mountain neinei. Birds in the valley in the 1970s included blackbird, chaffinch, dunnock, greenfinch, goldfinch, kākāriki, karoro, kāhu, kākā, kakaruwai, kārearea, kawau, kawaupaka, kea, kererū, koekoeā, korimako, kōtare, kōtātā, ngirungiru, pihoihoi, pipipi, pīpīwharauroa, piwakawaka, redpoll, riroriro, roroa, ruru, silvereye, skylark, song thrush, titipounamu, tūī, weka and whio. A truss bridge over the Ōhikanui was finished in September 1879, though the approaches, which required rock-cutting, took until March 1880. Its spans were 3 x and 1 x . It was built to cope with floods rising to , but floods in 1925, 1967, 1970 and 1971 covered the bridge. The bridge was raised and rebuilt as a timber truss on concrete piers in 1927, though in later years it could only take light traffic and had to be supplemented by a bailey bridge. SH6 now crosses the river near its mouth on a concrete bridge built in 1992. In 1962 the National government agreed in principle to building a 13.6MW hydro-electric power station, with a head, after Labour had refused in 1960. Since July 2001 the Buller Water Conservation Order has protected the river from development. References Buller District Rivers of the West Coast, New Zealand Rivers of New Zealand