Bluff Harbour

Bluff is one of New Zealand's earliest continuously occupied European settlements, and has been visited by whalers and sealers since at least 1823.

As the city's main port, it was a major centre for the export of dairy and meat products in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The harbour is also used by Bluff's fishing fleet, mainly smaller vessels and to a large extent centred on Foveaux Strait oyster harvesting.

Bluff Harbour is the northern terminus of the Stewart Island ferry, providing a daily service to and from Oban.

[3] The first scheduled service across Foveaux Strait began in 1877 for weekly mail delivery, but soon also carried passengers and general cargo.

The entrance to Bluff Harbour viewed from the International Space Station in 2008, with Foveaux Strait at bottom. The town of Bluff sits on the north shore of the Bluff promontory, lower left, with the angular form of Island Harbour immediately to its north. Tiwai Point and the entrance to Awarua Bay (top) are to the left