The Papakura Stream, also known as the Papakura Creek, is a major stream in

South Auckland South Auckland is an imprecisely defined urban area of Auckland, New Zealand, with a young population, a relatively large Polynesian and Māori demographic, and lower incomes than other parts of Auckland. The name ''South Auckland'', though not ...

, 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. Containin ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

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-larges ...

. It flows south-west from near the

Brookby Brookby is a rural suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. Brookby is approximately 5 kilometres west of Clevedon and 5 km southeast of Whitford, New Zealand, Whitford. Originally established as a farming community with few people living in the ar ...

to the

Pahurehure Inlet The Pahurehure Inlet is an inlet of the Manukau Harbour of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is one of the three major inlets of the Manukau Harbour, alongside the Māngere Inlet and Waiuku Inlet. Geography The Pahureh ...

of 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 ...

. The stream forms the border between

Manurewa Manurewa is a major suburb in South Auckland, New Zealand. It was part of Manukau City before the creation of the Auckland super city in 2010. It is located south of the Manukau City Centre, and southeast of Auckland CBD. The suburb is bise ...

and

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 ...

Description

The stream begins in the Whitford Forest north of

township, flowing south-west through farmland of the Brookby Valley, and through the suburbs of

Alfriston Alfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles (6 km) north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part ...

Randwick Park Randwick Park is an eastern residential suburb of the city of Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb had high unemployment and high crime rates in the early 2000s, but after a liquor store owner was killed in 2008, a residents' association was form ...

Takanini Takanini is a southern suburb of Auckland, in northern New Zealand. It is located on the shores of the Pahurehure Inlet, 28 kilometres southeast of the Auckland CBD. The suburb is home to a Fonterra Brands milk plant (part of the dairy company ...

and

. The stream reaches the

of the

, flowing past

Wattle Downs Wattle Downs is a suburb of South Auckland, New Zealand. The suburb is located in the Wattle farm peninsula of the Manukau Harbour and is in the Manurewa-Papakura ward, one of the thirteen administrative divisions of Auckland Council. It is ...

to the west and Waiata Shores to the east. The stream is approximately 63 kilometres long, with a catchment of approximately 4,100 hectares. Papakura Stream is occasionally referred to as Māhia Stream.

Biodiversity

The stream is a known habitat for koura (native freshwater crayfish).

History

The stream is in the traditional

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ''rohe'' to describe the territory or boundaries of ''iwi'' (tribes), although some divide their rohe into several ''takiwā''. The areas shown on the map (right) are indicative only, and some iwi ...

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 1 ...

, including

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 ...

and

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 ...

, as well as

Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki is a Māori tribe that is based in the area around Clevedon, part of the Auckland region (''Tāmaki'' in the Māori language). It is one of the twelve members of the Hauraki Collective of tribes. The founding ancestors ...

. The stream was used as a source for freshwater resources, including koura and eels. By the early colonial era, the catchment of the stream was used by European settlers and Māori to harvest timber and flax. During European settlement, the stream was highly modified for agriculture. The stream was used by the Lactos Ltd factory in the 1930s as a source of water, and from 1949, the East Tamaki Co-operative Dairy Company constructed a milk powder factory on the east side of stream in

. The stream would regularly flood in the 1950s, causing problems for the factory. The Papakura Stream formed the border between

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as "South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

and the

Papakura District Papakura District was a local council territory in New Zealand's Auckland Region that was governed by the Papakura District Council from 1989 until 2010. The area makes up the southernmost part of the Auckland metropolitan area. The area was ...

from 1989 to 2010. By the late 2010s, the stream had become one of the more polluted waterways in the

. A major volunteer regeneration project for the stream began in 2021, with an estimated 11,000 native trees planted along the stream's banks in the first year.

Amenities

The stream has two shared paths as it reaches the Manukau Harbour: the Wattle Downs South Path on the western banks, and the Waiata Shores Shared Path, on the southeastern banks further upstream. A

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at a ...

has been proposed to link Wattle Downs to Waiata Shores.

References

{{Papakura Local Board Area Manukau Harbour catchment Manurewa Local Board Area Papakura Local Board Area Rivers of Auckland

Description

Biodiversity

History

Amenities

See also

References