The Blue Mountains are a range of rugged hills in West Otago, in southern New Zealand. They form a barrier between the valleys of the Clutha and Pomahaka Rivers. They lie between the towns of Tapanui and Lawrence and rise to 1019 metres (3280 ft). [1]
West Otago is the local name given to part of the region of Otago, New Zealand, lying close to the border with Southland. It is administratively connected to South Otago, but is geographically separated from it by a range of hills known as the Blue Mountains. The largest settlements in West Otago are Tapanui and Heriot, and other localities within the area include Moa Flat, Edievale, Merino Downs, and Waikoikoi. The area described as West Otago is sometimes extended to include Lawrence and Beaumont. The ghost town of Kelso also lies within West Otago. Other notable features of the area include Conical Hill and Landslip Hill, the latter being a major fossil-bearing formation.
The Clutha River / Mata-Au is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wanaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and the swiftest, with a catchment of 21,960 square kilometres (8,480 sq mi), discharging a mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second (21,700 cu ft/s). The Clutha River is known for its scenery, gold-rush history, and swift turquoise waters. A river conservation group, the Clutha Mata-Au River Parkway Group, is working to establish a regional river parkway, with a trail, along the entire river corridor. The name of the river was changed to a dual name by the Ngai Tahu Claims Settlement Act 1998.
The Pomahaka River is in South Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is a tributary of the Clutha River, flowing south for 80 kilometres (50 mi) from the Old Man Range of mountains to join the Clutha just north of Balclutha. Along its path it passes the Blue Mountains and the forestry town of Tapanui in the area known locally as West Otago.
The Blue Mountains are home to one of the largest herds of wild fallow deer in the south island of New Zealand, hunting is permitted on Department of Conservation administered land. The early name for the range was Te Papanui, which was later corrupted to Tapanui. Early surveyors named it Mount Valpy after William Henry Valpy, an early settler in Dunedin. The name Blue Mountains was given by gold diggers during the Otago Gold Rush in the early 1860s after the Blue Mountains in New South Wales. [2]
William Henry Valpy was a noted early settler of Dunedin, New Zealand. He is sometimes referred to locally as "The father of Saint Clair", as he was the first settler in the area now occupied by the suburb of Saint Clair.
Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from Dùn Èideann, the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland.
The Otago Gold Rush was a gold rush that occurred during the 1860s in Central Otago, New Zealand. This was the country's biggest gold strike, and led to a rapid influx of foreign miners to the area - many of them veterans of other hunts for the precious metal in California and Victoria, Australia.
