Arahura River

Arahura River
Arahura River
	The historic Arahura road/rail bridge. It was replaced in 2009.
	Route of the Arahura River
	Mouth of the Arahura River Arahura River (South Island)
Location
Country	New Zealand
region	West Coast Region
District	Westland District
Physical characteristics
Source	Lake Browning / Whakarewa
• location	Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana
• coordinates	42°56′49″S 171°20′38″E / 42.947°S 171.344°E
• elevation	1,360 m (4,460 ft)
Mouth	Tasman Sea
• location	Arahura Pa
• coordinates	42°40′S 171°02′E / 42.667°S 171.033°E
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	56 km (35 mi)

The Arahura River, for a time called the Brunner River after the explorer Thomas Brunner,^[1] is a river located on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. In 1846 Brunner and Heaphy sketched^[2] and described a Māori settlement they called Araura [sic] (Arahura).^[3]

It is approximately 56 kilometres (35 mi) in length and flows into the Tasman Sea eight kilometres north of Hokitika, next to the Arahura Pa.

It is an important place to Māori for the resource of pounamu (greenstone), only found in a few places in the South Island of New Zealand. When the region was sold to the British Crown in 1860 by the chiefs of Poutini Ngāi Tahu the rights to pounamu on the Arahura River were meant to be retained, these rights were ignored in the deed (Arahura Deed) . In 1990s Ngāi Tahu and the government negotiated for ownership of pounamu from the river to be restored and this was settled in the Ngai Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997.^[4]^[5]^[6]

The lower reaches of the Arahura River were a major producer of gold in the past – and extensively mined, but are now worked out.

In 2009 the 120-year-old dual road/rail bridge across the river was replaced. Sections of the old bridge were reused elsewhere on the rail network and one complete span was retained for a local heritage park.^[7]

The river is the subject of a 2016 song of the same name by Marlon Williams.

References

^ "Maori nomenclature". Otago Witness. No. 2955. 2 November 1910. p. 15. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
^ "Two views of Ara Hura - Stock Image - C018/7396". Science Photo Library. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
^ "To The Coast NELSON EVENING MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 April 1937. Retrieved 4 January 2023.
^ Nathan, Simon (1 September 2016). "West Coast region – European arrival and settlement". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018.
^ "Ngai Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997 No 81 (as at 24 May 2013), Public Act 3 Ownership by Ngai Tahu of certain minerals – New Zealand Legislation". Parliamentary Counsel Office | Te Tari Tohutohu Pāremata. 1 October 1997. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
^ "The Ngāi Tahu claim – The Treaty in practice". NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2020.
^ "West Coast road-rail bridge opens early". NZ Transport Agency. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2011.

External links

An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966.

This article about a river in the West Coast Region of New Zealand is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] "Maori nomenclature". Otago Witness. No. 2955. 2 November 1910. p. 15. Retrieved 19 December 2020.

[2] "Two views of Ara Hura - Stock Image - C018/7396". Science Photo Library. Retrieved 5 January 2023.

[3] "To The Coast NELSON EVENING MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 April 1937. Retrieved 4 January 2023.

[4] Nathan, Simon (1 September 2016). "West Coast region – European arrival and settlement". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 1 March 2018.

[5] "Ngai Tahu (Pounamu Vesting) Act 1997 No 81 (as at 24 May 2013), Public Act 3 Ownership by Ngai Tahu of certain minerals – New Zealand Legislation". Parliamentary Counsel Office | Te Tari Tohutohu Pāremata. 1 October 1997. Retrieved 16 September 2020.

[6] "The Ngāi Tahu claim – The Treaty in practice". NZHistory, New Zealand history online. Archived from the original on 15 April 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2020.

[7] "West Coast road-rail bridge opens early". NZ Transport Agency. 11 December 2009. Retrieved 1 October 2011.

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v t e Landforms of Westland District, New Zealand
Alpine passes	Arthur's Pass Browning Pass / Nōti Raureka Copland Pass Haast Pass
Bays	Bruce Bay Jackson Bay
Canyons, gorges and waterfalls	Fantail Falls Gates of Haast Hokitika Gorge Otira Gorge Roaring Billy Falls Thunder Creek Falls
Glaciers	Agassiz Glacier Douglas Glacier Fox Glacier Franz Josef Glacier Garden of Eden Ice Plateau Olivine Ice Plateau Volta Glacier
Headlands	Abut Head Awarua Point Gillespies Point Knights Point
Islands	Open Bay Islands
Lakes and lagoons	Abel Lake Alpine Lake / Ata Puai Lake Ellery Lake Gault Lake Ianthe Lake Kaniere Lake Mahinapua Lake Mapourika Lake Matheson Lake Moeraki Ōkārito Lagoon Lake Paringa Saltwater Lagoon Lake Wahapo
Mountain ranges	Butler Range Southern Alps
Mountains	Mount Adams Aoraki / Mount Cook Mount Aspiring / Tititea Mount Dampier Mount Graham Mount Haast Mount Hopkins La Perouse Lendenfeld Peak Mount Rolleston Mount Sefton Silberhorn Mount Tasman Mount Vancouver Mount Whitcombe
River flats	Pleasant Flat
Rivers	Adams River Arahura River Arawhata River Balfour River Barlow River Barn River Bettne River Big Wainihinihi River Burke River Butler River Callery River Cascade River Clarke River Clearwater River Cook River / Weheka Copland River Cropp River Deception River Donald River Douglas River Drake River Duncan River Edison River Fork River Fox River Gorge River Gunn River Haast River Hacket River Hall River Hapuka River Harman River Hinatua River Hokitika River Hope River Jackson River Jerry River Kaniere River Karangarua River Kokatahi River Lambert River Landsborough River Lord River Macfarlane River Mahitahi River Jacobs River Manakaiaua River Maori River Martyr River Mikonui River Moeraki River Morse River Mueller River Mungo River Ngatau River North Barlow River Ohinemaka River Ōhinetamatea River Ōkārito River Okuru River Ōmoeroa River Oneone River Otehake River Ōtira River Ōtoko River Paringa River Perth River Poerua River Rolleston River Rotokino River Ruera River Ship Creek Smoothwater River Smyth River Stafford River Strauchon River Styx River Taipo River Taramakau River Te Rahotaiepa River Toaroha River Tōtara River Totarakaitorea River Troyte River Tuke River Turnbull River Waiatoto River Waiho River Waikūkūpa River Waipara River Waita River Waitaha River Waitangitāhuna River Waitangiroto River Wanganui River Whakaikai River Whakapohai River Whataroa River Whitcombe River Wilkinson River Willberg River Williamson River Wills River

Arahura River
The historic Arahura road/rail bridge. It was replaced in 2009.
Route of the Arahura River
Mouth of the Arahura River Show map of New Zealand Arahura River (South Island) Show map of South Island
Location
Country	New Zealand
region	West Coast Region
District	Westland District
Physical characteristics

Source	Lake Browning / Whakarewa
• location	Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana
• coordinates	42°56′49″S 171°20′38″E / 42.947°S 171.344°E / -42.947; 171.344
• elevation	1,360 m (4,460 ft)

Mouth	Tasman Sea
• location	Arahura Pa
• coordinates	42°40′S 171°02′E / 42.667°S 171.033°E / -42.667; 171.033
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	56 km (35 mi)

Arahura River

References

External links

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