Paerau is a small settlement in inland Central Otago in New Zealand's South Island. It is located in the Strath Taieri, the upper valley of the Taieri River, at the foot of the Rock and Pillar Range. "Paerau" is a Māori-language name meaning "one hundred ridges".[1]
Despite being geographically close to Middlemarch and Roxburgh, the terrain and roads mean that Ranfurly and Patearoa are the more closely related communities of interest.
Paerau is also colloquially referred to as Styx.