Inchbonnie is a rural locality in 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 ...
region of the
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 ...
of New Zealand. It is located on the north bank of the
Taramakau River
The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for into the Tasman Sea south of Gr ...
and is just to the south of
Lake Poerua. "Inchbonnie" is a hybrid of
Lowland Scots, ''bonnie'' meaning "pretty" and
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
''innis'' meaning island, often anglicised as "Inch", as in
Inchkeith
Inchkeith (from the gd, Innis Cheith) is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, administratively part of the Fife council area.
Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh and strategic location for u ...
or
Inchkenneth
Inch Kenneth ( gd, Innis Choinnich) is a small grassy island off the west coast of the Isle of Mull, in Scotland. It is at the entrance of Loch na Keal, to the south of Ulva. It is part of the Loch na Keal National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scot ...
in Scotland.
Location
State Highway 73 and the
Midland Line railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
both pass through Inchbonnie, though the
TranzAlpine
The TranzAlpine is a passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand in the South Island of New Zealand over the Midland Line; often regarded to be one of the world's great train journeys for the scenery through which it passes ...
passenger
train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and Passenger train, transport people or Rail freight transport, freight. Trains are typically pul ...
does not stop. Prior to the opening of the road bridge in December 1972, the only crossing of the Taramakau River at Inchbonnie was the railway bridge on the Midland Line. Anecdotal history reports that locals in the Inchbonnie area adapted vehicles to run on the railway bridge so that they could cross to the pub at Jacksons.
Inchbonnie has a mean annual rainfall of around and up to has been recorded in a 24 hour period.
Locations around Inchbonnie are of particular interest for the study of
plate tectonics
Plate tectonics (from the la, label=Late Latin, tectonicus, from the grc, τεκτονικός, lit=pertaining to building) is the generally accepted scientific theory that considers the Earth's lithosphere to comprise a number of large ...
and earthquakes in New Zealand, because the
Alpine Fault
The Alpine Fault is a geological fault that runs almost the entire length of New Zealand's South Island (c. 480 km) and forms the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate. The Southern Alps have been uplifted on the fa ...
transitions into the
Marlborough Fault System
The Marlborough Fault System is a set of four large dextral strike-slip faults and other related structures in the northern part of South Island, New Zealand, which transfer displacement between the mainly transform plate boundary of the Alpine ...
in this area.
On 17 March 2006, Inchbonnie was the location for the release of insects in an attempt to eradicate the
ragwort
''Jacobaea vulgaris'', syn. ''Senecio jacobaea'', is a very common wild flower in the family Asteraceae that is native to northern Eurasia, usually in dry, open places, and has also been widely distributed as a weed elsewhere.
Common names inc ...
weed from the West Coast.
In May 2021, the West Coast Regional Council announced that it was selling all five of its quarries, including one at Inchbonnie. The quarries had been used historically for sourcing rocks for river protection works.
In April 2022, Inchbonnie was identified by the Grey District Council as one of 18 areas in the District that have been identified as highly arable land, for the purposes of considering future restrictions on subdivision.
Stopbanks on Taramakau River
The Taramakau River crosses the Alpine Fault at Inchbonnie. At this point, it has in its history flowed in three different directions: westwards along its present course, northwards towards and into
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 ...
, and northeast through
Lake Poerua and then into Lake Brunner along the lower reaches of Crooked River. Inchbonnie is located on an alluvial fan that infills the three valleys. If the Taramakau River changed course at Inchbonnie, in addition to the damage to arable farming land, it would cause increased flows in the
Arnold and
Grey Rivers. The effective design capacity of existing flood protection works at
Greymouth
Greymouth () (Māori: ''Māwhera'') is the largest town in the West Coast region in the South Island of New Zealand, and the seat of the Grey District Council. The population of the whole Grey District is , which accounts for % of the West Coas ...
would be reduced, increasing the flood risk exposure of the town.
In the early 1900’s, the Taramakau River overflowed into the Orangipuku River on several occasions, raising the risk of “breaking-through” to Lake Brunner. Investigations of river protection works began as early as 1907. In February 1946, floodwaters from the Taramakau again flowed into the Orangipuku River causing significant problems, and in October that year a proposal was developed to construct a stopbank along the north bank of the Taramakau River. In 1953 a small project involving 60 metres of tree protection and 80 metres of rockwork and was approved. However, by 1958, erosion had progressed to the point that there was only 5 metres of land remaining between the Taramakau and Orangipuku Rivers, and emergency works were required. A report prepared in March 1959 recommended construction of of new stopbanks, strengthening and raising of existing stopbanks, plus of new rock
rip rap
Rest in peace (RIP), a phrase from the Latin (), is sometimes used in traditional Christian services and prayers, such as in the Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist denominations, to wish the soul of a decedent eternal rest and peace. ...
, and diverting the upper section of the Orangipuku River into the Taramakau River. This proposal was only partially implemented to contain costs for ratepayers, with works including of rock riprap, and strengthening and raising stopbanks where there was inadequate freeboard. In August 1959, a 3:1 subsidy was provided by the NZ Soil Conservation and River Control Council for a larger project involving placement of 17,300 tonnes of rock, 9,000 cubic metres of fill for stopbanks and 3,200 tonnes of rock for “topping-up”.
The river protection works on the Taramakau River at Inchbonnie are some of the most critical flood defences managed by the
West Coast Regional Council
The West Coast ( mi, Te Tai Poutini, lit=The Coast of Poutini, the Taniwha) is a region of New Zealand on the west coast of the South Island that is administered by the West Coast Regional Council, and is known co-officially as Te Tai Poutini. ...
, because of the widespread consequences if they failed.
Inchbonnie hydro station
A 1.7 MW
run-of-the-river hydro station was commissioned on the slopes of the Hohonu range to the north of the
Taramakau River
The Taramakau River is a river of the West Coast Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana near Harper Pass, due east of Hokitika, and runs westward for into the Tasman Sea south of Gr ...
in January 2016. The scheme draws water from the catchments of two streams in the Hohonu range,
References
External links
*
{{Grey District
Grey District
Populated places in the West Coast, New Zealand