The Ōpanuku Stream, formerly known as the Henderson Stream, is a stream of the

Auckland Region Auckland () is one of the 16 regions of New Zealand, which takes its name from the eponymous urban areas of New Zealand, urban area. The region encompasses the Auckland, Auckland metropolitan area, smaller towns, rural areas, and the islands o ...

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 east from its source the

Waitākere Ranges The Waitākere Ranges is a mountain range in New Zealand. Located in West Auckland, New Zealand, West Auckland between metropolitan Auckland and the Tasman Sea, the ranges and its foothills and coasts comprise some of public and private land. ...

through the Henderson Valley, then north-east through West Auckland before entering into the Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, which flows into the western the

Waitematā Harbour The Waitematā Harbour is the main access by sea to Auckland, New Zealand. The harbour forms the northern and eastern coasts of the Auckland isthmus and is crossed by the Auckland Harbour Bridge. It is matched on the southern side of the city ...

. The stream passes through the rural locality of Henderson Valley and the West Auckland suburbs of Western Heights and Henderson. Since the mid-2000s it has been forested with native flora.

Geography

The stream begins in the

, flowing east through the rural locality of Henderson Valley. In suburban Auckland, the river changes course, flowing north-east through Western Heights and Henderson. At Te Kōpua (modern-day Falls Park / Tui Glen Reserve), the stream meets Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, an estuarine arm of the

. The stream has five major tributaries in the Henderson Valley: the Pukearuhe Stream, Anamata Stream, Driving Stream, Parekura Stream and Stoney Creek. The land adjacent to the stream forms an alluvial flood zone, which was historically forested by

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

, tītoki and west coast kōwhai.

Biodiversity

Large

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori language, Māori) and white pine, is a Pinophyta, coniferous tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. A Podocarpaceae, podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining hei ...

, tītoki, karaka, and

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

trees can be found on the banks of the stream, at Henderson Park.

History

The stream is in the traditional

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ' to describe the territory or boundaries of tribes (, although some divide their into several . Background In 1793, chief Tuki Te Terenui Whare Pirau who had been brought to Norfolk Island drew ...

Te Kawerau ā Maki Te Kawerau ā Maki, Te Kawerau a Maki, or Te Kawerau-a-Maki is a Māori ''iwi'' (tribe) of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Predominantly based in West Auckland (Hikurangi also known as Waitākere), it had 251 registered adult members as of J ...

, and was traditionally known as Te Wai-ō-Panuku ("The Stream of Panuku") or Ōpanuku. Ōpanuku was also a name used for the Henderson Valley in general. The stream is named after one of the oldest Te Kawerau ā Maki ancestors, Panuku, who was the wife of Parekura, and died after being kidnapped by Nihotupu. The stream represents the life force of Panuku. Near Rua ō Te Whenua, the hill in the Waitākere Ranges where the stream begins, was one of the traditional burial areas of Te Kawerau ā Maki. The mid-section of the river is the location of Ōpareira, a former kāinga (unfortified settlement), while the Border Road Esplanade area in the lower stream was known as Waitaro, referring to the

taro Taro (; ''Colocasia esculenta'') is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, stems and Petiole (botany), petioles. Taro corms are a ...

plants which grew there. The point where the Ōpanuku Stream meets Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek (modern-day Falls Park / Tui Glen Reserve) was known as Te Kōpua, and was the location of a strategic

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

for Te Kawerau ā Maki. The stream was one of the first streams in West Auckland to be dammed for

logging in the 1850s. The river was used to transport logs from the Waitākere Ranges to the Henderson Mill. The northern banks of the Ōpanuku Stream at Henderson became a vineyard for Lebanese New Zealander Assid Abraham Corban in 1907. In the late 1920s, a flood washed out the bridges that crossed the Ōpanuku Stream. Between the mid-2000s and the 2020s, large-scale riparian planting was undertaken along the Ōpanuku Stream as a part of Project Twin Streams.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Opanuku Stream Henderson-Massey Local Board Area Rivers of Auckland Te Kawerau ā Maki Waitākere Ranges Local Board Area Waitematā Harbour catchment West Auckland, New Zealand

Geography

Biodiversity

History

See also

References