Each October, Māori once gathered at the falls on the northern edge of Mataura, where the river spills over a sandstone ledge about six metres high, to take kanakana, the lamprey that climb the rocks there. The falls are known as Te Aunui, the great current. In the 1870s a paper mill was established at the town, and in 1893 a freezing works opened there too.

That long, layered story is about to be told on the riverbank itself. The Mataura River is joining the Tohu Whenua Murihiku Southland programme, and the recognition will be marked when Gore hosts an event later in November, the ODT reported on Tuesday, and it is the first river anywhere in the country to be included. Interpretation panels and Tohu Whenua markers are planned at five sites along its length, among them Rock St, the Mataura Falls and Tūtūrau Reserve.

Why it matters is simple enough. Tohu Whenua is a national network of the places judged to be New Zealand's most significant heritage experiences, promoted to travellers through regional itineraries. The Department of Conservation and Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga lead it, and DOC describes it as a partnership that also includes Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage, with Te Puni Kōkiri and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment in support. The Mataura is the first river to join them.

The Mataura River at Mataura in about 1895, showing the falls and buildings beside them before the freezing works was built. The falls are one of the sites to get a Tohu Whenua marker. File photo. Photo: unknown photographer / Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The Mataura River at Mataura in about 1895, showing the falls and buildings beside them before the freezing works was built. The falls are one of the sites to get a Tohu Whenua marker. File photo. Photo: unknown photographer / Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Gore District Mayor Ben Bell called it a proud moment for the district. "The Mataura River has shaped the identity of our communities for generations and holds deep cultural, historical and environmental significance," he said in a statement published by the ODT. "Gore and the wider district have a wealth of heritage experiences and this recognition highlights what makes our part of New Zealand so special."

The river runs for about 240km, rising in the Eyre Mountains south of Lake Wakatipu and passing Athol, Gore, Mataura and Wyndham before it meets the sea at Toetoes Bay. Anglers know it for its brown trout. At Mataura it also powered industry: the paper mill, started by a company led by James Bain, ran for well over a century until it closed in August 2000 with the loss of 155 jobs, while the meat works opened by the Southland Frozen Meat and Produce Export Company has been run by Alliance Group since 1989.

The Mataura paper mill in 1982, on the bank of the Mataura River beside the falls. The mill closed in 2000. File photo. Photo: Goscentral / Wikimedia Commons, public domain
The Mataura paper mill in 1982, on the bank of the Mataura River beside the falls. The mill closed in 2000. File photo. Photo: Goscentral / Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Downstream, Tūtūrau carries a very different history. On a low hill above the river flats beside Wyndham Road, a concrete obelisk marks the fight of 4 December 1836, when the Ngāti Tama rangatira Te Pūoho-o-te-rangi led a war party of about 100 south and was met by a counterattack led by Tūhawaiki, the Ngāi Tahu rangatira based on Ruapuke Island. Te Pūoho was shot and his followers captured. The travel guide TripIdeas notes that no northern force ever invaded Ngāi Tahu land again, and that the obelisk, raised in 1937 for the centenary, has granite from Ruapuke in its base.

Jim Geddes, the council's arts and heritage curator, said the project had come from Hokonui Rūnanga working alongside local groups and heritage partners. "The river is central to the history of Murihiku and these installations will help bring that story to life for residents and visitors alike," he said.

On the Mataura River, a 1924 painting by Frank Brookesmith held by the Suter Art Gallery in Nelson. File image. Image: Frank Brookesmith / Wikimedia Commons, public domain
On the Mataura River, a 1924 painting by Frank Brookesmith held by the Suter Art Gallery in Nelson. File image. Image: Frank Brookesmith / Wikimedia Commons, public domain

For Geddes, the honour is as much about the people as the water. "It reflects the unique heritage of this place and its importance to both tangata whenua and the wider community," he said. The kanakana harvest at Te Aunui, the mills and the freezing works, and the obelisk on the hill at Tūtūrau will all, before long, have their story told where they happened.

The council has not yet published the date of the Gore recognition event. Tūtūrau Reserve lies beside Wyndham Road, between the towns of Mataura and Wyndham, about 55km from Invercargill.