The Tauweru River, sometimes called the Taueru River, is a river in the

Wairarapa The Wairarapa (; ), a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service t ...

region of

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 drains from the pastoral eastern highlands of the Wairarapa and joins the

Ruamahanga River The Ruamahanga River runs through the southeastern North Island of New Zealand. The river's headwaters are in the Tararua Range northwest of Masterton. From there it runs firstly south and then southwest for before emptying into the Cook Str ...

just north of the Gladstone Road bridge into

Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

, southeast of Carterton. The river's name is

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 Co ...

for "hanging in clusters" and named after it is the town of

Tauweru Tauweru, alternatively Taueru, and previously known as Wardell,Sharpe, Marty, 6 July 2002, ''Wairarapa Times-Age''. or WardelltownResults of the New Zealand Census, 28 March 1886/ref> is a locality in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand's North I ...

, located along the middle reaches of the river east of

Masterton Masterton () is a large town in the Wellington Region, Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa ...

. The river itself is slow and sluggish, flowing in a willow-lined, restricted and gravel-less channel. A group of local farmers, the Mid-Tauweru Landcare Group, was established in 2000 to facilitate sound management of the river's

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...

by replacing willows with native plants to enhance the river's flow and biodiversity. Its

catchment A drainage basin is an area of land in which all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, th ...

east of Masterton is extensive and

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

conditions in the lower three kilometres of the river are considered to be excellent, especially in summer. Fish and Game New Zealand: Wellington - Fishing - Access

References

Rivers of the Wellington Region Rivers of New Zealand {{Wellington-river-stub