Clutha River
river in the South Island of New Zealand
The Clutha River / Mata-Au is the second longest river in New Zealand and the longest in the South Island. It flows south-southeast 338 kilometres (210 mi) through Central and South Otago from Lake Wānaka in the Southern Alps to the Pacific Ocean, 75 kilometres (47 mi) south west of Dunedin. Gold is in abundance in the Clutha River and its surrounding areas. It is the highest volume river in New Zealand, and has a discharging mean flow of 614 cubic metres per second (21,700 cu ft/s).
The Clutha River played a prominent role in both the Māori and European history of the area. Rivers and valleys were the main transport system used by local Māori to access the interior of the South Island. The 1860s Otago gold rush resulted in the production of approximately 240 tonnes of gold, which was found in the Clutha catchment. It has the biggest catchment and outflow in New Zealand. About 6% of all water in the South Island is discharged by the Clutha River alone. It has a mean discharge of approximately 500 m3 (18,000 cu ft) and a catchment area of around 22,000 km2 (8,500 sq mi) and is an economically significant river for the country.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Clutha River” as river in the South Island of New Zealand. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as river in the South Island of New Zealand. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 2, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q613522. VIAF identifies the subject as 315526251. The Library of Congress control number is sh85027259. Authority coordinates are -44.665, 169.158. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Clutha River”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Clutha River primary sources, Clutha River archive and Clutha research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Clutha River”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Clutha River” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.