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Rakaia River
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The farming centre straddles the
railway on the south bank of the Rakaia River, a stretch of water renowned
for its excellent salmon fishing. A ribbon of service buildings close by
lines Highway 1 just south of the country's longest bridge, 1.75 kilometres
long. Tromley Gallery, housed in an old manse, offers an attractive array of
local crafts. |
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The relevance of Rakaia (or
Rangaia, 'to arrange in ranks') is obscure. One suggestion is that it refers
to the custom whereby a line of men would form across the ford to break the
flow and so render it less hazardous for the women and children to wade
through downriver. A principal greenstone route to Westland lay up the river
valley. |
The Trans-Rakaia Desert
For some years after the settlement of Christchurch the mile-wide Rakaia
River was a barrier to close settlement further south. In any event land
between the Rakaia and the Ashburton Rivers, which enjoyed the not
inaccurate title of 'trans-Rakaia desert', was either too dry or too damp.
Early travellers experienced all manner of difficulty in crossing the river.
George Rhodes and his family, on their way from the Levels to Christchurch,
once had to wait fully three weeks before the river was safe to cross,
running out of food in the meantime. Sir John Hall (1824-1907), later to be
Premier and still later to spearhead the move for women's franchise, bought
a canoe for use as a ferry here. He was so discouraged by his very first
trip that he abandoned the canoe and settled on the north side of the river.
Eventually a regular ferry was established.
For a time it seemed that Rakaia, or South Rakaia as it was then known,
might become the principal centre for mid-Canterbury, but in the late 1870s
Ashburton forged ahead to its present position of prominence. |
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