The Taieri River is the fourth-longest river in New Zealand and is in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

in 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 ...

. Rising in the Lammerlaw Range, it initially flows north, then east around the Rock and Pillar range before turning southeast, reaching the sea south of Dunedin. The upper reaches meander in a series of convoluted loops across a floodplain above

Paerau Paerau is a small settlement in inland Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is located in the Strath Taieri, the upper valley of the Taieri River, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range. "Paerau" is a Māori-language name meaning "one ...

, close to the aptly named locality of

Serpentine Serpentine may refer to: Shapes * Serpentine shape, a shape resembling a serpent * Serpentine curve, a mathematical curve * Serpentine, a type of riding figure Science and nature * Serpentine subgroup, a group of minerals * Serpentinite, a ...

; the river has created many small

oxbow lake An oxbow lake is a U-shaped lake or pool that forms when a wide meander of a river is cut off, creating a free-standing body of water. In South Texas, oxbows left by the Rio Grande are called '' resacas''. In Australia, oxbow lakes are call ...

s in this area, some of which have been converted into water meadows. From here the river runs through two small

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power stations before reaching

Patearoa Patearoa is a small settlement in inland Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is located 20 kilometres southwest of Ranfurly, in the Maniototo The Maniototo Plain, usually simply known as The Maniototo, is an elevated inland region in Ota ...

in the Maniototo. The Taieri then arcs through almost 180 degrees, entering a broad glacial valley (the

Strath-Taieri Strath Taieri is a large glacial valley and river plateau in New Zealand's South Island. It is surrounded by the rugged hill ranges to the north and west of Otago Harbour. Since 1989 it has been part of the city of Dunedin. The small town of Middle ...

) surrounded by rugged hill ranges. Immediately downstream the river has cut a steep-sided declivity, the Taieri Gorge. This is known for the Taieri Gorge Railway, which follows a route into

Central Otago Central Otago is located in the inland part of the Otago region in the South Island of New Zealand. The motto for the area is "A World of Difference". The area is dominated by mountain ranges and the upper reaches of the Clutha River and tributa ...

through it. In the Taieri's lower reaches there is a broad floodplain (the Taieri Plains) containing much of Otago's most fertile farmland. The river then flows through the lower Taieri Gorge to the Pacific Ocean at Taieri Mouth.

Taieri Island Moturata, also called Taieri Island, is an island in the mouth of the Taieri River in southern New Zealand. It is connected to the mainland by a sandy causeway at low tide. The island is a nature reserve, and is home to many protected seabirds, ...

lies in the Pacific Ocean several hundred metres from the mouth of the river. The Taieri is long, of which the last are navigable. Towns along the river include Middlemarch, Outram, Allanton, Mosgiel,

Henley Henley may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Henley, Dorset, a location * Henley, Gloucestershire, a location * Henley-on-Thames, a town in South Oxfordshire, England ** Henley (UK Parliament constituency) ** Henley Rural District, a former ru ...

, and Taieri Mouth. Its major tributary is the Waipori River, which meets the Taieri near Henley on the Taieri Plains. Google Maps erroneously shows the stretch of the river from the confluence to the mouth as Waipori River. The correct name is shown on the New Zealand government's official NZ Topo Map. There are several possible conjectured derivations for the name Taieri. It may derive from Tai-ari, “to smash or pound up, to pulp”., though some sources suggest that not may come from the Māori word ''taiari'' meaning "spring tide" or "shining water". A further possibility is that it refers to the ''makotaieri'', an edible shark once regarded as a delicacy along the Otago coast.Goodall, Maarire, and Griffiths, George J., (1980). ''Maori Dunedin.'' Dunedin: Otago Heritage Books. . p. 49. It may be, however, that the shark took its name from the river rather than vice versa.

References

External links

Taieri River
at Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand {{Coord, 46, 03, S, 170, 11, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of Otago Rivers of New Zealand