Waiau River, Canterbury

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The Waiau River system

For two other New Zealand rivers by the same name, see Waiau River.

The more northerly of the South Island's two Waiau Rivers is in north Canterbury. The Waiau River rises in the Spenser Mountains and flows eastward to the Pacific Ocean. The Waiau River has the second largest catchment (3,310 square kilometres) of North Canterbury's rivers.^[1]

The main tributaries of the Waiau River are the Lewis River, which rises at Lewis Pass where the main highway from Canterbury to the West Coast crosses the main divide, the Doubtful River, which rises at Amuri Pass, the Hope River, which rises at Hope Pass, and the Hanmer, Mason, and Leader Rivers.

The Waiau River crosses the southern edge of the Hanmer Plain and then flows through a gorge to emerge on to the northern part of the Culverden Plains then travels eastward past the town which shares its name. It cuts through two more gorges before reaching the Pacific Ocean 130 kilometres north of Christchurch. The gorges have been investigated as possible sites for hydro-electric dams. The Waiau River was formerly called the Dillon or Waiau-ua, and was a major barrier to communication north from Canterbury until the construction of a bridge below the Hanmer River junction in 1864.

There is a Maori legend associated with this river and the Clarence. According to the story the Waiau-uha (Waiau) and the Waiau-toa (Clarence) were respectively male and female spirit lovers living in the Spenser Mountains. For some reason they were transformed into rivers, the sources of which were not far apart. When warm rains melted the snows and caused floods, it was said that the parted lovers were lamenting and that the rivers were swollen with their tears.