Burkes Pass: Heritage Walk and local history

Burkes Pass combines rural scenery with a local history you can explore firsthand. The town is located on State Highway 8 between Fairlie and Lake Tekapo, surrounded by farmland and rolling hills. A special way to get to know the town is the Burkes Pass Heritage Walk: it passes historical sites and makes the history of the pass a tangible part of your stay.

Local history on the Heritage Walk

The Burkes Pass Heritage Walk begins at Musterer’s Hut and follows an original route through Burkes Pass. The track is 1.7 km long, takes 30 minutes and is rated easy. It passes over mown grass and boardwalks. Along the way, signs provide information about the individual historical sites; there is also heritage information and photographic displays. This lets you experience the circuit by visiting its stops, rather than learning about local history only through individual buildings.

The hut is also the starting point for the children’s game “Where’s Sally”: you look for a working collie along the track. A free printout for the game is available at Musterer’s Hut. This gives families an extra activity for the walk, while the signs and photographic displays also draw attention to the historical sites.

Musterer’s Hut and historical sites

Musterer’s Hut is a replica built by the Trust to commemorate the early workers. Inside, you’ll find old photographs and stories, historical hut items and an original fireplace. An original limestone trough stands in front of the hut. Horse teams used it before heading up through the pass into the Mackenzie District. The hut and trough offer different historical points of interest on the walk: a reconstructed dwelling and an original object from that period of use.

The Heritage Walk also passes the Mount Cook Road Board Office. Burkes Pass School and the schoolhouse are also part of the town’s history; both were built in 1878. The Burkes Pass cemetery has graves dating back to 1873. Among them are the graves of several mountaineers who died in accidents on Mt Cook. These stops reveal different aspects of the town’s history, from education and local administration to the personal stories represented in the cemetery.

St Patrick’s Union Church and other discoveries

St Patrick’s Union Church was built by early settlers in 1872. It is considered the oldest Union Church that remains at its original site and has been continuously used as a church. The church is open daily to the local community and visitors, and offers information about the earliest Union Church in South Canterbury. If you’re interested in the town’s history, you can complement the Heritage Walk with a visit to the church.

For a different kind of browsing, there’s Three Creeks, housed in a general store, a 1950s petrol station, a blacksmith’s workshop and a trading post. It offers artworks, crafts, gifts, retro collectibles and wooden furniture, as well as a retro coffee cart. This adds a place to browse art, crafts and collectibles to the historical stops.

Choose Burkes Pass as your destination

If you’re looking for local history and a walk with specific stops during your stay, Burkes Pass offers several different points of interest. If you’d rather focus on the rural surroundings, you’ll find them in the farmland and rolling hills around the town. These highlights can help you decide whether Burkes Pass is the right destination for your trip and your search for a holiday home or holiday house. The Heritage Walk’s length of 1.7 km and stated duration of 30 minutes are useful details when planning your day.

Other places: Kimbell, Fairlie, Albury, Lake Tekapo, Twizel, Mt Cook.

Back to the regional travel guide: Mackenzie District.