Awarua Plains facts for kids
The Awarua Plain is a large area of wetlands located in the south of New Zealand. It lies to the east of the town of Bluff. This flat, marshy area covers about 600 square kilometres.
The plain stretches for 35 kilometres along the coast. This part of the coast faces the Foveaux Strait. Key places along this coast include Tiwai Point, Awarua Bay, the Waituna Lagoon, and Toetoes Bay.
The Mataura River is the main river that helped create the Awarua Plain. The Oreti River also played a part. These rivers are leftovers from the Ice Ages. They helped form the wider Southland Plains. Many smaller streams also flow into Foveaux Strait here. They mostly go through Awarua Bay and Waituna Lagoon.
The name Awarua means "two streams" in the Māori language. This translation comes from the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
Why Radio Facilities Are Here
The Awarua Plain is a great spot for radio facilities. This is because the land is very flat. It also has good ground for radio signals to travel. Plus, it is far away from things that can cause radio interference.
Experts first looked at this area in 1911. They were searching for a large, flat place. They knew such a place would give the best radio results.
Today, two important radio facilities are located here:
- The Unwin Radar, which belongs to La Trobe University.
- The Awarua Tracking Station, used by the European Space Agency.
Awarua Radio Station
Awarua Radio was once New Zealand's main coast radio station. Its special callsign was VLB or ZLB. This station helped ships at sea communicate with people around the world. It used both radiotelegraph (sending messages by code) and voice calls.
Some of the equipment for the station was built by a German company called Telefunken. The station started operating on December 18, 1913. The New Zealand Post Office ran it until 1986. After that, Telecom New Zealand took over. The station finally closed on August 30, 1991.
The site was chosen after a special trip in 1911. Mr J Orchiston, who led the New Zealand Telegraph Department, was on this trip. Captain Gard'ner from the New Zealand Artillery also joined. They were looking for a large, flat area. They believed this type of land would give the best radio results.
