Aparima River

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The Aparima River, earlier known as Jacob's River, is one of the southward-flowing braided rivers of Southland, New Zealand.

Description

The Aparima has its headwaters in the Takitimu Mountains, south of Lake Te Anau, and flows south for 100 kilometres (62 mi) before entering Foveaux Strait near Riverton at the north end of Oreti Beach. A Maori man lived at the mouth of the river who was called Jacob by local whalers, and 'Jacob's River' was in early use for both the river and the settlement that established itself. [1]

It is one of the rivers responsible for the large alluvial plain known as the Southland Plains. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports breeding colonies of the endangered black-billed gull. [2]

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Gummies Bush is a farming locality in Southland, New Zealand, 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) west of the Aparima River, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) north of Riverton, and 18 kilometres (11 mi) south from Otautau. It is said to be named after whaler and later pig-farmer James Leader, nicknamed "Gummie" because he had no teeth. Leader had a camp in the bush in this location. To Māori, the area was known as Opuaki. It was apparently named after a person, Puaki, a word which means "to come forth in position," or "to come forth in language – that is to utter.

Waipango is a farming locality in Southland, New Zealand, on the flat between the lower reaches of the Pourakino and Aparima Rivers. It is 8 km north-west of Riverton, 14 km south-west of Thornbury, and 14 km north-east of Colac Bay. The name, from the Māori language, literally translates as Wai meaning water, and pango meaning black.

References

  1. Grant, David (13 May 2015). "Southland places - Riverton / Aparima". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand . Retrieved 8 November 2015.
  2. "Aparima River". BirdLife data zone: Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 July 2007. Retrieved 15 November 2012.

Coordinates: 46°20′S168°01′E / 46.333°S 168.017°E / -46.333; 168.017