The Burke River is a river 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 ...

, located in

Mount Aspiring National Park Mount Aspiring National Park is in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand, north of Fiordland National Park, situated in Otago and Westland regions. The park forms part of the Te Wahipounamu World Heritage site. Geography Establis ...

. It flows east for from close to the Mueller Pass, reaching the

Haast River The Haast River / Awarua is a river on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand. The Māori name for the river is Awarua. It drains the western watershed of the Haast Pass. The Haast River is in length, and enters the Tasman Sea near ...

south of the

Haast Pass Haast Pass / Tioripatea is a mountain pass in the Southern Alps of the South Island of New Zealand. Māori used the pass in pre-European times. The pass takes its name from Julius von Haast, a 19th-century explorer who also served as provincial ...

. The river was named by

Julius von Haast Sir Johann Franz Julius von Haast (1 May 1822 – 16 August 1887) was a German-born New Zealand explorer, geologist, and founder of the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch. Early life Johann Franz Julius Haast was born on 1 May 1822 in Bo ...

when he searched for a crossing from Otago to the West Coast. It is named for

Robert O'Hara Burke Robert O'Hara Burke (6 May 1821c. 28 June 1861) was an Irish soldier and police officer who achieved fame as an Australian explorer. He was the leader of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australi ...

of the

Burke and Wills expedition The Burke and Wills expedition was organised by the Royal Society of Victoria in Australia in 1860–61. It consisted of 19 men led by Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills, with the objective of crossing Australia from Melbourne in the s ...

. The nearby

Wills River The Wills River is a river of the southern West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows west to reach the Haast River 10 kilometres north of the Haast Pass. The river was named by Julius von Haast when he searched for a crossing f ...

is named for

William John Wills William John Wills (5 January 1834 – ) was a British surveyor who also trained as a surgeon. Wills achieved fame as the second-in-command of the ill-fated Burke and Wills expedition, which was the first expedition to cross Australia from s ...

References

Land Information New Zealand
- Search for Place Names Rivers of the West Coast, New Zealand Mount Aspiring National Park Rivers of New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-river-stub

See also

References