Moeraki has started to plan celebrations to mark its 175th anniversary later this year, with a small committee set up to organise events.
Committee member Gloria Colloty said the celebrations were to mark the 175th anniversary of six whalers landing on a beach at Moeraki, founding European settlement in the area in 1836.
At this stage, there are five people on the 175th anniversary committee, although more may be added as time goes on.
It was planned to start the celebrations on December 26, followed by a number of events lasting two to four days.
Because planning had just started, events had been discussed but not yet formalised.
Some suggestions included an official opening of celebrations by members of Parliament, some form of stone or other marker to record the 175th anniversary (as was done with previous anniversaries) and a church service.
The steering committee is also investigating sources of funding for the celebrations.
The late K. C. McDonald's White Stone Country - the Story of North Otago records that American John Hughes landed with a group of European and Maori whalers at Moeraki on Boxing Day, 1836.
They established a whaling station on the north of the Moeraki Peninsula where the present town stands.
They spent three months preparing for the whaling season, building living quarters and establishing the necessary components of a whale processing station.
In the first season, 23 whales were taken and the whaling station was expanded.
