Huxley River

File:Huxley River swing bridge.jpg

The Huxley River ({{Langx|mi|Tairau}}) is in the South Island of New Zealand. It feeds into the Hopkins River which in turn feeds into Lake Ōhau.

History

The first Pākehā to explore the valley was Julius Von Haast. The valley was named after the biologist Thomas Henry Huxley.{{Cite web|title=The Rutherford Journal - The New Zealand Journal for the History and Philosophy of Science and Technology|url=http://www.rutherfordjournal.org/article020102.html|access-date=2020-12-15|website=www.rutherfordjournal.org}} The Huxley valley previously had the Māori name {{Lang|mi|Tairau}} (sometimes given as {{lang|mi|Tirau}}), meaning 'stake' or 'peg'.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ATkZAAAAIAAJ&q=otao|title=Maori and Pakeha in North Otago|first=G. B.|last=Stevenson|date=18 January 1947|publisher=A.H. & A.W. Reed|via=Google Books}}

{{Cite web

|title=Te Ao Hou THE MAORI MAGAZINE [electronic resource]

|url=http://teaohou.natlib.govt.nz/journals/teaohou/issue/Mao52TeA/c18.html

|access-date=2020-12-15

|website=teaohou.natlib.govt.nz

}}

The northern branch of the valley contains Brodrick Pass, called in Māori {{lang|mi|Te Tarahaka}}, meaning ‘a thief who steals without qualms or care for the thoughts of others’. This pass was incredibly important for traversing the South Island, and was in heavy use in the old days, due to the fact that it is an easy ascent from both the Lands borough side and the Huxley side.

{{Cite web

|title=Brodrick Pass {{!}} ClimbNZ {{!}} climbnz.org.nz

|url=https://climbnz.org.nz/nz/si/main-divide-of-the-southern-alps/brodrick-pass

|access-date=2020-12-15

|website=climbnz.org.nz

}}

References

External links

[http://www.doc.govt.nz/templates/trackandwalk.aspx?id=36372 Department of Conservation] - Mackenzie Basin tramping tracks

{{coord|44|00|S|169|49|E|display=title|region:NZ_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki}}

Category:Rivers of the Canterbury Region

Category:Rivers of New Zealand