The Arnold River ( mi, Kōtukuwhakaoka) is a river on the

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. It is the outflow of

Lake Brunner Lake Brunner ( mi, Kōtuku Moana or ) is the largest lake in the West Coast Region of New Zealand, located southeast of Greymouth. The main settlement, Moana, New Zealand, Moana, is on its northern shore. It is an important settlement and ways ...

, which it links with the Grey River at Stillwater. The Arnold River flows northwest for , joining the Grey immediately above the town of

Brunner Brunner may refer to: Places * Brunner, New Zealand * Lake Brunner, New Zealand * Brunner Mine, New Zealand * Brunner, Houston, United States * Brunner (crater), lunar crater Other uses * Brunner (surname) * Brunner the Bounty Hunter, a character ...

, some from the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

. It is a popular spot for

whitewater kayaking Whitewater kayaking is an adventure sport where a river is navigated in a decked kayak. Whitewater kayaking includes several styles. River running; where the paddler follows a river and paddles rapids as they travel. Creeking usually involving s ...

and trout fishing.

Naming and early exploration

The river was known to Māori as ''Kōtukuwhakaoka'', the name of a Māori chief from the North Island who had followed it upstream to the lake. According to legend, the chief was attacked and killed by a lake

taniwha In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They may be considered highly respected ...

, which later became one of the two islands in the lake after it was in turn killed by his son. Explorer

Thomas Brunner Thomas Brunner (April 1821 – 22 April 1874) was an English-born surveyor and explorer remembered for his exploration of the West Coast of New Zealand's South Island. Brunner was born in April 1821 in Oxford. When he was fifteen, he began t ...

, who was the first European to travel up the river to its source, spelled it "Kotu-urakaoka" in the proclamation that in 1853 defined the provincial boundaries. In 1859 surveyor

John Rochfort John Rochfort (21 May 1832 – 8 March 1893) was a New Zealand surveyor and engineer. Early life John Rochfort was born in London, England, the youngest son of Frank senior, a goldsmith, silversmith and jeweller, and Sarah (née Button). He w ...

and his men arrived at the opposite shore of the lake, which he proceeded to name after Brunner. They made a canoe from a hollowed-out

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was firs ...

log and paddled across the lake to where flowed into the Kōtukuwhakaoka, which Rochfort named the "Arnould River". The name "Arnould" appears on maps in the 1860s, but from 1865 onwards the river was usually spelled "Arnold". Rochfort attempted to survey the "Arnould River" by canoe, but it was choked up with logs and snags, and the party eventually abandoned their vessel for "dreary marches in the midst of drenching rain."

Power station

The

Arnold Power Station The Arnold Power Station is a hydroelectric facility fed from Lake Brunner on the Arnold River in West Coast, New Zealand, owned and operated by TrustPower. Commissioned in 1932, the plant is rated at and has an average annual output of . Histo ...

is on the river close to its confluence with the Grey.

TrustPower Manawa Energy Limited, formerly Trustpower, is a New Zealand electricity generation company that offers bespoke electricity products to commercial and industrial customers across New Zealand. Manawa Energy has 26 hydro-electricity schemes, with a ...

, which operates the current hydroelectric station, has a proposal for another hydro-electricity scheme on the river.Arnold Power

Bridge and walkway

In the early days of the settlement of Moana, Noel Peat owned land in the township and across the mouth of the Arnold River, and since 1929 had petitioned the government to build a bridge at Moana connecting the two. No bridge was built, until in 1990 as part of New Zealand sesquicentennial celebrations

Fletcher Challenge Fletcher Challenge was a multinational corporation from New Zealand. It was formed in 1981 by the merger of Fletcher Holdings, Challenge Corporation and Tasman Pulp and Paper. It had holdings in construction, forestry, building, and energy, init ...

and the

Department of Conservation An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment ...

collaborated on the construction of a 83-metre footbridge, which took 15 weeks to build, opening on 15 September 1990. It provided public access to the Tasman Forest Accord Scenic Reserve, 2050 ha of native forest protected from logging in 1989. The Lake Brunner Centennial Committee later developed a walking trial along the western shore of the Arnold River, now known as the Rakaitane Walk.

References

{{Grey River Grey District Rivers of the West Coast, New Zealand Rivers of New Zealand