Mount Sefton

Mount Sefton (Māori: Maukatua) is a mountain in the Aroarokaehe Range[2] of the Southern Alps of New Zealand, just 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) south of Aoraki / Mount Cook. To the south lies Mount Brunner, and to the north The Footstool, both more than 400 metres (1,300 ft) shorter.[1]

Mount Sefton
Mount Sefton at sunrise, from Mount Cook Village
Highest point
Elevation3,151[1] m (10,338 ft)
Prominence1,063 m (3,488 ft)
ListingList of mountains of New Zealand by height
Coordinates43°40′56″S 170°2′32″E 
Naming
Native nameMaukatua
Geography
Mount Sefton
South Island, New Zealand
Parent rangeSouthern Alps
Climbing
First ascent1894 by Edward FitzGerald

The mountain is prominently visible from Mount Cook Village in the Hooker Valley, with Tuckett Glacier flowing down the south-eastern side of the mountain and Mueller Glacier in the valley below it.[3][4] With a height of 3,151 metres (10,338 ft), Mount Sefton is the 13th-highest peak in the Southern Alps, and the 4th-highest mountain in New Zealand when excluding peaks of little prominence that are closer than a kilometre to a higher peak.

The Douglas River (formerly known as the Twain River) begins on Mount Sefton.[3]

An early resident, Charles French Pemberton, named the area, whilst the geologist Julius von Haast named the mountain after William Sefton Moorhouse, the second Superintendent of Canterbury Province.[4] The Māori name of the mountain is Maukatua, which translates as 'mountain of the gods'.[4]

Edward FitzGerald, with Matthias Zurbriggen as his guide, completed the first recorded climb to the summit shortly after Christmas 1894.[5][6]

Mueller Hut with Mt Sefton (in the middle) and Aoraki / Mt Cook (on the right) during the sunrise

References
  1. "Mount Sefton, Canterbury – NZ Topo Map". NZ Topo Map. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  2. Matthew Littlewood (3 Apr 2013). "Dual names accepted in Aoraki-Mt Cook". The Timaru Herald. Retrieved 2016-08-25.
  3. Harper, Arthur Paul (1896). Pioneer Work in the Alps of New Zealand: A Record of the First Exploration of the Chief Glaciers and Ranges of the Southern Alps. T. F. Unwin. pp. 16ff. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  4. Reed, A. W. (2010). Peter Dowling (ed.). Place Names of New Zealand. Rosedale, North Shore: Raupo. p. 362. ISBN 9780143204107.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  5. Rose, John Holland (1929). The Cambridge History of the British Empire. CUP Archive. pp. 43ff. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
  6. Wilson, John. "Mountaineering - Aoraki/Mt Cook". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
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