Awarau River Explained

Awarau River
Length:27km (17miles)
Source1:Victoria Range
Source1 Coordinates:-44.4739°N 168.4579°W
Source1 Elevation:1639m (5,377feet)
Mouth:Inangahua River
Mouth Elevation:105m (344feet)

The Awarau River, usually known as Larry's Creek is located within the South Island of New Zealand.[1] The river is about 27km (17miles) long and runs northwest from its headwaters in the Victoria Range to its confluence with the Inangahua River north of Reefton.[2] It also drains part of the Brunner Range and there was a track along that range linking to Lyell[3] by 1901,[4] though none existed in 1874.[5] A track also ran south over Kirwan Hill to the Montgomerie River.

A 6NaN forestry road runs north of the river from SH69 to Larrys Creek Track, which runs a further 2.4NaN to the site of the Caledonian Gold Mine.[6] The mine operated from 1874 to 1910, with shafts up to 285NaN deep.[7] It is the most northerly in the Reefton goldfield, in albite-epidote hornfels facies, which are less than 370 million years old.[8] Remnants of a stamping battery and a Robey portable steam engine are at the mine site.[9] Colinton was formed in 1874[10] as the township for the mine (and the river was sometimes called Colin River). By 1878 it had a population of 44,[11] but was gone by 1901. Just upstream is a deep, rocky gorge.[12]

The only bridges over the river are the Stillwater–Ngākawau railway and SH69.[13] Railway bridge 74 was a 325feet road-rail bridge of 7 spans, built in 1905 for £2,915.[14] A bridge was planned at Colinton in 1880, but never built.[15]

Nothofagus fusca (red beech, or tawhai raunui) forests grow to about the 350NaN contour, with Nothofagus menziesii (silver beech, tawhai, or tahina) up to the tree line at about 1300NaN.[16] 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.[17]

References

-42°N 225°W

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Larry’s Creek. 2021-05-19. nzfishing.com. en-US.
  2. Egarr. C.D.. Egarr. J. H.. 1981. New Zealand recreational river survey : an investigation into the recreational potential of New Zealand's inland waterways. Water & Soil Miscellaneous Publication. 15. 92. NIWA.
  3. Web site: 5 Jun 1969 . Tracks Of The Reefton Area PRESS . 2022-10-28 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  4. Web site: 1901 . 1:63360 map Sheet: NN61 . 2022-10-28 . www.mapspast.org.nz.
  5. Web site: 15 May 1874 . LAKE COUNTY PRESS . 2022-10-28 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  6. Web site: November 2021 . Reefton Walks . DoC.
  7. Web site: Caledonian Mine, Reefton, Buller District, West Coast Region, New Zealand . 2022-10-28 . www.mindat.org.
  8. Web site: 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 .
  9. Web site: 2016-02-21 . Larrys Creek Track, Reefton . 2022-10-28 . coastingnz . en.
  10. Web site: 24 Jan 1874 . GREY RIVER ARGUS . 2022-10-28 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  11. Web site: Results of a Census of the Colony of New Zealand for the night of the 3rd March 1878 .
  12. Book: Henderson, J. (John) . The geology and mineral resources of the Reefton subdivision : Westport and North Westland divisions . New Zealand. Geological Survey Branch . 1917 . Wellington, [N.Z.] : by authority Marcus F. Marks, Govt. Printer . University of Connecticut Libraries.
  13. Web site: Awarau or Larry River, West Coast . 2022-10-27 . NZ Topo Map . en.
  14. Web site: 11 May 1908 . THE OPENING OF THE CRONADUN RAILWAY SECTION. INANGAHUA TIMES . 2022-10-26 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  15. Web site: 26 Jul 1880 . INANGAHUA COUNTY COUNCIL. INANGAHUA TIMES . 2022-10-28 . paperspast.natlib.govt.nz.
  16. Web site: 1977 . Outdoor recreation on the West Coast: a conservation plan . publicaccess.nz . 82.
  17. Tracy Mezger . 2015-07-24 . Reefton Final Project .

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