 the heathcote river () lies within the city boundaries of christchurch, new zealand, and is fed from springs near templetons road and also receives wet weather flows from as far west as pound road. it meanders around the base of the port hills from west to south-east. ==course== the catchment of the heathcote river extends to the suburb of yaldhurst. it drains an area of approximately , with the cashmere stream the largest tributary. it flows through wigram, hillmorton (where the main springs are located), hoon hay (and from there around the base of the port hills), spreydon, cracroft, cashmere, beckenham, st martins, opawa, woolston and ferrymead. it drains into the avon heathcote estuary before draining into pegasus bay. == pre-european settlement and naming ==  the original name of this river, Å-pa-waho means 'the place of the outward pÄ', or 'the outpost' and refers to this pÄ being an outpost (mÄori: waho) of kaiapoi. the pÄ was built in a higher location just downstream of the present opawa road bridge. it was a resting place for ngÄi tahu travelling between kaiapoi and horomaka (banks peninsula). the surrounding area was an important mahinga kai, a source of plentiful food, especially tuere (blind eel) and kanakana (lamprey). the river historically meandered through extensive wetlands prior to urbanisation. historic survey maps from the mid-19th century (the so-called 'black maps') indicate that the habitat that the river passed through was abundant in flax (harakeke), toetoe, raupo, tutu and ferns and was dotted with ti kouka (cabbage tree). thumb|the heathcote river in flood in beckenham in april 2014 the river corridor was low-lying and very wet. when the [[waim
Geography_of_Christchurch Rivers_of_Canterbury,_New_Zealand