Waikumete Stream | |
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| |
Location | |
Country | New Zealand |
Region | Auckland Region |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | |
• location | Titirangi |
Mouth | Oratia Stream |
• location | Sunnyvale |
• coordinates | 36°53′38″S 174°37′57″E / 36.89389°S 174.63250°E |
Length | 6 km (4 mi) |
Basin features | |
Progression | Waikumete Stream → Oratia Stream → Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek → Waitematā Harbour |
River system | Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek |
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.
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]
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]