Pūkio Stream, formerly Nigger Stream until 2016, is a river in

North Canterbury Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current fo ...

, South Island, New Zealand. It flows from The Candlesticks range of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

to the Esk River. The underfit stream cuts through terraces of

glacial outwash An outwash plain, also called a sandur (plural: ''sandurs''), sandr or sandar, is a plain formed of glaciofluvial deposits due to meltwater outwash at the terminus of a glacier. As it flows, the glacier grinds the underlying rock surface and ca ...

gravels in its course, culminating in a incised gorge near to its confluence with the Esk.

Geomorphology

The over-wide valley through which Pūkio Stream flows, is due to the presence of an underlying fault depression which once acted as the former course of the Cox River. This route was later blocked by

terminal moraine A terminal moraine, also called end moraine, is a type of moraine that forms at the terminal (edge) of a glacier, marking its maximum advance. At this point, debris that has accumulated by plucking and abrasion, has been pushed by the front edge ...

s, from the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was finally confirmed in ...

age Cox glacier with the Cox river finding an alternative outlet to the Poulter River. The principal Lochinvar moraine is also known as the Misery Mounds. The gorge in the lower reaches has been eroded through

superficial deposits Superficial deposits (or surficial deposits) refer to geological deposits typically of Quaternary age (less than 2.6 million years old). These geologically recent unconsolidated sediments may include stream channel and floodplain deposits, beach ...

of glacial origin, and into the underlying

greywacke Greywacke or graywacke (German ''grauwacke'', signifying a grey, earthy rock) is a variety of sandstone generally characterized by its hardness, dark color, and poorly sorted angular grains of quartz, feldspar, and small rock fragments or lit ...

bedrock.

Name

It is not known why the name of Nigger Stream came about but it is known to have been since at least the 1880s. The stream was mentioned in the news but the New Zealand government stated they had not received any complaints about the name. In 2015, Nigger Stream was complained about by a member of the public to the

New Zealand Geographic Board The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) was established by the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946, which has since been replaced by the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008. Althoug ...

(NZGB) for being offensive. The NZGB proposed renaming the river "Steelhead Stream" after the

steelhead trout Steelhead, or occasionally steelhead trout, is the common name of the anadromous form of the coastal rainbow trout or redband trout (O. m. gairdneri). Steelhead are native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific basin in Northeast Asia and ...

. The proposal received 37 objections with the majority of them citing that steelhead trout were not found in the freshwater river as they were salt water trout. As a result, one of the reasons for NZGB's proposals was not considered valid. This objection was upheld and the alternative

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name of "Pūkio Stream", after the Māori name for '' carex secta'' (a tussock grass that grows in the area), was proposed instead. Following a second consultation on the new name which was supported by the

Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand ( mi, Rōpū Kākāriki o Aotearoa, Niu Tireni), commonly known as the Greens, is a green and left-wing political party in New Zealand. Like many green parties around the world, it has four organisational ...

, this proposal was passed unanimously by the NZGB however similar proposals in relation to nearby Niggerhead and Nigger Hill were referred to the

Land Information New Zealand Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with geographical information and surveying functions as well as handling land titles, and managing Crown land and property. The minist ...

Minister,

Louise Upston Louise Claire Upston (née McGill, born 14 March 1971) is a New Zealand politician of the National Party. She has represented the Taupō electorate in the House of Representatives since the . In the Fifth National Government, led by Prime Mini ...

. Upston agreed to the additional changes along with the "Pūkio Stream" rename and said that the move was not an attempt to rewrite history stating: "This isn’t about rewriting history – it is and will remain a matter of public record that these three places used to carry different names."

References

{{Reflist Rivers of Canterbury, New Zealand Southern Alps Canterbury, New Zealand Rivers of New Zealand

Geomorphology

Name

See also

References