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Area and History
The landscape
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From when the area was first
settled, to the discovery of the hydro electric potential of the area, and
through the construction of the power stations, the Waitaki Valley has a
rich and colourful history.
The dramatic landscape of the south is home of the Waitaki hydro scheme.
It's a perfect, natural landscape, rich with resources that lend themselves
particularly well to New Zealand's most extensive hydro-power network.
Several mountain ranges border the huge catchment area for the Waitaki River
system. They include the southern Alps, the Grampian, Rollesby, Ben Ohau, St
Marys, Kirkliston and Dalgety Ranges.
The main rivers that feed the lakes are; Godley and Macauley (Lake Tekapo);
Hooker and Tasman (Lake Pukaki), Hopkins and Dobson (Lake Ohau); Ahuriri
(Lake Benmore) and Otematata (Lake Aviemore). |
A brief cultural history of the area
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The Waitaki Valley was first
settled by the Waitaha people who settled at the Waitaki River mouth after
moving due to a war.
Rakaihautu was the founding
ancestor of these nomadic people. Oral traditions say they were very
resourceful, and apart from providing for themselves, they often traded with
North Island iwi. They supplied goods such as the flesh of moa and the oil
from taramea, (speargrass).
In around 1550 the Katimamoe people, and later, in 1685, the Kai Tahu
people, moved to the valley from the North Island. They were integrated -
one after the other - through warfare and intermarriage. One of the
resources they treasured was pounamu, or greenstone.
In 1864 Edward Shortland met the rangatira Huru Huru who drew him a map.
Shortland was the first European to describe the Waitaki Plains. He wrote
that the soil was "stoney and barren", and was suited to sheep grazing.
Eurpoean settlers followed his suggestion and also grew crops such as wheat
and barley. There was also some whaling conducted from the coastal area.
In 1877, Te Maiharoa, the last great tohuka (learned man), and rangatira of
Waitaha descent, led the people in support of the Southern Maori claim that
the inland country was not included in the 1848 Canterbury purchase. Te
Maiharoa also established a school at the Waitaki mouth where he taught
Waitaha oral tradition. |
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