A RECREATIONAL AND SOCIAL HISTORY OF THE AVON-HEATHCOTE ESTUARY Other Publication
- Author
- Felicity Boyd
- Year
- 2010
- Publisher / Organisation
- Lincoln University
- Pages
- 45
- Keywords
- Avon, Heathcote, estuary, Canterbury, mahinga kai, pollution
- Summary
- The Avon-Heathcote Estuary has long been an important resource for the people of Canterbury. Prior to European settlement, Maori throughout the South Island used the Estuary as a mahinga kai (seafood gathering) source. As European settlers began to arrive, the Estuary became an important transport route and, later, a popular area for many different types of recreation. The suburbs around the Estuary were among some of the first to be developed by settlers due to the proximity to the sea. Since the beginning of settlement in Christchurch, the Estuary has been subjected to high levels of pollution. In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, waste from industrial areas and factories was drained into the Heathcote and Avon rivers, making the Estuary water increasingly more polluted