Akaroa - pure nouveau

War memorials are hardly a rarity in New Zealand. But in Akaroa, on the South Island’s Banks Peninsula, there is a monument to local dead that has no equal. Below surnames such as “Le Lievre”, the inscription reads: “These men perished in France defending their ancestors.”

Yes, it’s true: colonial New Zealand’s story includes a chapter packed with Gallic drama. And nestled in a picturesque inlet of a harbour that began life as a volcanic crater, Akaroa proudly celebrates its unlikely origins. Wander down Rue Jolie or Rue Lavaud and you’ll see le tricolore fluttering above the roses and walnut trees, while the petrol station still sells l’essence.

How is it that New Zealand’s oldest colonial town became a bijou tribute to France? Jean François Langlois was a 19th-century whaling captain who fell in love with Akaroa harbour. Believing that he had purchased the entire peninsula from the Maori in 1838, Langlois returned to France and set in motion plans to found a settlement. History intervened. When the 60 immigrants on the Comte-de-Paris docked two years later, they found a British warship anchored in the bay.

It was a close thing. Not realising they were involved in a race, the French settlers had made landfall just five days after the British ship, and only weeks after New Zealand had been annexed as a British colony. They stayed on anyway.

As you sip your café au lait, ponder that if things had gone differently, the English-speaking North Island would have a French-tongued neighbour. Incroyable!

Stay: Akaroa Cottages offer luxury in a quiet bush setting overlooking the harbour.

Eat: La Vie en Rouge has fabulous French cuisine.

Do: Take a dolphin cruise or a guided walk.