State Highway 61 (New Zealand)

State Highway 61
State Highway 61
Route information
	Maintained by Tasman District Council
Length	58 km (36 mi)
Major junctions
North end	SH 60 at Motueka
South end	SH 6 at Kohatu Junction
Location
Country	New Zealand
Primary; destinations	Tapawera
Highway system
	New Zealand state highways; Motorways and expressways; List;

State Highway 61 (SH 61) is a former New Zealand state highway in the Tasman Region of the South Island. It links the coastal town of Motueka with SH 6, the main route to the South Island's West Coast. Along with several other state highways, its status was revoked at the beginning of the 1990s.^[1]^[2] The route is now usually referred to as the Motueka Valley Highway.

Route description[edit]

SH 61 provided (and still provides, without its former status) a short-cut route for vehicles travelling between the Golden Bay and western Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere areas and the town of Westport, New Zealand and other parts of the West Coast and Buller.

The former SH 61 largely follows the valley of the Motueka River. Starting just to the south of central Motueka, the route is initially due west along College Street, passing along the southern edge of Motueka Aerodrome. After about three kilometres, the highway reaches the Motueka River, and turns upstream, to the southwest. It passes through the small settlements of Ngātīmoti and Woodstock, winding through a steep-sided valley before briefly leaving the river's edge. It rejoins the river after a further 5 km after passing through the small settlement of Stanley Brook. Shortly after rejoining the river, it passes through the township of Tapawera before reaching SH 6 at Kohatu Junction, close to the point where the Motueka River is joined by its tributary, the Motupiko River. Several of the small settlements along the highway's course are old gold mining towns from the 1860s Nelson Gold Rush, the first strike of which was at Waiwhero, just northeast of Ngātīmoti.^[3]

References[edit]

^ "Traffic Volumes" (PDF). Transit New Zealand. 1990. ISSN 0112-3165. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
^ "Traffic Volumes" (PDF). Transit New Zealand. 1991. ISSN 0112-3165. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
^ Whelan, H. (1990) "Gold Rush in Waiwhero", in Journal of the Nelson and Marlborough Historical Societies, 2:4. Retrieved 7 December 2015.

[Volumes1990-1] "Traffic Volumes" (PDF). Transit New Zealand. 1990. ISSN 0112-3165. Retrieved 7 December 2015.

[Volumes1991-2] "Traffic Volumes" (PDF). Transit New Zealand. 1991. ISSN 0112-3165. Retrieved 7 December 2015.

[3] Whelan, H. (1990) "Gold Rush in Waiwhero", in Journal of the Nelson and Marlborough Historical Societies, 2:4. Retrieved 7 December 2015.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e New Zealand state highways
List of New Zealand state highways List of motorways and expressways in New Zealand
National	SH 1 (incl. SH 1B, SH 1C) SH 2 SH 3 (incl. SH 3A) SH 4 SH 5 SH 6 (incl. SH 6A) SH 7 (incl. SH 7A) SH 8 (incl. SH 8A, SH 8B)
North Island	SH 10 SH 11 SH 12 SH 14 SH 15 SH 16 SH 18 SH 20 (incl. SH 20A, SH 20B) SH 21 SH 22 SH 23 SH 24 SH 25 (incl. SH 25A) SH 26 SH 27 SH 28 SH 29 (incl. SH 29A) SH 30 (incl. SH 30A) SH 31 SH 32 SH 33 SH 34 SH 35 SH 36 SH 37 SH 38 SH 39 SH 41 SH 43 SH 44 SH 45 SH 46 SH 47 SH 48 SH 49 SH 50 SH 51 SH 53 SH 54 SH 56 SH 57 SH 58 SH 59
South Island	SH 60 SH 62 SH 63 SH 65 SH 67 (incl. SH 67A) SH 69 SH 71 SH 73 SH 74 (incl. SH 74A) SH 75 SH 76 SH 77 SH 78 SH 79 SH 80 SH 82 SH 83 SH 84 SH 85 SH 86 SH 87 SH 88 SH 90 SH 93 SH 94 SH 95 SH 96 SH 97 SH 98 SH 99
Former state highways	SH 1A SH 1F SH 2A SH 2B SH 15 SH 15A SH 17 SH 36 SH 40 SH 47A SH 49A SH 50A SH 52 SH 57A SH 61 SH 70 SH 72 SH 73A SH 89 SH 91 SH 92
Touring routes	Twin Coast Discovery Highway Thermal Explorer Highway Pacific Coast Highway Classic New Zealand Wine Trail Alpine Pacific Triangle Great Alpine Highway Foothills Scenic Route Inland Scenic Route Central Otago Touring Route Southern Scenic Route

Route description[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]