The Arahura River is a river located on the West Coast

West Coast, New Zealand

The West Coast is one of the administrative regions of New Zealand, located on the west coast of the South Island, and is one of the more remote and most sparsely populated areas of the country. It is made up of three districts: Buller, Grey and Westland...

 of the South Island

South Island

The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

.

It is approximately 56 kilometres (34.8 mi) in length and flows into the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

 eight kilometers north of Hokitika, next to the Arahura Pa. The lower reaches of the Arahura River was a major producer of gold in the past - and extensively mined, but it is now worked out. It is also a major source of pounamu (greenstone) for the local Māori.

In 2009 the 120 year old dual road/rail bridge across the river was replaced. Sections of the old bridge were reused elsewhere on the rail network and one complete span was retained for a local heritage park.

External links

• An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966.