Waiau, Canterbury

Waiau is a small town in north Canterbury, in the South Island of New Zealand. It lies 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Hanmer Springs on the northern bank of the Waiau River, some 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the river's mouth. There is a small supermarket, a DIY store and a petrol station. There is also a small new swimming pool (rebuilt after the 2016 earthquake - see later).

Waiau
town
Waiau seen from the Leader Road. The Waiau River is in the background
Waiau
Coordinates: 42°39′16″S 173°02′33″E
Country	New Zealand
Region	Canterbury
Territorial authority	Hurunui District
Population  (2013)
• Total	261
Time zone	UTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Postcode	7332

Waiau is the largest town on State Highway 70, also known as the Inland Kaikoura Route. From 1919 until 1978, Waiau was the terminus of the Waiau Branch, a branch line railway that ran to the town from a junction with the Main North Line in Waipara. There were proposals to extend this line beyond Waiau as part of the Main North Line and some 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of formation was made for a route to Kaikoura, but construction ground to a halt and a coastal route via Parnassus and Hundalee was chosen for the Main North Line instead.

Waiau was heavily impacted by the 2016 Kaikoura earthquake as the epicentre was 15 kilometres (9 mi) north-east of Culverden making it more like the Waiau earthquake. In 2021 the town still bears many scars from the earthquake.

Waiau shares its name with several much smaller settlements and farming communities within New Zealand. The name is Maori, and means flowing water.[1]