Cape Foulwind is a headland on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, overlooking the Tasman Sea. It is located west of the town of Westport. There is a lighthouse located on a prominent site on the headland. A walkway beginning at the lighthouse carpark traverses the rocky headland to Tauranga Bay and passes close by a colony of New Zealand fur seals. There is limestone quarry in the area, and a cement works operated nearby from 1958 to 2016. In the lee of the cape, eastwards toward the Buller River mouth lies Carters Beach, claimed to be the only safe swimming beach on the West Coast of the South Island. Toponymy The headland was named Rocky Cape by Abel Tasman, the first European to sight it, in 1642. However, the present name was given by English explorer James Cook in 1770 after his ship Endeavour was blown quite a distance offshore from this point. Lighthouse The first lighthouse at Cape Foulwind was illuminated on 1 September 1876. The timber support structure of this first lighthouse did not survive the environmental conditions, and a replacement lighthouse was erected on a concrete tower in 1926. The lighthouse is operated by Maritime New Zealand and is registered as a Category 2 Historic Place. Walkway The Cape Foulwind Walkway is a (one-way) pathway above rocky headlands between Tauranga Bay and the carpark at the Cape Foulwind Lighthouse. The features of the walkway include views of mountains and coastline, a colony of New Zealand fur seals (kekeno), and the lighthouse. The cliffs of Cape Foulwind and the small offshore islands are roosting and breeding grounds for seabirds including Australasian gannets. sooty shearwaters, fluttering shearwaters and fairy prions. A small rocky islet, Wall Island, offshore from the seal colony at Tauranga Bay, provides important habitat for seabird colonies and Little penguins (kororā). Hector's dolphin and orca may also be seen occasionally from the walkway. Cement works In 1924, the Grey River Argus reported that the National Portland Cement Company was to be floated, to mine and process deposits of limestone and marl at Cape Foulwind. A proposal to construct a cement works at Cape Foulwind was announced in 1946. In 1953, it was reported that British interests had purchased a large area of land at Cape Foulwind. However, it was not until 1955 that the British company Tunnel Portland Cement (subsequently Hanson