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Awarau River

Coordinates: 42°00′S 171°54′E / 42.000°S 171.900°E / -42.000; 171.900
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Larry's Creek, New Zealand)

Awarau River
Awarau River railway bridge
Physical characteristics
SourceVictoria Range
 • coordinates44°28′26″S 168°27′28″E / 44.4739241°S 168.457911°E / -44.4739241; 168.457911
 • elevation1,639 m (5,377 ft)
MouthInangahua River
 • elevation
105 m (344 ft)
Length27 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]
  1. ^ "Larry's Creek". nzfishing.com. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
  2. ^ "Place name detail: Awarau or Larry River". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ "Tracks Of The Reefton Area PRESS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 5 June 1969. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  5. ^ a b "1:63360 map Sheet: NN61". www.mapspast.org.nz. 1901. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  6. ^ "LAKE COUNTY PRESS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 15 May 1874. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  7. ^ "Reefton Walks" (PDF). DoC. November 2021.
  8. ^ "Caledonian Mine, Reefton, Buller District, West Coast Region, New Zealand". www.mindat.org. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  9. ^ 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".
  10. ^ "Larrys Creek Track, Reefton". coastingnz. 21 February 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  11. ^ "GREY RIVER ARGUS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 January 1874. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Results of a Census of the Colony of New Zealand for the night of the 3rd March 1878".
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ "Awarau or Larry River, West Coast". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 27 October 2022.
  15. ^ "THE OPENING OF THE CRONADUN RAILWAY SECTION. INANGAHUA TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 11 May 1908. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  16. ^ "INANGAHUA COUNTY COUNCIL. INANGAHUA TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 26 July 1880. Retrieved 28 October 2022.
  17. ^ "Outdoor recreation on the West Coast: a conservation plan" (PDF). publicaccess.nz. 1977. p. 82.
  18. ^ Tracy Mezger (24 July 2015). "Reefton Final Project". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

42°00′S 171°54′E / 42.000°S 171.900°E / -42.000; 171.900