The settlement was first surveyed in 1893, shortly after the Milford Track opened. But a town only developed after the opening of the Homer Tunnel and road route to Milford in 1953.
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Meaning of place name
Named after the lake. According to Māori legend there was a cave filled with glowing light somewhere on the shores of the lake. In 1948 this supposedly mythical cave was rediscovered, complete wth the lights of countless puratoke (glow-worms). Early explanations of the meaning of the name then gave way to the obvious interpretation of the full name Te Ana-au, te: the; ana: cave; au: swirling, in reference to an underground torrent that ran through the cave.
