Te Hoiere / Pelorus River is a river at the northern end of

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 in the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

. It flows from the Richmond Range into

Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere is the largest of the Sound (geography), sounds which make up the Marlborough Sounds at the north of the South Island, New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds is a system of drowned river valleys, which were formed after th ...

. This area is fantastic for camping and is renowned for its magnificent river swimming where the Pelorus River runs through a gorge at Pelorus Bridge. At Pelorus Bridge Scenic Reserve, the river was used as a film locations for the barrel rider scene in '' The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug'', which increased the area's popularity for river rafting. In August 2014, the river's name was officially altered to Te Hoiere / Pelorus River.

History

The Pelorus River was originally known as Te Hoeire by local

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 ...

after the first canoe to travel to the South Island. The river flows east until it enters Pelorus Sound at Havelock. The valley was the site of a massacre of

Ngāti Kuia Ngāti Kuia is a Māori iwi of the Northern South Island in New Zealand. They first settled in the Pelorus Sound / Te Hoiere, and later spread to the Marlborough Sounds, Nelson and Tasman districts to Taitapu on the West Coast, and as far south ...

and

Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō is a Māori iwi (tribe) in the upper South Island of New Zealand. Its rohe (tribal lands) include the areas around Golden Bay, Tākaka, Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, Motueka, Nelson and Saint Arnaud, including Taita ...

Te Rauparaha Te Rauparaha (c.1768 – 27 November 1849) was a Māori rangatira (chief) and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars, receiving the nickname "the Napoleon of the South". He was influential in the original ...

. European exploration and exploitation was begun by Lieutenant Chetwode of in 1838, who named both the river and the sound after his vessel. Brownlee Tramway transported timber from the Carluke Sawmill through the river valley to the shipping port and mill of Blackball, Havelock, from c.1881 through to 1915.

References

Rivers of the Marlborough Region Rivers of New Zealand {{Marlborough-river-stub