station
NZTopo50-BV20 and BV21
Crown Copyright Reserved
1 October 2014
Linzone ID A1773646
Page 1 of 6
Mount Foweraker
Photo taken from Cass Field Station looking northwest
Source: Proposers
SUMMARY
1 October 2014
Linzone ID A1773646
•
The proposer is seeking to assign the name Mt Foweraker to an
unnamed peak in Arthur’s Pass National Park, approximately 8.5 km
northwest of Cass.
•
The proposer is seeking to recognise the contribution Charles Foweraker
made to understanding vegetation in the area and the South Island in
general.
•
The Board’s policy is to discourage the use of the abbreviation ‘Mt’ for
the generic term Mount.
•
The feature is distinctive in the landscape, so assigning the proposed
name may assist recreational users and search and rescue services by
making it easier to identify the feature on a map.
•
The Secretariat and proposer have asked for the views of Te Rūnanga o
Ngāi Tahu, which may be brought to the Board’s meeting.
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SECRETARIAT RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendation 1
Accept this proposal to assign Mount Foweraker to an unnamed
mountain located in Arthur’s Pass National Park, based on recognising the
significant contribution made by Charles Foweraker to understanding and
teaching about the vegetation in the area, subject to views of Ngāi Tahu;
and
Recommendation 2
Notify as a proposal to assign for a period of three months in terms of
s.16 of the NZGB Act 2008.
OR
Recommendation 3
Defer this proposal to assign Mount Foweraker to an unnamed
mountain located in Arthur’s Pass National Park, until Ngāi Tahu advise if
there is an original Māori name for the feature.
SECRETARIAT ANALYSIS
GENERAL BACKGROUND
The Proposal
•
The proposal is to name an unnamed mountain (1804 m) in Arthur’s
Pass National Park in recognition of the “outstanding contribution that
Charles Foweraker (1886–1964) made as a teacher and a scientist to
our understanding of South Island vegetation”1.
•
The proposer advises that Charles Foweraker spent his career at
Canterbury College (now the University of Canterbury) working in the
Forestry and Botany Departments. He spent a considerable amount of
time based at the University of Canterbury Cass Mountain Biological
Station (Cass field station) and taught and researched in the area
surrounding the field station and the unnamed mountain.
•
The unnamed mountain is approximately 8.5 km northwest of Cass field
station and is very prominent on the horizon when looking northwest
from the station.
•
The proposer advises that the mountain has been informally named
Mount Foweraker for at least the past decade by some University of
Canterbury staff and students, and Cass residents. No supporting
documentation has been provided with the proposal to substantiate this.
Policy on
‘Requirement for
Geographic Name
Proposals’
•
The Board’s Chairperson accepted the proposal for processing as it
meets the Board’s minimum requirements policy and naming criteria.
New Zealand
Gazetteer and
duplication and
NZGB archive
records
•
Foweraker is not recorded in the New Zealand Gazetteer or in the
Board’s archives.
1
Proposal for Mt Foweraker – 28 July 2014
1 October 2014
Linzone ID A1773646
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Historical Maps
•
The mountain is not named on maps or plans:
Date, edition
Map/plan
Name
1957
TOPO 59P
Unnamed
NZMS 177
Unnamed
1965, 1 edition
NZMS 1 S59
Unnamed
nd
edition
NZMS 1 S59
Unnamed
1980, 3rd edition
NZMS 1 S59
Unnamed
th
NZMS 1 S59
Unnamed
2000
NZMS 260 K33
Unnamed
2014, edition 1.01
NZTopo50-BV21
Unnamed
1969, 2nd edition
st
1968, 2
1985, 4
Research/History/
References
edition
•
The University of Canterbury field station at Harihari is named after
Charles Foweraker as “a tribute to, and in recognition of the work of
Charles Foweraker, the 1924-34 School of Forestry’s first lecturer.
Charles Foweraker later became the School's first director, and finally a
senior lecturer in Botany at the Canterbury University College”2.
•
Charles Foweraker’s first field trip with students to Cass Field Station
was in 19143.
•
Foweraker was a member of the Arthur’s Pass National Park Board in
the 1940s and 1950s3.
•
Much of Foweraker’s work was not published3.
•
In his biography of Foweraker3, CJ Burrows records that the ridge
between “Sugarloaf Bush Valley and Chilton Valley” has been informally
named Foweraker Spur (shown by red line on map below) as this is
often the route taken by botanists to reach Sugar Loaf. This feature is
very minor and not significant to mark the considerable contribution of
Foweraker to understanding the vegetation of the area.
•
The feature is very prominent in an untitled 1936 watercolour by Rita
2
University of Canterbury. n.d. History of the Harihari field station. Retrieved from
http://www.ffc.canterbury.ac.nz/harihari/history.shtml, 4 August 2014
3
Burrows, C.J. 1982. Charles, E. Foweraker, M.A., F.L.S., Botanist and Forester, 1886-1964. Mauri Ora, 10, p. 5-9.
1 October 2014
Linzone ID A1773646
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Angus (refer to proposal).
Location/Extent of
Feature
•
At 1804 m the mountain is the highest point on a ridge extending
southeast of Polar Range towards Waimakariri River. It is between Red
Beech Stream and Sudden Valley Steam.
•
The mountain is within the southern boundary of Arthur’s Pass National
Park.
Generic Feature
•
Mount is an appropriate generic term for this feature.
Policy from
Frameworks
version 6
•
Abbreviations: Abbreviations are not usually published as part of the
official geographic name, for example: Mount (not Mt).
The proposed name includes the English generic term Mt. The term
Mount, not Mt, should be assigned.
•
Names for Previously Unnamed Features or Places: Any proposal made
to the Board to assign an official geographic name to a previously
unnamed feature will be considered in terms of the Board’s legislative
requirements and policy framework.
Naming this feature would help people identify the feature when
viewing it from Cass and for recreational users in the immediate
area.
•
Mountain Names: The person who first climbs, traverses, guides or
discovers a feature in a mountain area has a recognised right to propose
a new name for that feature.
The Secretariat could not find any record of the first ascent of this
mountain.
•
Personal Names: If the name of a deceased person is used, generally
only surname will be applied. A minimum of 2 years shall pass before
proposals will be considered.
Foweraker is the surname of Charles Foweraker who died in 1964.
Foweraker contributed significantly to the area where the feature is
located.
Emergency
Services
Consultation with
iwi and others
1 October 2014
Linzone ID A1773646
•
The mountain is a distinctive feature in the landscape, so trampers may
use it as a navigation point to orientate themselves.
•
Board member David Barnes spoke to a number of outdoor
recreationalists and the consensus was that there is unlikely to be many
trampers that access the feature as there are more interesting areas
and better access further up Sudden Valley Stream.
•
David also said that there “wouldn’t be much objection to a meritorious
name – particularly one with a Polar (and especially Scott) theme”.
Presumably given the feature’s proximity to Polar Range.
•
Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu has been asked for its views by the proposer
and the Secretariat, which may be brought to the Board’s meeting.
•
The proposer has not undertaken or provided evidence of any
consultation with interested groups such as the Department of
Conservation, Federated Mountain Clubs and other relevant alpine clubs,
Cass residents, and other University of Canterbury staff.
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Spelling
•
The proposer has provided the biography of Charles Foweraker, which
confirms the spelling of his name.
Media
•
If notified as a proposal to assign there may be some media interest
from the tramping/climbing fraternity and Cass residents.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
1. Proposal for Mt Foweraker – 28 July 2014
2. Consultation email to Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu – 31 July 2014
3. Email from David Barnes with two photos of the mountain – 8 August 2014
1 October 2014
Linzone ID A1773646
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