This is the mighty Waiau river – what’s left of it.  In the 1800’s it was so wide and swift that it couldn’t be crossed, stopping development of a lot of farming land to its north.  It wasn’t until 1888 that a government punt attached to a steel cable provided some kind of crossing.

Finally the government build this suspension bridge, famously the longest in NZ, which survived until a new bridge was built about 50 years ago.  The suspension bridge is falling into disrepair and was to be abandoned but for a recent grant – you can see the work being done now.

The problem was the mighty Waiau river had been turned into the miserable little Waiau creek by a large dam upstream. Whose purpose was to supply electricity to the aluminium smelter at Bluff.  Flows had been reduced by 99% and nobody seemed to care.  Except the fish and the birds.

The loss of the river resulted in the loss of fish breeding grounds and wetlands for the birds.  Seasonal scouring of the banks was gone, resulting in the build up of debris and weeds.  The river was turning into yet another casualty of so-called progress.

Until a group of concerned farmers and conservationists got together and petitioned – successfully – for the river to be returned to fulfil its original natural purpose.  Now it is regulated such that the level of the dams cannot get too high or too low, being kept within natural parameters.  A large farming property has been bought and turned back into wetlands by building retaining dams and re-establishing local creeks.  95% of the fish breeding grounds have been restored.