The Pahurehure Inlet is an inlet of the Manukau Harbour of 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 ...

of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

. It is one of the three major inlets of the Manukau Harbour, alongside the Māngere Inlet and Waiuku Inlet.

Geography

The Pahurehure Inlet is found in the southeast of the Manukau Harbour. It borders the suburbs of Weymouth, Wattle Downs, Waiata Shores,

Conifer Grove Conifer Grove is an upper-middle class suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. Located on the eastern shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, on the Manukau Harbour, under authority of the Auckland Council. The suburb makes up the western side of t ...

Papakura Papakura is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, approximately 32 kilometres south of the Auckland CBD. It is under the authority of the Auckland Council. Papakura is a M� ...

Pahurehure Pahurehure is a suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the south-eastern shores of the Manukau Harbour, under the authority of the Auckland Council. The suburb makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland urban area. D ...

, Karaka,

Hingaia Hingaia is a rural coastal suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, to the southwest of the Papakura Town Centre. History During the major reformation of local government in 1989, Hingaia was includ ...

, Drury and Auranga. Major subsections of the inlet include the Waimahia Creek, Drury Creek and Whangamaire Creek. Many major waterways of South Auckland and northern Franklin empty into the Pahurehure Inlet, including the Papakura Stream, Hingaia Stream, Ngakoroa Stream, Otūwairoa Stream and Waipokapū Stream. The inlet has one large island called Pararekau Island.

Biodiversity

The inlet is home to many bird species, including the pied stilt, royal spoonbill, white-faced heron and

banded rail The buff-banded rail (''Hypotaenidia philippensis'') is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the rail family, Rallidae. This species comprises several subspecies found throughout much of Australasia and the south- ...

History

The traditional

Tāmaki Māori Tāmaki Māori are Māori ''iwi'' and ''hapū'' (tribes and sub-tribes) who have a strong connection to Tāmaki Makaurau (the Auckland Region), and whose rohe was traditionally within the region. Among Ngā Mana Whenua o Tāmaki Makaurau (the M ...

name for the inlet is "The Place of the Ebbing Tide", also shortened to . The area is culturally significant to

Waiohua Te Waiohua or Te Wai-o-Hua is a Māori iwi (tribe) confederation that thrived in the early 18th century. The iwi's rohe (tribal area) was primarily the central Tāmaki Makaurau area (the Auckland isthmus) and the Māngere peninsula, until the 17 ...

iwi, including Ngāti Tamaoho,

Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua is a Māori iwi from the area around the Manukau Harbour in the Auckland Region of New Zealand. Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua were traditionally known as Te Ruakaiwhare, after the tribal guardian Kaiwhare, who protects the waters o ...

Te Ākitai Waiohua Te Ākitai Waiohua is a Māori iwi of the southern part of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. History Te Ākitai Waiohua are descended from Kiwi Tāmaki, the grandson of Huakaiwaka, himself the ancestor of the Waiohua iwi, who lived in Tāmaki ...

, and to Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The inlet was an important corridor for trade, transport and communication, and Waiohua iwi operated seasonal fishing

kāinga A kāinga ( Southern Māori ''kaika'' or ''kaik'') is the traditional form of village habitation of pre-European Māori in New Zealand. It was unfortified or only lightly fortified, and over time became less important to the well-defended pā. D ...

on the islands of the inlet. In 1963, two tidal arms were separated from the Pahurehure Inlet when the

Auckland Southern Motorway The Auckland Southern Motorway (also known as the Southern Motorway, and historically as the Auckland–Hamilton Motorway) is the major route south out of the Auckland Region of New Zealand. It is part of New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highw ...

was constructed. This led to sediment build-up, and these tidal arms being colonised by mangroves.

Amenities

The Papakura section of the inlet has a public walkway, between Ray Small Park and Youngs Beach Reserve.

References

{{Papakura Local Board Area Franklin Local Board Area Inlets of New Zealand Manukau Harbour Manurewa Local Board Area Papakura Local Board Area Landforms of the Auckland Region