Balclutha, New Zealand established a ferry service across the Clutha in 1857; as a result the town was initially called Clutha Ferry. The Māori name for the area is Iwikatea, literally "Bleached bones" (a local Māori tribal battle in 1750 left the decomposing bodies of the defeated, their bones whitened in the sun). The Clutha River flows through the town. It is the largest river in New Zealand by volume of water, and the country's second longest after the Waikato. It provides the town with various recreational facilities, including fishing (brown trout), water skiing and power boating. The most prominent structure in the
Ashley River (New Zealand) mountains in the west Lees Valley adjacent to Island Hills station and exits the hills at a gorge near Oxford township. It has tributaries of Duck Creek in this valley and is an accumulator of watershed between Lees Valley and Oxford township. Behind Waikuku Beach is one of the largest, least modified estuaries in New Zealand. It is abundant in bird life, including the wrybill ("Anarhynchus frontalis") and Black stilt ("Himantopus novaezelandiae"). Many migratory birds over-winter here. Ashley River (New Zealand) The Ashley River / Rakahuri is in Canterbury Region of New Zealand. It flows generally southeastwards for before entering