Waikirikiri
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Selwyn River (, officially
gazetted A gazette is an official journal, a newspaper of record, or simply a newspaper. In English and French speaking countries, newspaper publishers have applied the name ''Gazette'' since the 17th century; today, numerous weekly and daily newspapers ...
as Selwyn River / Waikirikiri) flows through the
Selwyn District Selwyn District is a predominantly rural district in central Canterbury, on the east coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after the Selwyn River / Waikirikiri, which is in turn named after Bishop George Selwyn, the first Anglican b ...
of
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
in the
South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
of New Zealand.


Description

The river has its source in the
Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) are a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand, New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The n ...
and flows east for before emptying into
Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora Lake Ellesmere / Te Waihora is a shallow coastal lake or waituna, in the Canterbury, New Zealand, Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is directly to the west of Banks Peninsula, separated from the Pacific Ocean by the long, ...
, south of
Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula () is a rocky peninsula on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand that was formed by two now-extinct volcanoes. It has an area of approximately . It includes two large deep-water harbours — Lyttelton Harbour a ...
. Terrace cliffs above the river's upper reaches gave the town of Whitecliffs its name. For much of its course the river flows through wide shingle channels. In drought years, the river can disappear beneath this bed and seem to dry up completely. This frequently occurs where
State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...
crosses the river at the settlement of Selwyn, about upstream from its outflow into Lake Ellesmere. In the foothills, the Selwyn flows year-round. On the plains, the riverbed is highly permeable, and the river overlays a deep and porous
aquifer An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing material, consisting of permeability (Earth sciences), permeable or fractured rock, or of unconsolidated materials (gravel, sand, or silt). Aquifers vary greatly in their characteristics. The s ...
. As soon as the river reaches the plains, water begins leaking down through the bed and into the aquifer. In most months, all river-water disappears within of leaving the foothills. The next of the river remains dry for most of the year, apart from a small section around the confluence with the permanently flowing Hororata River. About upstream from Lake Ellesmere shallow groundwater rises back to the surface, and the Selwyn becomes permanent again.


Bridges

There are six bridges that cross the Selwyn River. These are at: Whitecliffs (Whitecliffs Road), Glentunnel (
SH 77 Route 77, or Highway 77, may refer to: International * AH77, Asian Highway 77 * European route E77 Afghanistan *Kabul-Herat Highway (A77) Australia * Bowen Developmental Road – Queensland State Route 77 Canada * British Columbia Highway 77 ...
), Coalgate (Hororata Road), Hororata (Bealey Road), Selwyn ( SH 1) and Irwell (Leeston Road). It is also possible to cross at Coes Ford when the river is not in flood. Chamberlains Ford is no longer a ford. The nearby Irwell bridge provides access to the other side of the river.


Ecology

Disappearing river flows have significant ecological effects: when the river’s surface water disappears, so does the habitat for many aquatic plants and animals. In response to loss of surface water, aquatic invertebrates and fish must disperse, seek refuge in remnant aquatic habitats, or die. Aquatic plants, algae, and bacteria must form resting stages or die. The dry central reaches of the Selwyn River also constitute a significant barrier for dispersal of invertebrates and for fish migrating between Lake Ellesmere and the headwaters.


Fishing

The Selwyn river was viewed historically as one of New Zealand’s best trout fisheries. In the 1960s a trout trap at Coes Ford was reported to count up to 14,000 returning spawning trout. In 2017, the numbers have declined to the stage that only dozens of trout could be counted when returning to spawn. The fish in the river have been described as low in number and the majority of the fish are quite small.


Pollution

The Canterbury Regional Council (ECan) has permitted intensive dairy farming around Selwyn and it has been suggested that this has led to a deterioration in the water quality of the Selwyn river. In May 2021, it was reported that Nitrate levels in the Selwyn River has increased by 50%. It is no longer recommended that people go swimming in the Selwyn River. Coes Ford was once a well known swimming spot in Canterbury. The water at Coes Ford was reported to be in the worst 25% in New Zealand for total nitrate levels in 2020. The pollution at Coes Ford is thought to come from Silverstream creek, which used surrounded by many of the dairy farms in the area. Chamberlain's Ford which crosses the Selwyn RIver had an algal bloom health warning issued in December 2020. There were benthic cyanobacteria found in the river. Algal Blooms of benthic cyanobacteria have also been reported at in the Selwyn river at Whitecliffs Domain and Whitecliffs Road in March 2021. Greenpeace placed billboards in the Selwyn River to protest the degree of pollution in it in February 2020.


Naming

The Selwyn River and its gorge were named in 1849 by the chief surveyor of the
Canterbury Association The Canterbury Association was formed in 1848 in England by Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), members of parliament, Peerage of the United Kingdom, peers, and Anglicanism, Anglican church leaders, to establish a colony in New Zealand. The se ...
, Joseph Thomas, for
Bishop Selwyn George Augustus Selwyn (5 April 1809 – 11 April 1878) was the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand. He was Bishop of New Zealand (which included Melanesia) from 1841 to 1869. His diocese was then subdivided and Selwyn was metropolitan bishop ...
. The name was later adopted for the
township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...
, the
district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...
, and an
electorate Electorate may refer to: * The people who are eligible to vote in an election, especially their number e.g. the term ''size of (the) electorate'' * The dominion of a prince-elector in the Holy Roman Empire until 1806 * An electoral district ...
. The New Zealand
Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...
gives a translation of "gravelly stream" for .


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Selwyn River Waikirikiri Rivers of the Canterbury Region Rivers of New Zealand Braided rivers in New Zealand