page_title: Heathcote River
section_title: Pre-European settlement and naming
hierarchical_section_title: Heathcote River / Pre-European settlement and naming
caption_attribution_description: Heathcote River Flood, Christchurch. The house on the left is 27 Eastern Terrace in Beckenham.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: The original name of this river, Ō-pa-waho means 'The Place of the Outward Pā', or 'The Outpost' and refers to this pā being an outpost (Māori: waho) of Kaiapoi. The pā was built in a higher location just downstream of the present Opawa Road Bridge. It was a resting place for Ngāi 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).
  The river corridor was low-lying and very wet. When the Waimakariri River rose and flowed across the plains, even higher ground was prone to flooding. Over many centuries of using the river as a food source and transport corridor, the iwi of Waitaha, Kāti Māmoe and Ngāi Tahu fostered a close relationship with this resource. The swamp forest around the river provided gathering grounds for water fowl and forest birds. Traps were regularly set for inanga (whitebait), pātiki (flounder), and tuna (eel).
  The Heathcote River is named after Sir William Heathcote, secretary of the Canterbury Association.
caption: The Heathcote River in flood in Beckenham in April 2014
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