Boulder Bank

Boulder Bank Review

One of the defining features of the landscape is the Boulder Bank, a 13-km (8-mi) natural stone bank, built up from eroding cliff faces farther north along the coast. In creating a sheltered harbor, the bank is essentially the reason Nelson was settled by early Maori in the first place. Interestingly, back in the city, Haulashore Island was originally part of the Boulder Bank, only becoming an island when The Cut was pushed through the bank as an entry for larger ships into the harbour. A lighthouse served as a guiding light from the 1860s until the 1980s. For 27 years a lighthouse keeper, his wife, and their 10 children lived an isolated life at the lighthouse, which can now be visited by small harbour ferry.