The Waikari River is a river in the

Hawke's Bay Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

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 east from its source at the northern end of the Maungaharuru Range passing the settlement of Putorino to reach

Hawke Bay Hawke Bay (), formerly named ''Hawke's Bay'', is a large bay on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand, surrounded by the Hawke's Bay region. It stretches from Māhia Peninsula in the northeast to Cape Kidnappers / Te Kauwae-a-Mā ...

25 kilometres southwest of

Wairoa Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mā ...

. The name Waikari comes from 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 ...

words ''wai'' meaning "water" and ''kari'' meaning "dig". The river was called Waikare until given an official name in 1941.

History

In the 1931 earthquake a

tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...

hit the river mouth, leaving fish up to 15 metres above the high tide level. ISS022-E-31023 - View of the North Island of New Zealand

Flooding of the river on 14 February 2023 during

Cyclone Gabrielle Severe Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle was a powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that devastated parts of the North Island of New Zealand and affected parts of Vanuatu and Norfolk Island in February 2023. It is the costliest tropical cyclone ...

destroyed the State Highway 2 bridge over the river at Putorino and facilities at a Department of Conservation campsite beside the river about 200 metres from the river mouth. A temporary

Bailey bridge A Bailey bridge is a type of portable, Prefabrication, pre-fabricated, Truss Bridge, truss bridge. It was developed in 1940–1941 by the British Empire in World War II, British for military use during the World War II, Second World War and saw ...

was erected to replace the highway bridge, opening on 14 May. A huge amount of logs and forest debris swept down by the cyclone still covered the river mouth and adjacent coastline in October 2023.

References

* New Zealand 1:50000 Topographic Map Series sheet BH39 – Putorino Rivers of Hawke's Bay Rivers of New Zealand {{HawkesBay-river-stub

History

See also

References