Heather Hapeta lives in Aotearoa-New Zealand: real travel, real adventures, real stories, real photos. Recent destinations Vietnam, Cambodia, Taiwan and Hong Kong – now NZ destinations due to COVID travel restrictions
a river has a name change three times
In 1850, swamp covered Christchurch and settlers had to traverse bog to get home after shopping in the market.
Those early settlers must have been sorely disillusioned when they first saw the soggy land of their dreams.
Between 1000 and 1500, the indigenous Maori (who had arrived here from the Pacific) had asettlement here, called Puari. It stretched east from the Otakaro River, and was home for around 800 Waitaha people who gathered eels, whitebait, native trout, ducks, and flounder here.
The river was renamed the Avvon – after a Scottish river – then this too was changed to Avon, and the first bridge to span the river was a cart bridge in 1852. Ten years later the first public lamp was lit at the same market street bridge but kerosene was considered too expensive and the town lighting project was halted for two years. read further here
Punting the Otakaro, Avvon or Avon Christchurch, NZ
