Māori legend of Tuawera (Cave Rock)

This rock formation, Tuawera, looks like a solid part of the beach now, but it wasn't always this way. It used to be more of an island, with the sea completely surrounding it at high tide. Silt built up over time, and now it's effectively a peninsula.

It's a volcanic rock formation, part of the volcano that created Banks Peninsula. You can see two layers of basalt lava flow, with a tuff layer separating them. The waves have carved out these caves and tunnels you can explore. That boulder field on the north-eastern side? That might have been a collapsed cave. You can walk through the tidal cave inside the rock at low tide, and it's a popular spot for kids to play. People also climb the rock, and there are tide pools on the seaward side.

Back in 1864, they put a signal mast on top of the rock to help guide boats over the Sumner bar and warn them about the tricky conditions. Then, in 1898, a stone building went up on the summit to hold the signal equipment and a foghorn. The mast used to have signal flags and lights, though later the lights were just decorative.

The mast and building took some damage during the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. They were restored in 2016, but the lights weren't fixed until December 2021. After the lights were restored, some residents complained that the illuminated mast, shaped like a Christian cross, was inappropriate for a public monument. One person even called it "Christian symbolism by stealth." The Breakfree Foundation, a Christian charity, helped fund the light restoration, but their representative said she definitely didn't see it as a Christian symbol.