Taupō Swamp is a lowland freshwater

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

located north of

Plimmerton The suburb of Plimmerton lies in the northwest part of the city of Porirua in New Zealand, adjacent to some of the city's more congenial beaches. State Highway 59 and the North Island Main Trunk railway line pass just east of the main shoppi ...

and north-northeast of

Wellington Wellington 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 third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. In 1986 the

Queen Elizabeth II National Trust The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust (QEII) is a registered charity and statutory New Zealand organisation independent from the government and managed by a board of directors. It was established in 1977 by the Queen Elizabeth the Second Natio ...

purchased Taupō Swamp with the aim of both protecting and restoring the wetland. Taupō Swamp is home to largely indigenous vegetation including

sedges The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family is large; botanists have described some 5,500 known species in about 90 generathe largest being the "true sedges" (genu ...

flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of t ...

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

s, herbaceous plants, and

grass Poaceae ( ), also called Gramineae ( ), is a large and nearly ubiquitous family (biology), family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos, the grasses of natural grassland and spe ...

es. Flax leaves shelter and shade the swamp providing a habitat that is favourable for eels and native fish including

galaxiid The Galaxiidae are a family of mostly small freshwater fish in the Southern Hemisphere. The majority live in Southern Australia or New Zealand, but some are found in South Africa, southern South America, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, and the ...

species. There are invasive plant species present that threaten the swamp including Darwin's barberry,

blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

, broom,

pussy willow Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus '' Salix'' (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include (among many others): * Goat willow or goat sallow ('' Salix cap ...

and

Japanese honeysuckle ''Lonicera japonica'', known as Japanese honeysuckle and golden-and-silver honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle native to East Asia, including many parts of China. It is often grown as an ornamental plant, but has become an invasive species i ...

. Another possible threat is development of nearby land as this may cause silt to run off into the swamp as well as fire.

Description

Taupō Swamp is an approximately lowland freshwater

, classified as a topogeneous mire, located north of

and north-northeast of

City, New Zealand. It is regarded as being one of the few Wellington wetland areas to retain its mainly indigenous plant life.

History

Pre-European history

Taupō Swamp was included in the area that was settled from 1824 by the

Ngāti Toa Rangatira Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

people after having won battles against local iwi. During this time the area was a salt water lagoon and an inlet of Porirua harbour. The wider area was used by Māori for mahinga kai (food cultivation and gathering). Winstone Tile Factory with Taupo Swamp

European settlement

In 1855 an earthquake uplifted the land and this, along with the subsequent increase in silt, ensured that the swamp was cut off from the sea. The swamp was and continues to be fed by the Taupō stream and as a result the swamp is now regarded as a topogenous mire. By the late 1800s

was planted and industrially harvested out of the swamp and milled in Foxton. This continued until the mid 1900s as attempts to drain the swamp for farmland use were largely unsuccessful. However some southern parts of the swamp were successfully drained allowing for industrial as well as farmland use. Both the construction of the main trunk railway in 1885 and the later construction of the Centennial Highway threatened the wetland but as a result of the peaty soils, both infrastructures were built around the edges of the swamp. However these structures did result in some of the smaller areas of the swamp becoming isolated. The swamp is visible from State Highway 59 (formerly State Highway 1) and the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

railway.

Queen Elizabeth II National Trust

In 1986 the

purchased Taupō Swamp with the aim of both protecting and restoring the wetland. It was after this purchase that the QEII Trust were able to secure the swamp from grazing by livestock.

Fauna and flora

Taupō Swamp is home to largely indigenous vegetation including

s, herbaceous plants, and introduced grasses. Flax leaves shelter and shade the swamp providing a habitat that is favourable for eels and native fish including

species.

Invasive species and threats

There are invasive plant species present that threaten the swamp including Darwin's barberry,

Blackberry BlackBerry is a discontinued brand of handheld devices and related mobile services, originally developed and maintained by the Canadian company Research In Motion (RIM, later known as BlackBerry Limited) until 2016. The first BlackBerry device ...

Gorse ''Ulex'' (commonly known as gorse, furze, or whin) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Fabaceae. The genus comprises about 20 species of thorny evergreen shrubs in the subfamily Faboideae of the pea family Fabaceae. The species are na ...

, Broom,

Pussy Willow Pussy willow is a name given to many of the smaller species of the genus '' Salix'' (willows and sallows) when their furry catkins are young in early spring. These species include (among many others): * Goat willow or goat sallow ('' Salix cap ...

and

. Another possible threat is development of nearby land. It is proposed that nearby agricultural land be converted to residential use. The result of this development may cause an increase in a build up of silt during the construction phase and increased stormwater run-off once the construction is complete.

References

External links

{{Portal, Wetlands
Friends of Taupo Swamp and Catchment website
Wetlands of the Wellington Region Swamps of Oceania Porirua