Foveaux Strait
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Location of Foveaux Strait |
Foveaux Strait is the
strait between the
South Island and
Stewart Island/Rakiura of
New Zealand. Its European discoverer was
Owen Folger Smith in
1804 and it is named after
Joseph Foveaux who was Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales at the time.
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Rakiura and Foveaux Strait viewed from Bluff Hill. Foveaux Strait is right in the middle of the Roaring Forties, and is very rarely this calm. |
On the north side of the strait is the harbour of
Bluff. On the south side is Stewart Island/Rakiura.
The strait is a rough and often treacherous stretch of water. In 2006, six
muttonbirders died when their trawler sank while returning to Bluff. During the previous ten years, another six incidents occurred in the Strait, costing eight lives.
