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Buller River

{{Short description|River in New Zealand}}

{{for|the river in Australia|Buller River (Western Australia)}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}

{{Use New Zealand English|date=October 2014}}

{{Infobox river

| name = Buller

| native_name ={{native name|mi|Kawatiri}}

| name_other =

| name_etymology = named for Charles Buller

| image = Buller River near Berlins.jpg

| image_size = 270px

| image_caption = Buller River near Berlins

| map = NZ-Buller R.png

| map_size = 270px

| map_caption = The Buller River system

| pushpin_map =

| pushpin_map_size =

| pushpin_map_caption=

| subdivision_type1 = Country

| subdivision_name1 = New Zealand

| subdivision_type2 =

| subdivision_name2 =

| subdivision_type3 = Region

| subdivision_name3 = Tasman, West Coast

| subdivision_type4 =

| subdivision_name4 =

| subdivision_type5 = Cities

| subdivision_name5 = Saint Arnaud, Murchison, Westport

| length = {{convert|177|km|mi|abbr=on}}

| width_min =

| width_avg =

| width_max =

| depth_min =

| depth_avg =

| depth_max =

| discharge1_location=

| discharge1_min =

| discharge1_avg = {{convert|429|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}}

| discharge1_max =

| source1 = Southern Alps (Saint Arnaud Range)

| source1_location = Lake Rotoiti, New Zealand

| source1_coordinates= {{coord|41|48|10|S|172|49|20|E|display=inline}}

| source1_elevation ={{convert|620|m|abbr=on}}

| mouth = Tasman Sea

| mouth_location = Karamea Bight, New Zealand

| mouth_coordinates = {{coord|41|43|45|S|171|35|20|E|display=inline,title}}

| mouth_elevation = {{convert|0|m|abbr=on}}

| progression =

| river_system =

| basin_size ={{convert|6350|km2|abbr=on}}

| tributaries_left = Travers, Hinemoatū, Gowan, Mangles, Matakitaki, Maruia, Deepdale, Inangahua, Blackwater, Ohikanui

| tributaries_right = Hope, Owen, Matiri, Newton, Ōhikaiti, Ōrikaka

| custom_label =

| custom_data =

| extra =

}}

The Buller River ({{langx|mi|Kawatiri}}) is a river in the South Island of New Zealand.Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966) The Buller has the highest flow of any river in the country during floods,{{Cite web |date=29 July 2021 |title=The largest flood flow ever measured |url=https://niwa.co.nz/news/the-largest-flood-flow-ever-measured |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=NIWA |language=en}} though it is only the 13th longest river; it runs for {{convert|177|km||abbr=on}} from Lake Rotoiti through the Buller Gorge and into the Tasman Sea near the town of Westport.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=24 September 2007 |title=New Zealand's longest rivers |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/table/14687/new-zealands-longest-rivers |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=teara.govt.nz |language=en}} A saddle at {{convert|710|m||abbr=on}} separates the Buller from the Motupiko River and that is divided from the Wairau River by a {{convert|695|m||abbr=on}} saddle, both aligned along the Alpine Fault, as is the top of the Buller valley.{{Cite web |last= |title=Geology of the Kaikoura Area – GNS Science |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/40407803/geology-of-the-kaikoura-area-gns-science |access-date=27 December 2022 |website=yumpu.com |language=en}}

Within the Buller Gorge and downstream from the Deepdale River joining, the Buller crosses from Tasman District into Buller District. The Paparoa Range separates the Buller River from the Grey River. A number of flora and fauna are found in the Buller catchment, many of these extending onto the slopes of the Paparoa Range.

The Buller River upstream from Murchison along with the Mangles River are popular for whitewater kayaking and recreational fishing,Marion Hobbs. 2001 though the whole river can be kayaked; it is the only major river in the country with no hydro lakes,{{Cite web |last=G. D. and J. H. Egarr |date=1981 |title=Recreational River Survey |url=https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/w&smp15.pdf |website=NIWA |issn=0110-4705}} though a seismic survey for hydro power was done in 1973.{{Cite web |title=Buller-Clarence River power development seismic survey, Te Kuha |url=https://shop.gns.cri.nz/rgd_73-pdf/ |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=GNS Online Shop |language=en}} For experienced canoeists the Ariki Falls section, between Murchison and Newton Flat, is also popular and novices can use it by carrying kayaks around the rapids, except when the river is very low and the rapids become unnavigable. The river is suitable for contact recreation approximately 95% of the time, though Tasman Council recognises it needs to be better because of the popularity of whitewater kayaking below Gowan Bridge.{{Cite web |last=James, T and McCallum, J |date=2015 |title=State of the Environment Report: River Water Quality in Tasman District |url=https://www.tasman.govt.nz/document/serve/River%20Water%20Quality%20Report%20Part%202%20-%20Buller%20Water%20Management%20Area.pdf?DocID=15750 |website=Tasman District Council}}

{{NZlSH|6}} follows the river for {{Convert|132|km|abbr=on}},{{Cite web |title=State Hwy 6 to Westport |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/-41.695153,172.6157285/Westport/@-41.704707,172.5778893,14z/data=!4m9!4m8!1m0!1m5!1m1!1s0x6d256cc843092bf5:0x500ef868479c3d0!2m2!1d171.6059512!2d-41.7545797!3e0 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=Google maps |language=en}} SH63, upstream from SH6, for {{Convert|23|km|abbr=on}}{{Cite web |title=State Hwy 63 |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/63/-41.694838,172.6168564/@-41.711435,172.6076726,14z/data=!4m7!4m6!1m3!2m2!1d172.8283256!2d-41.7928966!1m0!3e0 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=Google Maps |language=en}} and the Stillwater–Ngākawau railway line runs through the Lower Gorge to Westport. {{NZlSH|6}} follows the river for much of its length.{{Cite web |title=KiwiRail Network Map |url=https://kiwirail.maps.arcgis.com/apps/View/index.html?appid=556c4a9c73914fe1983529ddf9ae5099 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=kiwirail.maps.arcgis.com}}

This river has an annual mean flow of {{convert|454|m3/s|cuft/s}}, is estimated to have reached {{convert|12700|m3/s|cuft/s|abbr=on}} in the 1926 flood{{Cite web |date=19 August 2011 |title=Flood modelling of the Buller River, Westport |url=https://niwa.co.nz/climate/urban-impacts-toolbox/case-studies/flood-modelling-of-the-buller-river-westport |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=NIWA |language=en}} and has the highest flood flow in the country of over {{convert|7640|m3/s|cuft/s}}. 93% of the water comes from the western mountains, which make up only 38% of the catchment, and it is highest in summer, partly due to melting snow.{{Cite web |last=Poole, A.L. |date=1983 |title=Catchment control in New Zealand |url=https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/w&smp48.pdf |website=NIWA}}

History

= Early history =

Excavations at the mouth of the river, across from Westport, uncovered 77 stone adzes, 2,693 stone flakes (argillite, chert, obsidian and silcrete from manufacture of stone tools), minnow lures, moa bone, sites of huts, ovens, middens and urupā, with one shell carbon dated to between 1219 and 1316. Early trading is indicated by argillite from Ohana, at the south end of D'Urville Island, chert from upper North island and obsidian from Mayor Island / Tūhua. In 2004 the site was described as one of the largest and best preserved large Archaic sites in the country. More investigation may reveal whether it was occupied for more than a few years.{{Cite web |date=January 2004 |title=Excavations at the Buller River Site (K29/8) |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233927524 |website=researchgate.net}}{{Cite web |last=Bowron-Muth, S. P. |date=22 May 2010 |title=Buller and Heaphy : a social interpretation of two archaic West Coast settlements (Thesis, Master of Arts). University of Otago |url=https://ourarchive.otago.ac.nz/handle/10523/8978 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=ourarchive.otago.ac.nz}}

Subsequent pre-colonial history is obscure. The Waitangi Tribunal concluded that, "very little is known about the history of Ngāti Apa's occupation of the region . . . invasion by northern tribes in the early nineteenth century made it difficult to pass on any substantial record of the traditional history of this area" and it was "probably an area of migratory resource use rather than permanent occupation".{{Cite web |date=2008 |title=Report on Northern South Island Claims |url=https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/WT/wt_DOC_68199155/Te%20Tau%20Ihu%20Vol%201.pdf}} One migratory resource was Ngāi Tahu's pounamu trade, which had a greenstone trail through the valley,{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Pounamu trails |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/map/23612/pounamu-trails |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=teara.govt.nz |language=en}} probably in summer, when the river would usually be lower.{{Cite web |last=Roberta McIntyre |date=2007 |title=Historic heritage of high-country pastoralism: South Island up to 1948 |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/science-and-technical/sap240.pdf |website=Department of Conservation}} By virtue of a taua of 1829–1832, Ngāti Toa Rangatira was recognised in 2012 as having an interest in the upper part of the river.{{Cite web |date=7 December 2012 |title=Ngāti Toa Rangatira Deed of Settlement |url=https://www.govt.nz/assets/Documents/OTS/Ngati-Toa-Rangatira/Ngati-Toa-Rangatira-Deed-of-Settlement-Schedule-Documents-7-Dec-2012.pdf}}

= European settlement =

Europeans first discovered Lake Rotoiti in 1842.{{Cite web |date=24 April 1937 |title=Early Exploration. Nelson Evening Mail |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19370424.2.162.23 |access-date=6 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The first written record of the river mouth was in 1845, when a sealing captain, Joseph Thoms, was reported as finding, "a large river, a mile wide. It has a bar at the entrance, on which he took soundings, and found sixteen feet at high water. The river appeared to be navigable for a considerable distance. Mr. Thoms anchored his vessel in five fathoms, and pulled up four or five miles in his boat. He describes the valley through which the river runs to be twenty miles wide, finely wooded, with some open land."{{Cite web |date=11 January 1845 |title=LOCAL INTELLIGENCE. NELSON EXAMINER AND NEW ZEALAND CHRONICLE |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18450111.2.9 |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

In 1846 Brunner was the first European to follow the full length of the Buller, together with his guide, E Kehu, of Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri, who already knew the area well (Ekehu had been taken prisoner by Ngāi Tahu while living near the Grey River).{{Cite web |date=7 October 1848 |title=Mr. Brunner's Late Exploring Expedition. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18481007.2.10 |access-date=19 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} That expedition lasted almost 560 days.{{Cite web |date=21 October 1848 |title=Mr. Brunner's Late Exploring Expedition. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18481021.2.8 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The journey was so difficult that they left Lake Rotoiti on 31 December 1846, but only reached the mouth of the river on 4 June 1847.{{Cite web |date=30 September 1848 |title=Mr. Brunner's Late Exploring Expedition. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18480930.2.9 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} They returned up the Buller, leaving Inangahua on 23 March 1848 and reached Lake Rotoiti again on 12 June 1848.

Surveyor John Rochfort discovered gold and coal in the Buller valley in 1859.{{Cite web |date=24 December 1859 |title=A Brief Account of an Expedition to the West Coast. By John Rochfort. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18591224.2.10 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} Despite this indication of the land's value, the 1860 Arahura Deed sold most of the West Coast to the government for £300 (about 1d per 100 acres), covering a total of {{Convert|7000000|acre|abbr=on}}, which included virtually all of the Buller valley south from the Gowan River.{{Cite web |date=1991 |title=Ngai Tahu Report |url=https://forms.justice.govt.nz/search/Documents/WT/wt_DOC_68476209/Ngai%20Tahu%20Report%201991%20V1W.pdf |website=Waitangi Tribunal}}

A West Coast gold rush, coal mines and timber sawmills resulted in a rapid population increase in the 1860s. By 1867 there were 6,087 miners in Nelson Province and 10,466 people (and 1,612 tents, indicating the temporary nature of their stay) in Westland North, which also included the Grey valley. About 1,500 were in Westport in 1867, which was then the 3rd largest port for exporting gold, after Hokitika and Dunedin.{{Cite web |title=Statistics of New Zealand for 1867 |url=https://www3.stats.govt.nz/historic_publications/1867-statistics-nz/1867-statistics-nz.html |website=StatsNZ}}

== Name ==

William Fox was the New Zealand Company agent (a UK-based company of 1837, with a royal charter supporting colonisation efforts) in Nelson, when he, Thomas Brunner and Charles Heaphy, explored the Buller as far south as Murchison in February 1846.{{Cite web |date=10 July 1923 |title=THE BULLER RIVER. EVENING POST |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19230710.2.25 |access-date=18 December 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} In a report to Colonel Wakefield, Fox said, "As it will present a considerable feature on the maps of this island, I have called it the Buller, after the member for Liskeard", who was Charles Buller, a UK Member of Parliament and director of the New Zealand Company.{{Cite web |date=15 November 1911 |title=Pioneers Of The Past. Otago Witness |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/OW19111115.2.272 |access-date=16 December 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

The original Māori name for the Buller may have been Kawatiri, although Patrick O'Regan thought that was a misunderstanding of Ka Awatiri. He translated Awatiri as a rapid river. The first 1846 expedition named the Buller valley around Murchison as the Aglionby valley, after the English MP, Henry Aglionby Aglionby. In 1911 O'Regan suggested it had dropped out of use because it was hard to pronounce.

== River modifications ==

Organs Island was created, about {{Convert|6|km|abbr=on}} upstream from Westport,{{Cite web |title=Organs Island, West Coast |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz35047/Organs-Island/ |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} when a loop in the Buller was bypassed{{Cite web |last=Brendon McMahon |date=1 August 2022 |title=Emergency flood protection work approved for Westport |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/local-democracy-reporting/300651411/emergency-flood-protection-work-approved-for-westport |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=Stuff |language=en}} by a straight flood relief channel built between 1882{{Cite web |date=27 December 1881 |title=WESTPORT TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18811227.2.20.2 |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and 1886.{{Cite web |date=2 March 1886 |title=STAR TELEGRAMS. WESTPORT TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18860302.2.9 |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The old river course became silted up between 1925{{Cite web |date=1925 |title=1:63360 map Sheet: 3 Buller |url=http://www.mapspast.org.nz/?zoom=12.619999999999997&x=1486493&y=5370188&layerid=NZMS15%201949 |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=www.mapspast.org.nz}} and 1945,{{Cite web |date=1944 |title=1:63360 map Sheet: S31 Buller |url=http://www.mapspast.org.nz/?zoom=12.619999999999997&x=1486493&y=5370188&layerid=NZMS1%201959 |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=www.mapspast.org.nz}} but part of it remains to allow Buller floodwater to overflow into the Orowaiti River. A wall in that overflow was repaired in 2022 after flooding.{{Cite web |date=18 October 2022 |title=Urgent work delayed on Westport flood defence |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/ldr/476890/urgent-work-delayed-on-westport-flood-defence |access-date=15 December 2022 |website=RNZ |language=en-nz}}

== Transport ==

Until roads were built, goods were carried from Westport to Lyell in fleets of canoes,{{Cite web |date=9 May 1863 |title=Council Paper. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18630509.2.15 |access-date=12 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} or, later, horse-drawn boats, carrying up to 7 tons,{{Cite web |date=16 December 1871 |title=WESTPORT TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18711216.2.5 |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} or 12 tons up to Inangahua.{{Cite web |date=23 November 1872 |title=GAZETTE NOTICES Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18721123.2.32 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} They could take 11 weeks to make the journey,{{Cite web |date=3 September 1878 |title=GREY RIVER ARGUS |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA18780903.2.8 |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} but the {{Convert|40|mi|abbr=on}} from Lyell could also be covered in 7 hours downstream.{{Cite web |date=4 June 1864 |title=The Valley of the Buller. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18640604.2.11 |access-date=23 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

Roads in the valley evolved. In good weather a footpath was passable along the length of the valley by 1864.{{Cite web |date=18 March 1864 |title=Mr. Blackett's Report on the West Coast Roads. Colonist |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC18640318.2.10 |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} Horses could usually travel from Nelson to Lyell by 1867{{Cite web |date=31 October 1867 |title=The Provincial Engineer's Report on the West Coast Roads. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18671031.2.14 |access-date=13 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and wheeled traffic by 1876.{{Cite web |date=24 January 1876 |title=GREY RIVER ARGUS |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA18760124.2.7 |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} A dray road opening from Inangahua to Lyell in 1878 facilitated animal-drawn transport vehicles.{{Cite web |date=25 March 1878 |title=LyelI. INANGAHUA TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/IT18780325.2.7 |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

A telegraph line opened to Lyell in 1874.{{Cite web |date=17 March 1874 |title=West Coast Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WCT18740317.2.6 |access-date=14 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

File:Buller_Gorge_about_1920,_Fern_Arch_near_Tiroroa.jpg

Job Lines began a link between Westport and Reefton in 1876, using horses from Westport and a coach from the Landing to Reefton.{{Cite web |date=25 January 1876 |title=WESTPORT TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18760125.2.8 |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} By July 1877 the road through the Lower Gorge had improved sufficiently for the coach to run through to Westport.{{Cite web |date=16 July 1877 |title=INANGAHUA TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/IT18770716.2.14.4 |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The road near Tiroroa included two short tunnels,{{Cite web |date=1910 |title=1:63360 map Sheet: NN52 |url=http://www.mapspast.org.nz/?zoom=13.099999999999998&x=1496710&y=5365790&layerid=NZMS13%201929 |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=www.mapspast.org.nz}} until Fern Arch was demolished in 1937.{{Cite web |date=20 September 1937 |title=General News. PRESS |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19370920.2.35 |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

The first Newman Brothers coach ran between Foxhill (end of the Nelson railway) and Hampden (Murchison) on 22 July 1879,{{Cite web |date=18 July 1879 |title=NEW MAIL SERVICE. WESTPORT TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18790718.2.19 |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} following improvements to the road,{{Cite web |date=22 January 1878 |title=Inland Communication with Nelson. Westport Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18780122.2.18 |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} was extended to Lyell in 1880 and, by Job Lines, to Reefton in 1882.{{Cite web |date=24 March 1882 |title=INANGAHUA TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/IT18820324.2.4 |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}{{Cite web |date=24 February 1885 |title=TO REEFTON BY COACH. COLONIST |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC18850224.2.10 |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} A motor service began in 1913, allowing the journey between Westport and Nelson to be made in a day.{{Cite web |date=21 August 1913 |title=Late Locals INANGAHUA TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/IT19130821.2.2 |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} A daily bus linking Nelson and Westport began in 1923.{{Cite web |date=15 January 1923 |title=NELSON EVENING MAIL |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19230115.2.77.2 |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} InterCity now runs buses on 4 days a week, taking 3 hours 29 minutes, including a 15 minute break at Murchison.{{Cite web |last= |title=Book Bus Tickets Online |url=https://www.intercity.co.nz/book-a-trip |access-date=15 January 2023 |website=www.intercity.co.nz |language=en-NZ}} By car the {{Convert|217|km||abbr=on}} route takes a bit under 3 hours.{{Cite web |title=Westport to Nelson |url=https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Westport/Nelson/@-41.5803383,171.8563672,9z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m14!4m13!1m5!1m1!1s0x6d256cc843092bf5:0x500ef868479c3d0!2m2!1d171.6059512!2d-41.7545797!1m5!1m1!1s0x6d3becc491b72e7d:0xa00ef88e796a480!2m2!1d173.2443635!2d-41.2985321!3e0 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=Google maps |language=en}}

In 1964 the Nelson-Murchison Railways Road Services route was taken over by Nelson Suburban Bus Co.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vg7vxXtZI0YC&dq=%22nelson+suburban+bus%22+company&pg=PA1373 |title=Parliamentary Debates: House of Representatives |date=1964 |language=en|last1= Parliament|first1= New Zealand}}

=== Bridges ===

  • File:Cobb_and_Co_coach_on_board_a_punt_on_the_Buller_River_(21120308819).jpg coach on the Nine Mile punt about 1910]]The first bridge up the river is Buller Bridge, opened in 1888 as a road-rail bridge{{Cite web |date=22 February 1888 |title=WEST COAST TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WCT18880222.2.7 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} on the Cape Foulwind Railway and built by M'Lean and Son of Wellington for £13,704 15s 6d.{{Cite web |date=21 January 1887 |title=The Buller Bridge. Grey River Argus |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA18870121.2.11 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} It was a {{Convert|1040|ft|abbr=on}} long, iron lattice bridge.{{Cite web |date=2 October 1888 |title=WEST COAST HARBORS. Star |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TS18881002.2.49 |access-date=10 October 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} That original bridge was replaced in 1976 by a concrete road bridge, slightly upstream.{{Cite web |date=11 December 1976 |title=The Buller bridge all Westport has waited for. PRESS |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19761211.2.107 |access-date=10 October 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} A ferry, and later a punt, crossed the river from Nine Mile Road, Te Kuha,{{Cite web |date=15 November 2013 |title=Application for Access to Undertake Opencast Coal Mining |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/getting-involved/consultations/2015/te-kuha/41289aa-1-access-arrangement-application.pdf |website=DoC}} from 1874.{{Cite web |date=23 January 1874 |title=WESTPORT TIMES |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18740123.2.17.5 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The punt was swept away in a 1908 flood,{{Cite web |date=17 October 1908 |title=Courts. Wanganui Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19081017.2.46 |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} five horses were drowned and the coach was left in shallow water.{{Cite web |date=11 May 1908 |title=Sensational Ferry Accident. Nelson Evening Mail |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19080511.2.22 |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} It also broke free, or was damaged, in 1909{{Cite web |date=31 December 1909 |title=Flooded Rivers. Nelson Evening Mail |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19091231.2.17.1 |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and 1926 floods.{{Cite web |date=8 November 1926 |title=Buller River's Break. Grey River Argus |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA19261108.2.40 |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The last punt was built about 1914{{Cite web |date=2 November 1927 |title=Westport Notes. Grey River Argus |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA19271102.2.64 |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and it closed in 1927.{{Cite web |date=15 January 1927 |title=Local And General. Nelson Evening Mail |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NEM19270115.2.28 |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}
  • By 1911 there was a {{Convert|725|ft||abbr=on}} suspension bridge over the river,{{Cite web |date=1911 |title=Suspension bridge over the Buller River, Buller Gorge |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22897853 |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=natlib.govt.nz}} just downstream from Buller.{{Cite web |date=1944 |title=1:63360 map Sheet: S31 Buller |url=http://www.mapspast.org.nz/?zoom=14&x=1512114&y=5366730&layerid=NZMS1%201959 |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=www.mapspast.org.nz}} Between 1928{{Cite web |date=26 September 1928 |title=THE PUBLIC WORKS STATEMENT. HOKITIKA GUARDIAN |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/HOG19280926.2.11 |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and 1931 a {{Convert|540|ft||abbr=on}} suspension footbridge was also built over the river, {{Convert|19|mi||abbr=on}} from Westport, to link the railway construction workers' camp to the railway.{{Cite web |date=3 November 1931 |title=PUBLIC WORK STATEMENT Inangahua Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/IT19311103.2.30 |access-date=10 December 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} It's sometimes not clear in accounts which bridge is being described.{{Cite web |title=Suspension bridge Buller Gorge.1911. |url=https://westcoast.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/20440 |access-date=11 January 2023 |website=West Coast New Zealand History}} Both bridges had gone by 1972.{{Cite web |date=1972 |title=1:63360 map Sheet: S31 Buller |url=http://www.mapspast.org.nz/?zoom=12&x=1504603&y=5367444&layerid=NZMS1%201979 |access-date=12 January 2023 |website=www.mapspast.org.nz}}
  • Buller River bridge No.89, on the Stillwater–Ngākawau Line, crosses the river near Inangahua. It is {{Convert|206|m||abbr=on}}{{cite book |title=New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas |publisher=Quail Map Co. |year=1965 |edition=First |pages=3 & 4}} long, on 6 x {{Convert|100|ft||abbr=on}} spans, resting on {{Convert|8|ft||abbr=on}} diameter piles.{{Cite web |date=3 December 1941 |title=BRIDGES ON THE LINE. PRESS |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19411203.2.85 |access-date=29 August 2022 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}
  • File:Lyell_punt_and_bridge.jpgIron Bridge at Lyell, on SH6,{{Cite web |title=Iron Bridge, West Coast |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36281/Iron-Bridge/ |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} was built by J & A Anderson of Christchurch for £8,957{{Cite web |date=12 July 1887 |title=Lyell Bridge Conrtact. Grey River Argus |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA18870712.2.8 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and replaced the punt on 4 August 1890.{{Cite web |date=4 August 1890 |title=Opening of Lyell Buller Bridge. Grey River Argus |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA18900804.2.21 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} The Warren truss bridge spans {{Convert|168|ft|abbr=on}},{{Cite web |date=9 May 1890 |title=The Lyell Bridge. Grey River Argus |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA18900509.2.15 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} supported by a central pier in the river.{{Cite web |title=Lyell-Bridge |url=https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22768422 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=natlib.govt.nz}}
  • Buller Gorge Swingbridge (suspension bridge) is about a kilometre below Ariki Falls.{{Cite web |title=Ariki Falls, Tasman |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36312/Ariki-Falls/ |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} It is {{Convert|110|m||abbr=on}} long and {{Convert|19|m||abbr=on}} above the river.{{Cite web |title=Buller Gorge Swingbridge Adventure and Heritage Park: » Swingbridge & Loop Walks |url=https://bullergorge.co.nz/swingbridge/ |access-date=9 January 2023 |website=bullergorge.co.nz}}
  • O'Sullivan's Bridge, also on SH6,{{Cite web |title=O'Sullivans Bridge, Tasman |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36319/O%27Sullivans-Bridge/ |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} was built in 1908{{Cite web |date=11 March 1908 |title=SPECIAL MEETING OF LAND BOARD Inangahua Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/IT19080311.2.7 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and rebuilt in 1975.{{Cite web |date=8 March 1975 |title=The Minister of Works and Development (Mr Watt), middle, opening the $496,000 O'Sullivan Bridge in the Buller Gorge on Thursday. It was his last official public duty before leaving New Zealand to become High Commissioner in London. The district commissioner of works (Mr A. McG. Peart) is on the left. PRESS |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19750308.2.15.1 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}
  • Longford Bridge, also on SH6,{{Cite web |title=Longford, Tasman |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36519/Longford/ |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} was rebuilt in 1966. The pre-stressed concrete, box girder bridge is {{Convert|316|ft||abbr=on}} long, with a main span of {{Convert|170|ft||abbr=on}},{{Cite web |date=6 September 1966 |title=The New Longford Bridge over the Buller River about four miles north of Murchison. Press |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19660906.2.8 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} {{Convert|42|ft||abbr=on}} above normal water level. It was built {{Convert|1|mi||abbr=on}} upstream of the 1899 single-lane, wooden, suspension bridge and cost £47,490.{{Cite web |date=30 April 1964 |title=Contract For Longford Bridge PRESS |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19640430.2.57 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}
  • Nuggety Creek Bridge was built about 1919{{Cite web |date=22 September 1919 |title=Grey River Argus |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/GRA19190922.2.5 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} to give access to Nuggety Creek Road{{Cite web |title=Nuggety Creek, Tasman |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36529/Nuggety-Creek/ |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} and now has a 25 tonne weight limit.{{Cite web |title=Bridges |url=https://www.tasman.govt.nz/my-region/transport/getting-around-tasman/roads/bridges/ |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=www.tasman.govt.nz}}
  • Gowan Valley Bridge was built between 1914{{Cite web |date=10 January 1914 |title=LAKE ROTOROA. COLONIST |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC19140110.2.8 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and 1917.{{Cite web |date=30 May 1917 |title=Murchison County Council. Colonist |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC19170530.2.11 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}
  • Harleys Rock Bridge at Devils Grip, on SH63,{{Cite web |title=Devils Grip, Tasman |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36617/Devils-Grip/ |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} was first built about 1875{{Cite web |date=13 March 1875 |title=Interprovincial News. New Zealand Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZTIM18750313.2.41 |access-date=8 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and upgraded about 1928.{{Cite web |title=Appropriations Chargeable on the Public Works Fund and other Accounts for the Year Ending 31st March, 1929 |url=https://atojs.natlib.govt.nz/cgi-bin/atojs?a=d&d=AJHR1928-I.1.1740 |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=atojs.natlib.govt.nz}} The present concrete bridge was built in 1979.{{Cite web |date=March 2013 |title=RR 502 Assessing pre-tensioned reinforcement corrosion within the New Zealand concrete bridge stock |url=https://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/research/reports/502/docs/502.pdf |website=NZTA |page=259}}
  • File:Upper_Buller_Bridge_near_Saint_Arnaud.JPGUpper Buller Bridge is on SH63. It was built in 1868{{Cite web |date=16 June 1868 |title=The Upper Buller Bridge. Colonist |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/TC18680616.2.16 |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and rebuilt in 1928 and 1981.{{Cite web |date=2 April 1981 |title=New Zealand Gazette |url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/nz_gazette/1981/36/22.pdf}}
  • Buller Bridge on Mount Robert Road{{Cite web |title=West Bay, Tasman |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36630/West-Bay/ |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} was built about 1955{{Cite web |date=2 November 2014 |title=Buller Bridge to be rebuilt |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/editors-picks/10694345/Buller-Bridge-to-be-rebuilt |access-date=10 January 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}} and rebuilt in 2015.{{Cite web |title=Reports from 2015 |url=https://waimeatrampingclub.org.nz/reports-news/trip-reports/trip-reports-list/69-reports-from-2015 |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=waimeatrampingclub.org.nz}}

Natural history

In 1846 the land around what was later Westport was described as covered to the river edge with totara and kahikatea.{{Cite web |date=22 August 1846 |title=Return of Messrs. Brunner and Heaphy from Exploring the Western Coast. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18460822.2.7.1 |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} Much of the river flows through beech forest, with matagouri scrub and mānuka in the upper reaches.{{Cite web |last=G. D. and J. H. Egarr |date=1981 |title=Recreational River Survey |url=https://docs.niwa.co.nz/library/public/w&smp15.pdf |website=NIWA |issn=0110-4705}} Carmichaelia (New Zealand broom) grows in the lower valley,{{Cite web |title=Carmichaelia |url=https://scd.landcareresearch.co.nz/Search?collectionId=All&query=preferredName:%22Carmichaelia%20odorata%20Benth.%22%20country:%22New%20Zealand%22%20landDistrict:%22Nelson%20Land%20District%22¤tDisplayTab=list&pageNumber=0&sortField=relevance&back=True |access-date=12 January 2023 |website=scd.landcareresearch.co.nz}} especially around Lyell.{{Cite journal |date=1995 |title=Typification of names in Carmichaelia |journal=New Zealand Journal of Botany |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=439–454 |doi=10.1080/0028825X.1995.10410617 |last1=Heenan |first1=P. B. |doi-access=free }} Along the river most lowland forest on the fertile alluvial soils has been felled, but stands of kahikatea and rimu remain in some inland lowland basins. Other trees and bushes in the valley include mountain akeake, daisy bush, Hector's tree daisy, Dracophyllum densum, mountain cedar, mountain neinei, mountain toatoa, mountain and silver beech, pink pine, yellow-silver pine, southern rātā and small rimu. Among other plants there are wire rush, eyebright and ferns such as Gleichenia dicarpa, Gleichenia microphylla Leptopteris superba and Hymenophyllum rufescens.{{Cite web |date=March 1994 |title=NZ Botanical Society Newsletter |url=https://www.nzbotanicalsociety.org.nz/newsletter/NZBotSoc-1994-35.pdf}}

Black-fronted terns and black-billed gulls nest in braided stretches of the river, especially near the Hinemoatū River.{{Cite web |last=D.J. Butler |date=November 2008 |title=Tasman District Biodiversity Overview |url=https://www.tasman.govt.nz/document/serve/Biodiversity%20Overview%20Information%20on%20the%20Special%20Native%20Animals%20and%20Insects%20in%20Tasman%20District.pdf?DocID=28027 |website=Tasman District Council}} Great spotted kiwi (roa) live in the upper valley.{{Cite web |last=Gasson P.A. |date=Dec 2005 |title=Translocation of great spotted kiwi/roa to Rotoiti Nature Recovery Project |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/documents/conservation/land-and-freshwater/land/translocation-of-great-spotted-kiwi.pdf |website=DoC}} Other birds include Australasian bittern (matuku hūrepo) long-tailed cuckoo (koekoeā), New Zealand falcon (kārearea), fernbird (kōtātā), New Zealand pipit (pihoihoi), rifleman (titipounamu), western weka{{Cite web |date=18 December 2013 |title=Application for Access to Undertake Opencast Coal Mining and Related Activities on Public Conservation Land |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/getting-involved/consultations/2015/te-kuha/41289aa-1-access-arrangement-application.pdf}} kererū, tūī, korimako, riroriro, pīwakawaka, tauhou and morepork (ruru).{{Cite web |title=Kawatiri Bird Watching Guide |url=https://westport.nz/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Kawatiri-Bird-Watching-Guide.pdf}}

Speckled skinks (Oligosoma infrapunctatum) are rare in the upper part of the valley, but the most common of 8 species of lizard elsewhere in the valley.{{Cite web |date=2004 |title=Conservation of lizards in West Coast/Tai Poutini Conservancy |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/globalassets/documents/science-and-technical/wclizards.pdf |website=DoC}}

Rhytida meesoni perampla snail, Leaf-veined slugs and many insects live in the valley, including the striped dung fly, Mycetophila fungus gnats, West Coast tree weta, Wellington tree weta, Kahurangi ground wētā, and Hakaharpalus and Kiwitrechus beetles.{{Cite web |date=2007 |title=Carabidae (Insecta: Coleoptera): synopsis of supraspecific taxa. Fauna of New Zealand 60, 188 pp. Larochelle, A.; Larivière, M.C. |url=https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Publications/Fauna-of-NZ-Series/FNZ60Carabidae.pdf |website=landcareresearch}} European wasps have become a problem in the beech forests since their spread in the 1970s,{{Cite web |title=Vespula wasps in New Zealand |url=https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/discover-our-research/biodiversity-biosecurity/invasive-invertebrates/vespula-wasps/}} being known to kill and compete for food with lizards and other native species.

Bluegill bully, torrentfish, common bully and short-finned eels are in the river and streams. Salmon trout were introduced to the Buller in 1878{{Cite web |date=28 May 1878 |title=Westport Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18780528.2.12 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and trout in 1884.{{Cite web |date=16 September 1884 |title=Westport Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WEST18840916.2.7 |access-date=16 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

Other introduced animals include stoats, red deer, goats, pigs and chamois.{{Cite web |title=Mt Mantel/Sphinx hunting |url=https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/things-to-do/hunting/where-to-hunt/nelson-tasman/nelson-lakes-hunting/where-to-hunt/mt-mantel-sphinx/ |access-date=28 December 2022 |website=Department of Conservation |language=en-nz}} Rats were present when Europeans first explored the valley in 1846.{{Cite web |date=14 March 1846 |title=Account of an Exploring Expedition to the S.W. of Nelson. Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NENZC18460314.2.3 |access-date=6 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

Geology

Lake Rotoiti was created by a glacier and glacial moraines occupy a large area between the Buller and Gowan rivers.{{Cite web |last=Peter Ballance |title=New Zealand geology: an illustrated guide |url=https://www.geotrips.org.nz/downloads/Ballance_NZ_Geology-V2.pdf |website=Geoscience Society of New Zealand}} From the lake the Buller flows west through a gorge cut in granitic rocks of the Median Batholith. It then turns southwest to follow the axis of the Longford Syncline to Murchison. Tributary valleys around Murchison commonly follow north-south trending faults and fold axes.

The Buller's deep gorges have been cut through the mountains as they have been raised by Quaternary faulting and folding. Some 350,000 years ago the river had wide floodplains,{{Cite web |last= |date=2015 |title=Geology of the Greymouth Area – GNS Science |url=https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/42601226/geology-of-the-greymouth-area-gns-science |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=yumpu.com |language=en}} which remain as flat terraces above the narrow gorge, as at Manuka Flat, now roughly {{Convert|300|m|abbr=on}} above the river.{{Cite web |title=Manuka Flat, West Coast |url=https://www.topomap.co.nz/NZTopoMap/nz36240/Manuka-Flat/ |access-date=14 December 2022 |website=NZ Topo Map |language=en}} The Murchison Basin was filled between the Late Eocene and Early Miocene by sediments in increasingly shallow waters, indicating that the uplift of the area to the north began in the Early Miocene.{{Cite thesis |title=Cosmogenic nuclide dating of the sediments of Bulmer Cavern: Implications for the uplift history of southern Northwest Nelson, South Island New Zealand |url=https://openaccess.wgtn.ac.nz/articles/thesis/Cosmogenic_nuclide_dating_of_the_sediments_of_Bulmer_Cavern_Implications_for_the_uplift_history_of_southern_Northwest_Nelson_South_Island_New_Zealand/17135987/1 |publisher=Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington |date=1 January 2018 |degree= |language=en |first=Gavin |last=Holden}} It was particularly rapid during the late Miocene-Pliocene.{{Cite journal |journal=New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics |first=Joanne C. |last=Lihou |date=1993 |title=The structure and deformation of the Murchison Basin |doi=10.1080/00288306.1993.9514557 |doi-access=free }}

In the 1929 Murchison earthquake a {{Convert|1.6|km|abbr=on}} landslide fell {{Convert|550|m|abbr=on}} to dam the Buller at Fern Flat, about midway between Murchison and O'Sullivan's Bridge. After two days the dam was washed away. The road between Murchison and Inangahua had 34 landslips, some up to {{Convert|600|m|abbr=on}} wide.{{Cite web |title=Landslides caused by the MS 7.8 Murchison earthquake of 17 June 1929 in northwest South Island, New Zealand |url=https://shop.gns.cri.nz/sr_2015-042-pdf/ |access-date=28 December 2022 |website=GNS Online Shop |language=en}} The road at White Creek, in the Upper Gorge, was split by a {{Convert|4.5|m|abbr=on}} scarp.{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=White Creek Fault, Murchison |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/4353/white-creek-fault-murchison |access-date=1 January 2023 |website=teara.govt.nz |language=en}} There were also slips in the 1968 Inangahua earthquake, one of which created a {{Convert|30|m|abbr=on}} high dam in the river, just above Inangahua.{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=1 November 2017 |title=The 1968 Īnangahua earthquake |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/historic-earthquakes/page-10 |access-date=25 January 2023 |website=teara.govt.nz |language=en}}

Above the Lower Gorge, podzol soils lie on sandstones of the Brunner Coal Measures. They are very infertile, acidic and tend to be very poorly drained. At high altitudes, the soils become skeletal and, in many places, unweathered rocks lie on the surface. Brunner Coal Measures are Eocene and were deposited in an estuary. There were coal mines near the Lower Gorge{{Cite web |date=1944 |title=1:63360 map Sheet: S31 Buller |url=http://www.mapspast.org.nz/?zoom=12&x=1500020&y=5369749&layerid=NZMS1%201959 |access-date=23 January 2023 |website=www.mapspast.org.nz}} at Rahui (opened 1942){{Cite web |date=10 August 1942 |title=NEW COAL MINE OPENED Pahiatua Herald |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/PAHH19420810.2.9 |access-date=23 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}} and Cascade (originally opened to improve mine drainage in 1897).{{Cite web |date=11 February 1897 |title=WESTPORT COAL COMPANY. Otago Daily Times |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ODT18970211.2.31 |access-date=23 January 2023 |website=paperspast.natlib.govt.nz}}

Gold is in quartz veins near Lyell, deposited by hydrothermal fluids, created by metamorphosis, about 420 million years ago.

Uranium was found in the Lower Gorge in 1955 and searches were made for viable deposits until the 1970s,{{Cite web |last=Gates |first=Charlie |date=8 January 2023 |title=Inside an abandoned uranium mine, lost in the New Zealand bush |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/300772218/inside-an-abandoned-uranium-mine-lost-in-the-new-zealand-bush |access-date=23 January 2023 |website=Stuff |language=en}} but all were less than 0.1% U3O8. In 1972 the mountains on either side of the Gorge were officially named Mounts Cassin{{LINZ|id=3661|name=Mount Cassin|access-date=23 January 2023}} and Jacobsen, after the men who discovered the uranium.{{LINZ|id=2235|name=Mount Jacobsen|access-date=23 January 2023}}File:Buller River.jpg

Tributaries

The Buller has several major tributaries. These include (in order from Lake Rotoiti) the Gowan River, the Matakitaki River, the Maruia River, and the Inangahua River. Other smaller tributaries include the Hinemoatū / Howard, Hope, Owen, Mangles, Matiri, Newton, Orikaka, Blackwater, Ohikaiti and Ohikanui Rivers.

In July 2001 the Buller Water Conservation Order came into force, listing the waters of the Buller River and tributaries that are to be retained in their natural state or protected because of the outstanding characteristics, features and values of the waters.{{Cite web |url=http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/water/freshwater/water-conservation/ |title=Water conservation orders |access-date=10 August 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130210165537/http://www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/water/freshwater/water-conservation/ |archive-date=10 February 2013 |url-status=dead }}

Line notes

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References

  • [http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/buller-river Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 1966]
  • Marion Hobbs. 2001. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070929090952/http://www.beehive.govt.nz/Print/PrintDocument.aspx?DocumentID=10965 Water Conservation Order for Buller River to take. Official website of the New Zealand Government]

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{{Buller District}}

{{Kahurangi National Park}}

Category:Buller District

Category:Rivers of the West Coast Region

Category:Rivers of New Zealand

Category:Rivers of the Tasman District