The Nanto-Bordelaise Company — formally La Compagnie de Bordeaux et de Nantes pour la Colonisation de l’Île du Sud de la Nouvelle Zélande et ses Dépendances — was a French company inaugurated in 1839 by a group of merchants from the cities of Nantes and Bordeaux, with the purpose of founding a French colony in the South Island of New Zealand. Akaroa and the nearby smaller settlement of Duvauchelle both retain a pride in their French history, with many of the local streets having French names. A biennial French festival is held in odd-numbered years in Akaroa.