Waikumete_Stream

Waikumete Stream

Waikumete Stream

River in Auckland Region, New Zealand

The Waikumete Stream is a stream of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north from its sources in Titirangi, before joining the Oratia Stream. Both bodies are tributaries of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, which flows into the western Waitematā Harbour. The stream passes through the suburbs of Titirangi, Kaurilands, Glen Eden and Sunnyvale, and since the mid-2000s has been forested with native flora.

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Description

The stream begins north of Titirangi township, flowing north through the suburbs of Kaurilands and Glen Eden.[1] At Glen Eden, the stream changes course, flowing north-west towards Parrs Park.[1] The stream finishes its course at Millbrook Esplanade in the suburb of Sunnyvale, where it flows into the Oratia Stream.[1]

The stream has one tributary, the Hibernia Stream,[2] which flows parallel to the Waikumete Stream to the west, flowing through Wirihana Park and Kowhai Reserve, meeting the Waikumete Stream at Ceramco Park.

The stream is a habitat for the New Zealand longfin eel, the short-finned eel, cran's bully, common bully (toitoi), redfin bully, New Zealand smelt, banded kōkopu, common galaxias (īnanga) and torrentfish (panoko).[3]

History

The stream is in the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki.[3] While the stream's traditional name has been lost, the upper catchments of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek were known as Ōkaurirahi, due to the large kauri trees in the area.[3] When the area was settled by Europeans, the stream was given the name Waikumete, a name applied to the area (but originally referring to Little Muddy Creek to the south of Titirangi.[3] The area was milled for kauri timber in the mid-19th century.[3] The stream was officially gazetted as the Waikumete Stream in 1988.[1]

On 23 May 1992, the Waikumete Stream was polluted with tributyltin by a timber treatment yard, resulting in the death of wildlife and contaminated sediments over the next two years.[4] Between the mid-2000s and the 2020s, large-scale riparian planting was undertaken along the Waikumete Stream, as a part of Project Twin Streams.[3]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Waikumete Stream". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Hibernia Stream". New Zealand Gazetteer. Land Information New Zealand. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  3. [3]
    "Waikumete Stream" (PDF). Project Twin Streams. Auckland Council. 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  4. [4]
    de Mora, S. J.; Phillips, D. R. (1997). "Tributyltin (TBT) Pollution in Riverine Sediments Following a Spill from a Timber Treatment Facility in Henderson, New Zealand". Environmental Technology. 18 (12): 1187–1193. doi:10.1080/09593331808616639. ISSN 0959-3330. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
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