Huxley River

The Huxley River (Māori: Tairau) is in the South Island of New Zealand. It feeds into the Hopkins River which in turn feeds into Lake Ōhau.

A backcountry swing bridge crossing the river

History

The first Pākehā to explore the valley was Julius Von Haast. The valley was named after the biologist Thomas Henry Huxley.^[1] The Huxley valley previously had the Māori name Tairau (sometimes given as Tirau), meaning 'stake' or 'peg'.^[2][3] The northern branch of the valley contains Brodrick Pass, called in Māori Te Tarahaka, meaning ‘a thief who steals without qualms or care for the thoughts of others’.^[3] This pass was incredibly important for traversing the South Island, and was in heavy use in the old days,^[3] due to the fact that it is an easy ascent from both the Lands borough side and the Huxley side.^[4]