Manuherikia River
| Manuherekia River | |
|---|---|
 Manuherekia River flowing south near Poolburn Gorge | |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Maniototo |
| Mouth | |
• location | Clutha River |
• elevation | 132 m (433 ft) |
| Length | 85 km (53 mi) |
The Manuherekia River is located in Otago in the South Island of New Zealand. It rises in the far north of the Maniototo, with the West Branch draining the eastern side of the St Bathans Range, and the East Branch draining the western flanks of the Hawkdun Range. The river continues southwest through the wide Manuherekia Valley to its confluence with the Clutha River at Alexandra. During the 1860s the Manuherekia was one of the centres of the Otago gold rush.
The river is crossed by two historically significant bridges, the curved Manuherekia Bridge No.1 (number 70 on the Otago Central Railway line), a concrete pier bridge completed in 1903, and a stone pier bridge at Ophir built in 1880.[1]
The common spelling for the river was previously "Manuherikia", but the Kāi Tahu Māori spelling for the river, meaning "at long last", has been adopted by officials in recent years. [2][3][4]
The river has been the subject of contentious debate around water allocation, minimum flows, irrigation, and ecological values, which remains unresolved. [5][6][7][8]
See also
References
- ↑ Bridge at Ophir (from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand website. Accessed 2014-02-18.)
- ↑ Johnston, Alexia (11 December 2019). "Preference for river's Maori spelling". The News. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ↑ "Manuherekia Rohe | Water Management in the Manuherekia Catchment". www.orc.govt.nz. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "Manuherekia River". Land, Air, Water Aotearoa (LAWA). Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ Williams, Charlie Mitchell, Alden. "More or less: The long and bitter argument over how much water should be in the Manuherekia River". interactives.stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Weir, Elliot. "Sold Down the River: What's Going On With the ORC?". Critic - Te Ārohi. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "'Middle finger to localism' as freshwater plan blocked". RNZ. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
- ↑ "Proposal for Bill on river levels welcomed". Otago Daily Times Online News. 24 April 2026. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
External links