Wills River

Wills River
Map
Route of the Wills River
Wills River is located in South Island
Wills River
Mouth of the Wills River
Wills River is located in New Zealand
Wills River
Wills River (New Zealand)
EtymologyNamed after William John Wills
Location
CountryNew Zealand
RegionWest Coast
DistrictWestland
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • coordinates44°00′03″N 169°35′24″E / 44.0009°N 169.59°E / 44.0009; 169.59
Mouth 
 • location
Haast River
 • coordinates
44°02′43″S 169°23′13″E / 44.0453°S 169.3869°E / -44.0453; 169.3869
Length19 km (12 mi)
Basin features
ProgressionWills RiverHaast RiverTasman Sea
Tributaries 
 • leftKea Creek, Hold Creek, Cheap Creek, Sweet Nell Creek, Safe Creek, Lost Creek, Dark Creek, Connors Creek, Rabbit Creek, Lodore Creek, Cascade Creek, Fleming Creek, Brewster Creek, Torrance Creek, Brae Creek, Plover Creek
 • rightClumsy Creek, Swift Creek, Crook Creek, Shell Creek, Dredge Creek, Dun Creek, Dukes Creek, Lily Creek, Pansy Creek, Talent Creek, Shale Creek, Slip Creek

The Wills River is a river of the southern West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island. It flows west to reach the Haast River 10 kilometres north of the Haast Pass.

The river was named by Julius von Haast when he searched for a crossing from Otago to the West Coast. It is named for William John Wills of the Burke and Wills expedition. The nearby Burke River is named for Robert O'Hara Burke.[1]

  1. ^ Holm, Janet (2005). Caught mapping: the life and times of New Zealand's early surveyors. Christchurch: Hazard Press. p. 170. OCLC 636380050.