The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in 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 Tasma ...
. It flows for from the
Spenser Mountains
The Spenser Mountains is a topographic landform in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern end of the Nelson Lakes National Park and north of the Lewis Pass they form a natural border between the Canterbury and Tasman r ...
(a northern 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 "Souther ...
), firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley in inland
Marlborough.
The river's lower reaches and surrounding fertile plain provide the basis for the
Marlborough wine region. The river has its outflow into
Cook Strait
Cook Strait ( mi, Te Moana-o-Raukawa) separates the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The strait connects the Tasman Sea on the northwest with the South Pacific Ocean on the southeast. It is wide at its narrowest point,McLintock, A ...
at
Cloudy Bay
Te Koko-o-Kupe / Cloudy Bay is located at the northeast of New Zealand's South Island, to the south of the Marlborough Sounds and north of Clifford Bay. In August 2014, the name Cloudy Bay, given by Captain Cook in 1770, was officially altered ...
, just north of
Blenheim in the island's northeast. The Wairau River meets the sea at the
Wairau Bar, an important
archaeological
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscape ...
site.
In pre-European and early colonial New Zealand, one of the South Island's largest
Māori settlements was close to the mouth of the Wairau. The
Wairau Valley
Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley opens onto the Wairau Plain, where Renwick and Blen ...
was the scene of the 1843
Wairau Affray
The Wairau Affray of 17 June 1843, also called the Wairau Massacre in older histories, was the first serious clash of arms between British settlers and Māori in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take ...
, the first violent clash between Maori residents and English settlers over land in New Zealand.
Hydroelectricity
There are currently two hydroelectric power stations operating on tributaries of the river.
The
Wairau Hydro Scheme proposed by
TrustPower will operate on a long canal. Up to 60 percent of the flow of the river will be diverted into the canal. A
resource consent
A resource consent is the authorisation given to certain activities or uses of natural and physical resources required under the New Zealand Resource Management Act (the "RMA"). Some activities may either be specifically authorised by the RMA or b ...
has been granted for the scheme but opponents have already appealed to the
Environment Court
The Environment Court of New Zealand ( mi, Te Kōti Taiao o Aotearoa) is a specialist court for plans, resource consents and environmental issues. It mainly deals with issues arising under the Resource Management Act, meaning that it covers a w ...
.
References
External links
TrustPower- Wairau Valley hydroelectric power scheme (archived fro
originalMarlborough OnlineTe Ara Entry
Rivers of the Marlborough Region
Rivers of New Zealand
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