Fighting Bay

From Hakana Bay the very steep road constructed by the Electricity Deparmtent goes up and over to Fighting Bay, where the power lines from Benmore join the cable to cross the Strait.

Fighting Bay gets its name from an event in the early 1830s when Te Rauparaha's party armed with muskets all but exterminated the local Maoris on this side of the Strait. Assistance for the local Maoris came from their friends of Foveaux Strait when the chief Tuhawaiki with several canoe loads of warriors arrived and a naval battle took place in the bay.