The

Wainuiomata Wainuiomata () is a large suburb of Lower Hutt, in the Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. Origin of name The word 'Wainui-o-mata' is a Māori name made up of the words Wai = water, Nui = big, O = of, and Mata – which could refer ...

River runs southwest through the Wainuiomata Valley located in the southern Remutaka Range in the North Island, New Zealand.

Origin of name

The word ''Wainui-o-Mata'' is a

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

name made up of the elements ''wai'' (water), ''nui'' (big), ''o'' (of) and ''Mata'' – which could refer to a woman's name. The origins of the name remain disputed, but one commonly accepted explanation refers to women who came over the Wainuiomata Hill to evade marauding tribes from the north, and who sat wailing by the stream after the slaughter of their menfolk. From this we have "faces streaming with water" or "tears" - although the name could equally refer to the large pools of water which lay over the swampy surface (face) of the northern end of the Valley, or to the river itself, which can flood the Wainui (Coast Road) valley. it is commonly called the "Wainui River", as the suburb of

is informally named "Wainui".

History

The earliest settlements were based around the river where the timber mills supplied the

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

region where the demand was great in the 1850s and 1860s. Today this area is known as "The Village" or as "Homedale". In 1879 the

ratepayers voted to extend their water supply, and by 1884 a dam was built in Sinclair Valley (Waterworks Valley) and a pipeline ran across the Wainuiomata Valley floor, through a tunnel under the hill, and on to

. This dam was replaced in 1910 with the Morton Dam since decommissioned, while the Ōrongorongo tunnel and pipelines were implemented by 1926. The establishment of the waterworks meant the coming of the telephone although, by 1921, there were still only two subscribers. the Wainuiomata/Ōrongorongo Catchment Area is a restricted area as it supplies much of the Wellington region with water.

External links

Wainuiomata online
{{coord, 41, 25, S, 174, 53, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:river_source:GNS-enwiki Rivers of the Wellington Region Rivers of New Zealand