Patiti Point [44°25'S 171°16'E] is a small promontory immediately to the south of Timaru. A reef breaks the seas, and provides safe passage for boats which in the past landed about where the Timaru Creek outfall pipe is today. In the early days the Hine te Kura stream spilled out here, and it was a gathering place for Maori fishing parties and for shore whalers. By 1875 Peeress Town was established, a small community where settlers were housed temporarily on arrival, and which later fell into disrepute and was demolished. Today Patiti Point is a pleasant parking spot, and a place to walk the dog. The scrubby foreshore of South Beach provides coastal defence for the clay cliff atop which are the colourful cottages of South Street.