Porirua Harbour

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Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour
Porirua Harbour
Sunset, Porirua harbour entrance.jpg
Sunset over Porirua Inlet and Harbour entrance
NZ-NI plain map.png
Disc Plain red.svg
Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour
Location on the North Island
Location Porirua, Wellington, New Zealand
Coordinates 41°05′S174°51′E / 41.083°S 174.850°E / -41.083; 174.850
Type Harbour
River sourcesPorirua Stream, Pauatahanui Stream
Ocean/sea sources Tasman Sea

Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour, commonly known as Porirua Harbour, is a natural inlet in the south-western coast of the North Island of New Zealand. [1]

Contents

The harbour is within the main urban area of the Wellington Region, and is surrounded by the city of Porirua, with the city centre to the south of the harbour.

Geography

The harbour has an entrance only a few hundred metres in width, close to the suburb of Plimmerton. It opens up into two arms, Onepoto Arm to the south and Pauatahanui Arm to the north-east. Each arm is around three kilometres in length. [1]

The Pauatahanui Inlet arm extends eastward to the settlement of Pāuatahanui. The wetland there where the Pauatahanui Stream enters the Pauatahanui Inlet, is the largest remaining estuarine wetland in the lower North Island, and the Pauatahanui Wildlife Reserve was established in the 1980s to protect the inlet's environment and to restore damaged areas. [1]

History

The Porirua Harbour formed when westward flowing rivers were drowned by rising postglacial sea levels approximately 10000–14000 years ago. [2] There is a tradition that the 1855 Wairarapa Earthquake caused tectonic uplift in the Pauatahanui Arm of the inlet, changing the shoreline and reducing its navigability. However, according to George Eiby, the inlet always had limited accessibility, and the earthquake didn't significantly change the shoreline, with any changes likely coming from more recent sedimentation. [3]

Part of the Porirua Inlet was reclaimed for a causeway carrying the North Island Main Trunk railway when the section between Porirua and Mana was straightened and double tracked. The new section of the Kapiti Line was opened on 7 November 1960. A new Paremata Railway Station and bridge over the entrance to the Pauatahanui Inlet were required. [4] [5]

The line no longer followed the curves of the shoreline bays north of Porirua, and three shallow lagoons on the land side of the new causeway were created. When State Highway 1 was re-aligned and straightened in the 1970s to run alongside the rail line, these lagoons were partially filled in. Aotea Lagoon was developed into a recreational area, albeit very polluted. [4] [1]

The name of the harbour was officially altered to Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour in August 2014. [6]

Recreation

The Pauatahanui Inlet is used for windsurfing, but is not recommended for swimming. [1]

North of Paremata are the swimming beaches of Plimmerton and Karehana Bay. The southern end of Plimmerton Beach is also exposed to northwesterly winds for windsurfing. [1]

There are also fishing spots at Tokaapapa Reef (or Grandfather rocks) off Plimmerton, Mana Island and Hunters Bank. However, weather conditions can change quickly and can be hazardous. [1]

Guardians of Pāuatahanui Inlet

A community group, the Guardians of Pāuatahanui Inlet, was set up in 1991 as a registered charity, [7] to undertake tasks such as cleaning up around the inlet. They also run photographic competitions. [8]

The Pauatahanui arm of the Porirua Harbour with the entrance at the extreme left and Pauatahanui at the extreme right Pauatahanui Inlet-20070919.jpg
The Pauatahanui arm of the Porirua Harbour with the entrance at the extreme left and Pauatahanui at the extreme right
Porirua Harbour viewed from Camborne. Mana Island is in the centre; Plimmerton to the right. Pauatahanui inlet to the left. Camborne panorama March 2010.jpg
Porirua Harbour viewed from Camborne. Mana Island is in the centre; Plimmerton to the right. Pauatahanui inlet to the left.
Porirua Harbour (bottom centre) and Pauatahanui Inlet (top centre) viewed from the ISS. Porirua Harbour and Mana Island, New Zealand (ISS014-E-18096).jpg
Porirua Harbour (bottom centre) and Pauatahanui Inlet (top centre) viewed from the ISS.

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porirua City Council</span> Territorial authority of New Zealand

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Camborne, New Zealand</span> Suburb of Porirua

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mana Island (New Zealand)</span> Island in New Zealand

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aotea Lagoon</span> Lagoon in Porirua

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kapiti Line</span> Wellington commuter rail line

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mana, New Zealand</span> Suburb in Porirua, New Zealand

Mana is a locality of Porirua City in New Zealand, part of the Suburb of Paremata. It is a narrow isthmus bounded to the west by the entrance to Porirua Harbour, and to the east by the Pauatahanui inlet of the Porirua Harbour. Mana Island lies about three kilometres west of the isthmus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taupō Swamp</span> Swamp in New Zealand

Taupō Swamp is a lowland freshwater swamp located three kilometres (1.9 mi) north of Plimmerton and 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-northeast of Wellington. In 1986 the Queen Elizabeth II National Trust purchased Taupō Swamp with the aim of both protecting and restoring the wetland. Taupō Swamp is home to largely indigenous vegetation including sedges, flax, ferns, shrubs, herbaceous plants, and grasses. Flax leaves shelter and shade the swamp providing a habitat that is favourable for eels and native fish including galaxiid species. There are invasive plant species present that threaten the swamp including Darwin's barberry, Blackberry, Gorse, Broom, Pussy Willow and Japanese honeysuckle. Another possible threat is development of nearby land as this may cause silt to run off into the swamp as well as fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paremata railway station</span> Railway station in New Zealand

Paremata railway station on the Kapiti Line section of the North Island Main Trunk Railway (NIMT) in Paremata in the city of Porirua, New Zealand, is part of the Wellington Region's Metlink suburban rail network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porirua railway station</span> Railway station in New Zealand

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The Haywards–Plimmerton Line was a railway development proposed several times between 1879 and the 1960s to connect the Hutt Valley and Porirua areas of Wellington via Haywards.

State Highway 58 (SH 58) is a New Zealand state highway in the Wellington Region linking the Hutt Valley to Porirua City.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitireia Park</span>

Whitireia Park is a headland north of Tītahi Bay and Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour in Porirua, in the Wellington Region at the southern end of New Zealand's North Island. It is a park administered by the Whitireia Park Board, in collaboration with Wellington Regional Council. The park includes Onehunga Bay, Kaitawa Point and part of Rocky Bay.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour". gw.govt.nz. Wellington Regional Council.
  2. J. Irwin (1976) Morphological stability of pauatahanui inlet, porirua harbour, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 10:4, 641-650, doi:10.1080/00288330.1976.9515646
  3. George Eiby (1990) Changes to Porirua Harbour in about 1855 : historical tradition and geological evidence, Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 20:2, 233-248, doi:10.1080/03036758.1990.10426727
  4. 1 2 Hoy, D.G. Rails out of the Capital (NZRLS, 1970) pp. 70,71
  5. "Porirua Harbour Basin c1956 (images)". Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand. 1956.
  6. "NZGB decisions". Land Information New Zealand. August 2014. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 7 November 2015.
  7. "Guardians of Pāuatahanui Inlet". NZBN. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  8. "Caring for the inlet". Guardians of Pāuatahanui Inlet. Retrieved 8 October 2021.