Paerau
| Paerau | ||
| Geographical location | ||
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| Coordinates | 45 ° 25 ′ S , 169 ° 57 ′ E | |
| Region ISO | NZ-OTA | |
| Country |
 New Zealand
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| region | Otago | |
| District | Central Otago District | |
| Ward | Maniototo Ward | |
| Residents | few | |
| height | 558 m | |
| Post Code | 9398 | |
| Telephone code | +64 (0) 9 | |
Paerau is a small settlement in the Central Otago District of the Otago Regionon the South Island of New Zealand .
Origin of name
Paerau means “ many ridges ” in the Māori language .
geography
The settlement is located around 16 km northwest of Middlemarch on the upper reaches of the Taieri River at the foothills of the Serpentine Flat , a 38 km² wetland area of the river. It lies on the upper reaches of the Taieri River in a plateau in which the river forms meanders and oxbow lakes . To the northeast of the settlement there is an approximately 1.5 km long reservoir and east of the settlement rise the Rock and Pillar Range , which is up to 1450 m high .
The closest settlement is Patearoa to the northeast , just under 18 km away. The next place to be reached by road is Ranfurly , which is another 16 km north. This road link is also the main link to the settlement. Another branch line runs as a gravel road through the Lammermoor Range to Clarks Junction , which provides access to the New Zealand State Highway 87 around 45 kilometers further south .
Education
The Paerau School , founded in 1915, was closed in 2012 due to a lack of students .
"The Styx"
Paerau is also known as The Styx . The name comes from the Styx Creek , a small tributary of the Taieri River .
The Dunstan Trail , now a drivable track from Dunedin into the gold fields of the Central Otago District, crosses the Rock and Pillar Range of Clarks Junction near Middlemarch and descends into the valley of the upper reaches of the Taieri River , where it crosses the Styx. The allusion to the mythological Greek Styx , the border river to the underworld, is possibly a comment on the character of the gold fields, which were pioneering land at the time. Originally, Styx Creek was the second night on the way from Dunedin to the gold fields after Clarks Junction . There is an old hotel and a prison here. The hotel had left a coin in the bar that referred to the coin that was needed to pay the ferryman to cross the Styx . This hotel is located several kilometers from Paerau . The Dunstan Trail ran from Paerau in a north-westerly direction over the Serpentine Goldfields to Poolburn Reservoir and finally to Alexandra .
Web links
- Paerau . Cromwell Visitor Information Center,accessed August 25, 2017.
- Paerau . Maniototo Promotions, September 23, 2007, archived from the original onFebruary 13, 2009; accessed on September 4, 2014(English, original website no longer available).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Paerau / Styx . Maniototo , accessed August 25, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed August 25, 2017 .
- ^ Lynda van Kempen : School's loss major blow for district . In: Allied Press Limited (Ed.): Otago Daily Times . June 20, 2012 (English, online [accessed August 25, 2017]).