Styx River (Canterbury)

The Styx River here runs along the northern boundary of Christchurch, New Zealand, and its Māori name is Pūharakekenui. It eventually flows into the Waimakariri River.

This river starts in the Christchurch suburb of Harewood, where a dry swale fills with stormwater sometimes. As it flows northeast, several springs feed it. The river has two main tributaries, the Kaputone Stream and Smacks Creek, and other smaller waterways, both natural and man-made, drain into it. The river goes through Belfast, Marshland, and Spencerville before it reaches Brooklands. There, it flows into the Brooklands Lagoon and then into the Waimakariri River, which goes into Pegasus Bay.

The English name for this river, Styx, has an unknown origin. It's clearly from the Styx in Greek mythology, the river separating Earth from the Underworld, but why it was chosen here isn't known. One suggestion is that it was originally called 'Sticks' and later became 'Styx'. There are a few stories about this: one is that European settlers crossed the river on flax-stick rafts. Another says bundles of flax sticks were laid in the riverbed. A third idea is that flax sticks were stuck in the ground to guide travelers to where logs bridged the river. Another suggestion is that the name is linked to Māori using sites in the Styx catchment for oils to embalm the dead, or for cremation ceremonies and recovering the dead from swamps. The name Styx first appeared in the Electoral Rolls in the 1865–66 Register.

This area is seeing rapid urban development. Because of concerns and opportunities with the Styx ecosystem, a 40-year vision for the catchment was developed in the late 1990s. After community consultation, the Christchurch City Council adopted the "Styx Vision 2000–2040" on July 11, 2001. This vision aims for a "Viable Springfed River Ecosystem," a "Source to Sea Experience" as an Urban National Reserve, and a "Living Laboratory" for learning and research, like botanist Leonard Cockayne's work. It also seeks to make "The Styx" a special place and to foster "Partnerships." These visions guide future actions, and the City Council has acquired large areas of land along the waterways here to form an ecological network.