Summit Road Society – Winning hearts, minds and (walkers’) feet
The “super popular” John Jameson Lookout not only provides a stunning place for people to admire vistas of Whakaraupō / Lyttelton Harbour and the surrounding Port Hills / Ngā Kohatu Whakarakaraka o Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, but includes a stone wall tribute to 75 years’ worth of work by volunteers of the Summit Road Society.
Conceived decades ago but only opened in 2023, the revamped lookout offers a safe place for vehicles to park off the winding Summit Road, and a viewing platform for hill walkers and visitors to take in one of the most panoramic scenes in the city.
The original grassed area has been enhanced with native plantings, and interpretation panels and a striking pou whenua offer ways in which the curious can link with some of the Māori and Pākehā history of the area. The pou is carved by Caine Tauwhare (Ngāti Wheke).
“The Society has a strong focus on sharing and highlighting the stories of the Port Hills,” says Marie Gray, the Society’s out-going secretary and only paid staffer (she relinquishes the position early in 2024).
“Our core mandate is protecting and restoring the Port Hills and providing public access but we also want to bring to the fore the layers of history that have helped shape these special places. This space provides the opportunity to do that.”
The lookout sits above Ōhinetahi, one of four reserves owned by the Society that are protected in perpetuity through QE2 covenants. Further seaward is Governor’s Bay. Keeping watch above it all is 545m high Ōrongomai / Cass Peak, an important maunga for local hapu Ngāti Wheke at Rāpaki marae, with whom the Society has a close working relationship..
The new-look lookout is named after Jameson: founder of the Society and grandson of Christchurch city councillor and Member of Parliament Harry Ell, the instigator of the scenic Summit Road. A financial legacy after Jameson’s death in 2018 provided the Society with seed funding towards development of the lookout site.
The Society took the opportunity to erect an old-style stone wall to acknowledge all of the volunteer contributions that helped establish – and continue to maintain – much of the Summit Road environs for public enjoyment and ecological benefit.
Each week, mostly on weekdays, volunteers work at assigned spots within the Society’s 530 hectares of reserve land. Most are retirees. They weed, plant, tend, and trap for pests; if lucky enough, they may catch a glimpse of a shining cuckoo or gecko or other native plants or creatures that make their home on the Port Hills. Collaborative events with schools, scouts and other organisations also contribute to the conservation of the iconic landscape.
It was a conscious decision to incorporate a design element in the lookout to recognise these volunteer contributions.
“People are blown away by the lookout and to be honest I’m still blown away, because I can’t believe we managed to get [the project] over the line. We’re just a little organisation and we fundraised all that money and we got that project done,” laughs Marie.
“The Society is doing some amazing things – and it’s a really little organisation!” she says. “The restoration of the Port Hills is about hearts and minds; we need a high social mandate to ultimately be successful.”
By the public’s enthusiastic response to the new lookout, it seems they already have achieved that.
[Photo credit, shining cuckoo: Cameron Hall]
Further info:
https://www.chchenvirohub.org/network-member/summit-road-society/
https://www.chchenvirohub.org/network-member/predator-free-port-hills/
