Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group
The Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, New Zealand, started in December 2004, and is an Incorporated Society, with private charitable status only, being deregistered from New Zealand Charities Services in December 2021. The Group was set up in response to land development issues along the Clutha River / Mata-Au corridor, much of which has high scenic and recreational values. The project aims to establish a regional river parkway, including a river trail, along the entire 338 km river corridor from Lake Wānaka to the Pacific Ocean. Description. The mission statement of the group  is: 'To protect and improve the natural, recreational, and cultural values of the Clutha Mata-Au River corridor, from Lake Wānaka to the Pacific, by establishing a Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway, including a Clutha River Trail, with an integrated management body to safeguard the public interest with a long-term vision.' The Parkway Group is working with trail-focused community groups, which include the Clutha Gold Trail Trust, and the Upper Clutha Tracks Trust, which was founded by Mr. Iain Grant Fyfe, Mr John Wellington, and Ms Rachel Brown, to develop a contiguous trail that is expected to become  a popular tourism draw-card, bringing considerable economic benefits to the region, and facilitating further river corridor improvements such as native restoration. The Upper Clutha River Guardians were made as an extension of the Parkway Group from 2009-2012 and the Red Bridge River Park Trust, which was developed in 2014, having the same members, legal advisors, and financial planners. Mr. Jeromy van Riel was a founding member of the Red Bridge River Park Trust in its development and participated in a documentary video with Mr. Verduyn in October 2016 that was made by Ms. Aliscia Young and attended by  Ms. Ella Lawton. The project was initiated by Lewis Verduyn, a rafting operator on the Upper Clutha Mata-Au who has rafted the river since 1981 until his death in 2019. He was a Chairperson of the project and known to be an advocate for river protection and conservation, which was his passion. After his passing in 2019, the Parkway Group, also known as 'CMRP' had only one member remaining- Mr. Tim Ryan (Upper Clutha River Guardians). CMRP had stopped all local meetings in 2010 when their last meeting minutes were taken by Dr. Barrie Wills, who was a member  for a few years. Mr. Verduyn was also a part of the Upper Clutha River Guardians and The Red Bridge River Park Trust, which were extensions of CMRP. The Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway members consisted of Mr. Lewis Verduyn (founder), Mr. Richard Guy Steven (solicitor), Mrs. Anne Steven (landscape architect), Mr. Christopher Keith Steven (solicitor), Mr. Gilbert van Reenan, Dr. Barrie Wills, Ms. Robyn Hunt (accountant), Mr. John Harris, Dr. William Dacker, Mr. Tim Ryan (Upper Clutha River Guardians) and others. The Clutha Mata-Au River is New Zealand's largest and most powerful river. It carves 338 km  from the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, traversing the semi-desert interior of Otago known as Central Otago. The waters of the Clutha Mata-Au are clear turquoise in the upper reaches, a characteristic that results from glacial and snow-melt filtering by upland lakes, especially Lake Wānaka. In global terms, this is rare, because glacially fed rivers are normally discoloured by rock flour. The Clutha Mata-Au is also often listed among the world's swiftest rivers. Didymo is still an existing problem within the river today. History. Historically, the river has been the focus of intense gold  mining. The Central Otago Gold Rush began in 1861, and it was this influx of people that led to the establishment of many of the river towns that still exist today, such as Alexandra, Clyde, and Cromwell. Today, some township planners have apparently been toying with developing the Red Bridge area in Luggate for tourist purposes. Hidden waterways surrounding this area have been known to hold gold deposits and quartz or river stones, which remain untouched for the most part. Remnants of Cantonese gold miners and tailings still exist in the area today that are at risk. In 1956, a  large hydroelectric dam was commissioned at Roxburgh, flooding the deep-sided Roxburgh Gorge and several well-known rapids, including the Molyneux Falls and the Golden Falls. Another large dam was commissioned at Clyde in 1992, flooding the Cromwell Gorge and the often-photographed Cromwell Junction where the silty Kawarau River merged reluctantly with the clear Upper Clutha. The Clyde Dam was highly controversial, having been mistakenly built above an active fault, the River Channel Fault. The owners of these dams, Contact Energy, announced in February 2009 that they were revisiting former plans for four more large dams on the Clutha  Mata-Au. Some people believe that this development would provide jobs and new lakes for recreation, and that the industrialisation of the river valley is an acceptable consequence. However, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group strongly opposes further damming of the river, as do many people in the river communities. In October, 2009, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group facilitated the formation of the Clutha River Forum, an alliance of conservation groups and concerned individuals throughout Otago and New Zealand, who have resolved to work together to prevent further Think Big dams on the Clutha River. Members of  the Forum include: Upper Clutha River Guardians, Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, Central Otago Environmental Society (Save Central), Beaumont Residents Group, Lower Clutha River Guardians, Forest & Bird (Dunedin / Central – Lakes). The Forum is campaigning for "Option 5 - NO More Dams". Mr. Verduyn was the key person who thought of 'Option 5' to save the Clutha from further damming. He saw what happened in Cromwell with the dam there and put his heart and soul into preventing further large dam schemes because he believed they caused more harm than good to the natural environment. Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group