New Zealand State Highway 73
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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by NZ Transport Agency | ||||
| Length: | 231 km (144 mi) | |||
| Tourist routes: |
Great Alpine Highway Christchurch Ring Road Inland Scenic Route between Sheffield and Waddington. |
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| Major junctions | ||||
| Northwest end: |
State Highway 6  at Kumara Junction, New Zealand
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| Southeast end: |
Curletts Road/Christchurch Southern Motorway  / at Middleton, New Zealand
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| Location | ||||
| Primary destinations: |
Kumara, Dillmanstown, Jacksons, Otira, Arthur's Pass, Bealey, Cass, Castle Hill Village, Springfield, Sheffield, Waddington, Darfield, Kirwee, Aylesbury, West Melton, Yaldhurst, Christchurch | |||
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State Highway 73 (SH 73) is a major east-west South Island state highway in New Zealand connecting Christchurch on the east coast with Cass/Hokitika via the Southern Alps. It is mostly two lane, with some single-lane bridges north of Springfield but is mostly dual carriageway in Christchurch. The fourth and fifth-highest points of New Zealand's state highway network are on this road at Porters and Arthur's Pass respectively.
The route connecting the West and East coasts of the South Island via the Southern Alps were known for hundreds of years by the Māori people, due to a flourishing pounamu trade. The Europeans were informed of the route by a local chief in the mid-19th century but was not used during his lifetime. In 1864, Arthur Dudley Dobson traversed from the east to the west coast from the Waimakariri River, thereby discovering Arthur's Pass. A route connecting Christchurch to Hokitika was fully completed in 1866, with the first Cobb & Co coach began operating that same year for the burgeoning gold rush.
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