The Whau River is an estuarial arm of the southwestern

Waitemata Harbour Waitemata or Waitematā may refer to: * Waitematā Harbour, the primary harbour of Auckland, New Zealand * Waitematā (local board area), a local government area in Auckland, New Zealand ** Waitematā Local Board, a local board of Auckland Council, ...

(rather than a river) within the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

metropolitan area in New Zealand. It flows north for from its origin at the confluence of the Avondale Stream and Whau Stream to its mouth between the

Te Atatū Te Atatū (from the Māori : "the dawn") is the name of two adjacent suburbs in West Auckland, New Zealand: ''Te Atatū Peninsula'' and ''Te Atatū South''. They are located next to each other some 10 kilometres to the west of the Auckland city ...

peninsula and the long, thin

Rosebank Peninsula Rosebank (or the Rosebank Peninsula) is a peninsula and industrial suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is the westernmost point of the Auckland isthmus. The peninsula runs from the southeast in a northerly direction, with the Whau River on its w ...

in Avondale. It is at its widest and wide at its mouth. The estuary extends past the suburbs of

Glendene Glendene is a suburb of West Auckland, in New Zealand. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Glendene is a mainly residential suburb with the north-eastern portion devoted to light industry. History Glendene is named afte ...

and

Kelston Kelston is a small village and civil parish in Somerset, north west of Bath, and east of Bristol, on the A431 road. It is situated just north of the River Avon, close to the Kelston and Saltford locks. The parish has a population of 248. ...

. It has one small estuarial tributary arm, the Wairau Creek in the southwest. The tide flows up the Wairau Creek as far as Sabulite Road in Kelston, and up the Rewarewa Creek to Clark Street and Wolverton Road in

New Lynn New Lynn is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand, located 10 kilometres to the southwest of the Auckland city centre. The suburb is located along the Whau River, one of the narrowest points of the North Island, and was the locatio ...

. The area at the mouth of the estuary is legally protected as the

Motu Manawa (Pollen Island) Marine Reserve Motu Manawa-Pollen Island Marine Reserve is a protected area in the Waitemata Harbour in Auckland, New Zealand, established in 1996. It includes the entire area between Rosebank Peninsula and Waterview, and surrounds Motumānawa / Pollen Isla ...

. The Whau River is named after a native tree, the whau (''Entelea arborescens'').

Geography

The geology of the area is mainly composed of marine and riverine sediment. The stream's intertidal banks are commonly settled by mangroves and exotic weed species. The river's catchment covers and includes all or part of

Te Atatū South Te Atatū South (also written as "Te Atatu South") is a residential suburb in West Auckland, New Zealand. Its location allows the suburb easy access to the city and Henderson town centre. Its elevation allows views back on to the city and Wait� ...

, Glendene,

Titirangi Titirangi is a suburb of West Auckland in the Waitākere Ranges local board area of the city of Auckland in northern New Zealand. It is an affluent, residential suburb located 13 kilometres (8 miles) to the southwest of the Auckland city centre ...

, Titirangi North, Green Bay, New Lynn, Glen Eden, Avondale,

Blockhouse Bay Blockhouse Bay is a residential suburb in the south west of Auckland, in New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the northern coast of the Manukau Harbour, and is also close to the administrative boundary that existed between Auckland Cit ...

and Mount Albert. Watersheds closely follow Te Atatu Road, Titirangi Road, Hillsborough Road, Richardson Road and Rosebank Road. The catchment consists of clay, sandstone and mud and was formed 20 million years ago when the land was raised from the sea.

History

In earlier times,

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 ...

used Te Tōanga Waka, the Whau River portage, for travel between the Waitemata Harbour (on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

east coast) and the

Manukau Harbour The Manukau Harbour is the second largest natural harbour in New Zealand by area. It is located to the southwest of the Auckland isthmus, and opens out into the Tasman Sea. Geography The harbour mouth is between the northern head ("Burne ...

(on the Tasman west coast). They paddled

canoe A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle. In British English, the term ...

s up the Whau River and the Avondale Stream and then carried the canoes over a short stretch of land to Green Bay on the Manukau. This is remembered in the name for Portage Road, which runs alongside the Avondale Stream, and it is known that seasonal Māori settlements existed at the mouth of the river. For many years after European settlement, there was talk of making a

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

between the Whau and the Manukau. Plans for a long canal, with a cutting up to deep, were made in 1907, but dismissed as too costly in 1921. From 1841, the banks of the Whau River were logged for

Kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of 22 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient conifer family Araucariaceae, a group once widespread during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, but now largely res ...

timber. In 1852, the first brickworks in West Auckland were opened on the

by Dr

Daniel Pollen Daniel Pollen (2 June 181318 May 1896) was a New Zealand politician who became the ninth premier of New Zealand, serving from 6 July 1875 to 15 February 1876. Early life The son of Hugh Pollen, a dock master, Pollen was born in Ringsend, Dublin ...

on the Whau River. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Whau River became the centre of West Auckland's clayworks; of the 39 brick and clayworks of West Auckland, 23 were located on the Whau River. European settlers used the Whau for marine transport and by 1865 there were five public wharves at New Lynn. Boats carried the products of local industries including

brickworks A brickworks, also known as a brick factory, is a factory for the manufacturing of bricks, from clay or shale. Usually a brickworks is located on a clay bedrock (the most common material from which bricks are made), often with a quarry for cl ...

, a leather tannery, a gelatine and glue factory and firewood cutting. The last commercial vessel to use the Whau was a flat-bottomed

scow A scow is a smaller type of barge. Some scows are rigged as sailing scows. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, scows carried cargo in coastal waters and inland waterways, having an advantage for navigating shallow water or small harbours. S ...

the ''Rahiri'', which carried bricks and manuka firewood from the area until 1948. For nearly a hundred years, factories such as the tannery and an

abattoir A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

discharged wastes directly into the Whau. Friends of the Whau Inc. was formed in 1999 to restore the ecology of the Whau through revegetation and reduction of pollution. The Whau River Catchment Trust was formed in 2012. The West End Rowing Club has been based on the Whau since 2001. The Whau River formerly marked the boundary between two

territorial authorities Territorial authorities are the second tier of local government in New Zealand, below regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 city councils, 53 district councils and the Chatham Islands Council. District councils serve a ...

in the

Auckland region Auckland () is one of the sixteen regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland Metropolitan Area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands of the Hauraki Gulf. Containing ...

Waitakere City Waitākere City was a territorial authority in West Auckland, New Zealand; it was governed by the Waitākere City Council from 1989 to 2010. It was New Zealand's fifth-largest city, with an annual growth of about 2%. In 2010 the council was a ...

, centred around West Auckland suburbs, and

Auckland City Auckland City was a territorial authority with city status covering the central isthmus of the urban area of Auckland, New Zealand. It was governed by the Auckland City Council from 1989 to 2010, and as a territory within the wider Auckland R ...

, composed of the central suburbs of the

Auckland isthmus The Auckland isthmus, also known as the Tāmaki isthmus, is a narrow stretch of land on the North Island of New Zealand in the Auckland Region, and the location of the central suburbs of the city of Auckland, including the CBD. The isthmus ...

. After the amalgamation of the Auckland councils in 2010, the suburbs adjacent to the river were administered by the

Whau ward Whau Ward is an Auckland Council ward which elects one councillor and covers the Whau Local Board. The current councillor is Kerrin Leoni. Demographics Whau ward covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of peo ...

. In 2015 construction began on the Te Whau Pathway, a walking and cycling path along the western edge of the Whau River from Te Atatū Peninsula to Olympic Park in New Lynn. The path is planned to continue on to Green Bay beach thus connecting the Waitemata Harbour to the Manukau Harbour.

References

External links

Whau River Catchment Trust and Friends of the Whau

held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections. {{Whau Local Board Area Geography of Auckland Rivers of the Auckland Region Rivers of New Zealand Waitematā Harbour Whau Local Board Area Waitematā Harbour catchment