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From Heritage New Zealand, Summer 2003

Riverton Puts its History on the Map

by Katharine Mason

Bluff may have its oysters but its near neighbour Riverton has something more lasting: historic significance - and, with the development of a heritage trail, it's making the most of it.

Riverton from the air. Photo: The Southland Times

Perched on the edge of Foveaux Strait, and looking south to Stewart Island, the small seaside town and its rugged south-west coast became an important early contact point between European arrivals and southern Maori.

Pre-European Maori had already recognised the wealth of resources in the area with its plentiful supply of food from river estuary, coast and forest. Southern Maori, the ancestors of present-day Ngai Tahu Whanui, made the area an important site for occupation and seasonal food gathering.

From the early 1800s, European sealers made landfall along the south-west coast. By the 1820s, flax traders were calling regularly at nearby Pahi's village (later renamed Pahia) to trade iron goods andmuskets with local Maori in return for flax and potatoes.

First known as Jacob's River, Riverton is one of New Zealand's earliest permanent European settlements and owes its existence to the late 1830s founding of a shore whaling station at the mouth of the Aparima and Pourakino Rivers. By the 1850s, it had become a thriving township and was renamed Riverton.

With its rich history and beautiful landscape, the area is a perfect place for a heritage trail. The trail meanders over 80 kilometres of spectacular coastal and rural scenery between Waimatuku, on the Southern Scenic Route on State Highway 99, to Orepuki on the eastern shore of Te Waewae Bay. The trail includes historic buildings, pa sites, monuments, scenic lookouts and idyllic beaches.

Along the way, rare vintage tractors and farm machinery can be viewed at the Thornbury Vintage Tractor and Implement Club Museum. Nearby, the Templeton Flaxmill at Otaitai Bush has been restored to working order. The Riverton Museum, in the restored 1883 Victorian Courthouse (a Category II historic place), shows much of the town's history as well as early Maori artefacts and Chinese relics from the gold mines of Round Hill.

Riverton, affectionately known as Southland's Riviera, still boasts its own Compass Dolphin, dating back to the mid-1800s. St Mary's Anglican Church (Category II) with its rare broached spire is worth a visit, as is Howell's Whaler's Memorial, More's Reserve and Tihaka Lookout. Howell's Cottage at 22 Napier St is registered as a Category I historic place and was the first permanent cottage to be built in the town - circa 1837 - for Captain John Howell, the founder of Riverton.

The trail continues around the coast road past Round Hill, where gold was first discovered in 1868, to the distinctive Mantell's Rocks and on to Cosy Nook, a secluded bay near Monkey Island.

A brochure on the Riverton-Aparima South Coast Heritage Trail is available from local tourist information offices including the Invercargill i-SITE Visitor Centre at the Southland Museum & Art Gallery and from Venture Southland Tourism, Invercargill.