The Inangahua River is located in the north-west of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

. It is a major tributary of the

Buller River The Buller River () is a river in the South Island of New Zealand. The Buller has the highest flow of any river in the country during floods, though it is only the 13th longest river; it runs for from Lake Rotoiti (Tasman), Lake Rotoiti throu ...

, where it joins at the town of

Inangahua Junction Inangahua is a small settlement in the northwest of New Zealand's South Island. It consists of three settled areas: Inangahua Junction at the confluence of the Inangahua and Buller Rivers, north of Reefton and southeast of Westport; Inangahu ...

. The Inangahua River begins near the Rahu Saddle and flows northwest for , followed by State Highway 7, to the town of

Reefton Reefton is a small town in the West Coast, New Zealand, West Coast region of New Zealand, approximately northeast of Greymouth, New Zealand, Greymouth, in the Inangahua River valley. Ahaura is south-west of Reefton, Inangahua Junction is to ...

. The

Reefton Power Station Reefton Power Station supplied electricity to the very prosperous gold mining town of Reefton in New Zealand and was the first power station to supply municipal electricity in the Southern Hemisphere.''New Zealand Historical Atlas'' – Mc ...

, now decommissioned, operated with water taken from the river from 1888 to 1949. At Reefton it turns north and continues for , passing

Cronadun Cronadun is a small village located in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It is situated on the east bank of the Inangahua River, near its junction with Boatmans Creek. SH 69 and the Stillwater–Westport Line railway pass t ...

, before reaching the Buller some from the larger river's outflow into the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, who in 1642 wa ...

near Westport. The Inangahua's tributaries include the

Waitahu River The Waitahu River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows generally northwest from its source in the Victoria Range to reach the Inangahua River five kilometres north of Reefton. See also *List of rivers of ...

Te Wharau River The Te Wharau or Stony River is a river of the West Coast Region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows generally east from its sources in the Paparoa Range to reach the Inangahua River 15 kilometres north of Reefton. See also *List of rivers o ...

, and Awarau River. Larry River MRD

The name ''Inangahua'' is from the

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

; ''inanga'' means

whitebait Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along coasts, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine-mes ...

, small edible fish of ''

Galaxias ''Galaxias'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Galaxiidae, and are frequently referred to as the galaxiids. These highly adaptable fish are typically found at temperate latitudes across the Southern Hemisphere. Galaxiids are s ...

'' spp., and ''hua'' may mean the drying and preserving of them in sealed containers or may mean plenty of. The river was known for big catches of whitebait. Prior to 1866

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s sometimes used the name Thackeray River, rather than Inangahua.

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray ( ; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was an English novelist and illustrator. He is known for his Satire, satirical works, particularly his 1847–1848 novel ''Vanity Fair (novel), Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portra ...

was a close friend of

Charles Buller Charles Buller (6 August 1806 – 29 November 1848) was a British barrister, politician and reformer. Background and education Born in Calcutta, British India, Buller was the son of Charles Buller (1774–1848), a member of a well-known Corn ...

, after whom the Buller River was named.

References

External links

nzfishing.com
- fishing information for the river Buller District Rivers of the West Coast Region Rivers of New Zealand {{WestCoastNZ-river-stub