Opawaho Heathcote River Network
Click on About the River and read about where it comes from and where it ends.
For the Maori, the two rivers that weave throughout the city of Christchurch were not only a food source and a way to travel but the river was a passageway for spirits to move, bringing healing and blessings.
The Maori name for the Heathcote River is ‘Opawaho’ and was also the name of the little settlement that sat on its banks for quite a few centuries. Opawaho means Outpost and that was exactly what it was; the main Pa sitting on the outskirts of today’s Kaiapoi (Kaikai-a-waro).
Even before the Ngai Tahu, the area of Opawaho was used as a place to gather food by the Ngati Mamoe. Things did not change much when the Ngai Tahu took over; Opawaho became a place of food storage and rest. Rest was needed as the Maori would walk from place to place, covering many miles on the plains.
(from peelingbackhistory.co.nz )
