It is the third-easternmost point of the South Island, at a longitude of about 174o16.5' East.
(The two easternmost points are West head (it is the western shore of the opening to Tory Channel - the opposing shore being on Arapaoa Island), and Cape Jackson (between the entrances to Queen Charlotte Sound and Port Gore), both at a longitude of 174o19' east.)
It was named by Captain James Cook after Captain (later Vice-Admiral) John Campbell, who had been a strong supporter of Cook's as Observer for the Royal Society.[3]
The third night of the Cape Campbell Track is spent at Cape Campbell, where the lighthouse keepers once stayed. When walking the Cape Campbell Track, a four-day private walking track, walkers retrace part of the original pack track used by the lighthouse keepers to obtain vital supplies from the Flaxbourne Station Homestead where the first telegraph office[clarification needed] stood.
^A.H, Carrington (1934). "Chapter 5 & 22". Ngaitahu, the story of the invasion and occupation of the South Island. Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Hoani, Pitini-Morera. He korero mo Tuteurutira raua ko Hinerongo [Manuscripts Collection. Ngāi Tahu Archive]. Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu. p. 4.
^Beaglehole, John Cawte. The Life of Captain James Cook, Stanford University Press, Stanford, California (1974).