The Whawanui River is a river of the
Wellington Region of
New Zealand's
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
. It flows south from the
Aorangi Range
The Aorangi Range (also known as the Haurangi Range) is a mountain range on the North Island of New Zealand. It is located in the Wairarapa region, extending more than 20 kilometres (12 miles) north from Cape Palliser
Cape Palliser is a promon ...
to reach
Cook Strait northeast of
Cape Palliser
Cape Palliser is a promontory on the southern coast of New Zealand's North Island and is the southernmost point of the North Island; it is in fact considerably farther south than Nelson or Blenheim in the South Island.
It is located at the easte ...
. It is one of the southernmost rivers in the North Island.
The river reaches the sea close to White Rock, which is formed of
calcilutite
Calcilutite (also known as cementstone) is a type of limestone that is composed of predominantly, more than 50 percent, of either clay-size or both silt-size and clay-size detrital (transported) carbonate grains. These grains consist either of foss ...
in a
Paleocene limestone.
Richard Barton
Richard Barton (30 August 1790 – 20 August 1866) was the first European resident of Trentham, Upper Hutt, in New Zealand. He was born in Newport, Isle of Wight, England.
He was a Justice of the Peace and Member of Provincial Council in Wel ...
set up White Rock as a
sheep station in 1847.
Banded dotterel
The double-banded plover (''Charadrius bicinctus''), known as the banded dotterel or pohowera in New Zealand, is a species of bird in the plover family. Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate ''Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus'', which breeds ...
nest near the beach.
See also
*
List of rivers of New Zealand
References
External links
1930s photos of White Rock station and the river2010 Google Street View of White Rock from Whawanui River bridge
Rivers of the Wellington Region
Rivers of New Zealand
{{Wellington-river-stub