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
Cobb River (New Zealand) Cobb River (New Zealand) The Cobb River is a river in the Tasman Region of New Zealand. It flows southeast from Lake Cobb on the northern slopes of Mount Cobb, in Kahurangi National Park, in the northwestern South Island. The river's waters are captured behind a dam to become the Cobb Reservoir; the outflow continues to join with the Takaka River. The river is named for J.W. Cobb, a local mill owner, who discovered it. Brown and rainbow trout are available for fishing in the river. A tramping track follows the river between Lake Cobb and the reservoir and there