This section addresses issues of particular significance to
the lands and waters of the Waimakariri catchment, a large catchment stretching from Ngā Tiritiri o Te Moana to Te Tai o Mahaanui to the high country, and encompassing a number of landscape features: mountains, high country lakes and wetlands, foothills, forests and grasslands, plains, spring fed lowland streams and coastal lagoons (Map 10).
The name Waimakariri refers to the cold (makariri)
mountain fed waters of this braided river. The river was part
of a larger network of ara tawhito linking the east coast of
Te Waipounamu to the mahinga kai resources of the high
country and the pounamu resources of Te Tai Poutini.
The Waimakariri and its tributary the Ruataniwha (Cam
River) were two of three waterways (the other being the
Rakahuri) that continued to sustain Ngāi Tahu even after
the land purchases in Canterbury. The region between the
Waimakariri and Rakahuri River was of particular importance
for mahinga kai.
The cultural, spiritual, historical and traditional significance
of the Waimakariri landscape to Ngāi Tahu history and
identity is acknowledged in the NTCSA 1998. Moana Rua
(Lake Pearson) is a Statutory Acknowledgement site. Kura
Tawhiti is a Statutory Acknowledgement site and a Tōpuni
(see Appendix 7 for schedules). The traditional place
names Maungatere (Mount Grey) and Kapara Te Hau (Lake
Grassmere) are recognised under the Act’s dual place names
provisions.
As with other braided river catchments in the region, the
lower Waimakariri catchment is highly modified by human
activity, while much of the upper catchment remains
mountainous and wild; a source of life and nourishment
for the plains and coast.
The Waimakariri rises in the snows of the Southern Alps and its waters never fail. Like other snow fed rivers its flow tends to be greater in warm weather when the snows are melting [creating freshes]… Thus the natural tendency of the river is a periodic flushing out of its channels, which wind among braided shingle beds a kilometre wide when the level is low.
Ngā Paetae Objectives
- The natural “energy, vitality and life” of the
Waimakariri River as a braided river is protected and
restored. - The discharge of contaminants to the Waimakariri
and its tributaries is eliminated. - Water quality and flows in the Waimakariri and its
tributaries are improved to enable whānau and the
wider community to have places they can go to swim
and fish. - The mauri and mahinga kai values of the Waimakariri
and its tributaries and associated springs, wetlands
and lagoons are protected and restored; mō tātou, ā,
mō kā uri ā muri ake nei. - Groundwater resources in the takiwā are protected
from adverse effects associated with over-allocation
and discharges. - The coastal lowland region from the Waimakariri to
the Rakahuri is recognised and provided for as a
Ngāi Tahu cultural landscape of immense importance. - The cultural and physical connectivity between
the Waimakariri River, Kaiapoi pā, Taerutu lagoon,
Tūtaepatu lagoon, Taranaki stream and the Rakahuri
River is restored and protected. - There is ongoing provision of opportunities to instill
traditional values in our young people through
involvement in restoration projects and customary
mahinga kai practices.