02/12/2020
Throwback Thursday!
On this day 60 years ago, Bluff’s Island Harbour was officially opened (https://nzhistory.govt.nz/page/bluff-island-harbour-opened).
This reclamation project was spearheaded by the former Bluff Harbour Board (later the Southland Harbour Board) to provide more space for the growing port during the post-World War Two boom years.
Built on top of a large natural sandbank by multi-national and multi-ethnic contractors, the initial phase of the Island Harbour project took eight years to complete.
As these images indicate, Poutama stood witness to this project, and its opening, just as it continues to watch over the port’s ongoing evolution.
