Awarau River
| Awarau River | |
|---|---|
 Awarau River railway bridge | |
 | |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | Victoria Range |
| • coordinates | 44°28′26″S 168°27′28″E / 44.4739241°S 168.457911°E |
| • elevation | 1,639 m (5,377 ft) |
| Mouth | Inangahua River |
• elevation | 105 m (344 ft) |
| Length | 27 km (17 mi) |
The Awarau River, usually known as Larry's Creek is located within the South Island of New Zealand.[1] The river is about 27 kilometres (17 mi) long[2] and runs northwest from its headwaters in the Victoria Range to its confluence with the Inangahua River north of Reefton.[3] It also drains part of the Brunner Range and there was a track along that range linking to Lyell[4] by 1901,[5] though none existed in 1874.[6] A track also ran south over Kirwan Hill to the Montgomerie River.[5]
A 6 km (3.7 mi) forestry road runs north of the river from SH69 to Larrys Creek Track, which runs a further 2.4 km (1.5 mi) to the site of the Caledonian Gold Mine.[7] The mine operated from 1874 to 1910, with shafts up to 285 ft (87 m) deep.[8] It is the most northerly in the Reefton goldfield, in albite-epidote hornfels facies, which are less than 370 million years old.[9] Remnants of a stamping battery and a Robey portable steam engine are at the mine site.[10] Colinton was formed in 1874[11] as the township for the mine (and the river was sometimes called Colin River). By 1878 it had a population of 44,[12] but was gone by 1901. Just upstream is a deep, rocky gorge.[13]
The only bridges over the river are the Stillwater–Ngākawau railway and SH69.[14] Railway bridge 74 was a 325 ft (99 m) road-rail bridge of 7 spans, built in 1905 for £2,915.[15] A bridge was planned at Colinton in 1880, but never built.[16]
Nothofagus fusca (red beech, or tawhai raunui) forests grow to about the 350 m (1,150 ft) contour, with Nothofagus menziesii (silver beech, tawhai, or tahina) up to the tree line at about 1,300 m (4,300 ft).[17] Tūī, Anthornis melanura (korimako, makomako, kōmako, or bellbird), Petroica macrocephala (ngirungiru, or tomtit) and Petroica australis (Kakaruwai, or South Island robin) live in the bush.[18]
References
[edit]- ^ "Larry's Creek". nzfishing.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
- ^ "Place name detail: Awarau or Larry River". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ Egarr, C.D.; Egarr, J. H. (1981). "New Zealand recreational river survey : an investigation into the recreational potential of New Zealand's inland waterways" (PDF). Water & Soil Miscellaneous Publication. 15: 92 – via NIWA.
- ^ "Tracks Of The Reefton Area PRESS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 5 June 1969. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ a b "1:63360 map Sheet: NN61". www.mapspast.org.nz. 1901. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "LAKE COUNTY PRESS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 15 May 1874. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Reefton Walks" (PDF). DoC. November 2021.
- ^ "Caledonian Mine, Reefton, Buller District, West Coast Region, New Zealand". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ Bryce A. Robinson & James M. Scott (November 2018). "Late Devonian contact metamorphism and a possible upper age to gold mineralisation in the northernmost portion of the Reefton Goldfield".
- ^ "Larrys Creek Track, Reefton". coastingnz. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "GREY RIVER ARGUS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 January 1874. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Results of a Census of the Colony of New Zealand for the night of the 3rd March 1878".
- ^ Henderson, J. (John); New Zealand. Geological Survey Branch (1917). The geology and mineral resources of the Reefton subdivision : Westport and North Westland divisions. University of Connecticut Libraries. Wellington, [N.Z.] : by authority Marcus F. Marks, Govt. Printer.
- ^ "Awarau or Larry River, West Coast". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "THE OPENING OF THE CRONADUN RAILWAY SECTION. INANGAHUA TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 11 May 1908. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
- ^ "INANGAHUA COUNTY COUNCIL. INANGAHUA TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 26 July 1880. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
- ^ "Outdoor recreation on the West Coast: a conservation plan" (PDF). publicaccess.nz. 1977. p. 82.
- ^ Tracy Mezger (24 July 2015). "Reefton Final Project".
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42°00′S 171°54′E / 42.000°S 171.900°E