The Mangatāwhiri River is a river of the

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

region of

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It flows generally southwest from its sources in the

Hunua Ranges The Hunua Ranges is a mountain range and regional park to the southeast of Auckland city, in the Auckland and Waikato regions of New Zealand's North Island. The ranges cover some and rise to 688 metres (2255 ft) at Kohukohunui.

southeast of

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, England. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies ...

before flowing through a system of irrigation canals at the northern edge of the

Waikato Plains The Waikato Plains (the alternative name Waikato Basin is an ambiguous term as it can refer to the entire river catchment) form a large area of low-lying land in the northwest of the North Island of New Zealand. They are the alluvial plains of the ...

close to the town of

Pōkeno Pōkeno is a small town in the Waikato District of the Waikato region in New Zealand, southeast of Auckland, from Tuakau and from Mercer, New Zealand, Mercer. State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1 originally ran through the town, but ...

. It reaches the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

close to the township of

Mercer Mercer may refer to: Business * Mercer (automobile), a defunct American automobile manufacturer (1909–1925) * Mercer (consulting firm), a human resources consulting firm headquartered in New York City, US * Mercer (occupation), a merchant or tra ...

. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of " Tāwhiri tree stream" for ''Mangatāwhiri''. The upper reaches of the Mangatāwhiri are dammed to form reservoirs to store water for use by Auckland City.

History

Under the orders of Governor

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Gov ...

, it was here that on 12 July 1863 British troops marched over and declared war on the

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 Co ...

, starting the Waikato Land Wars.

References

External links

*
River flow at SH2 BridgeWater quality at Buckingham Bridge
held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. * ttps://www.teararoa.org.nz/auckland/mangatawhiri-mercer/ Te Araroa long distance walkway, which is on the river stopbank for 5km Rivers of Waikato Waikato District Rivers of New Zealand Tributaries of the Waikato River {{Waikato-river-stub

History

See also

References

External links