Mangatāwhiri River
River in New Zealand
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Mangatāwhiri River is a river of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally southwest from its sources in the Hunua Ranges southeast of Clevedon before flowing through a system of irrigation canals at the northern edge of the Waikato Plains close to the town of Pōkeno. It reaches the Waikato River close to the township of Mercer.
| Mangatāwhiri River | |
|---|---|
Mangatāwhiri River between the old and new Great South Rd bridges | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Mouth | |
• location | Waikato River |
| Length | 20 km (12 mi) |
Basin size | 104 km2 (40 sq mi) |
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "Tāwhiri tree stream" for Mangatāwhiri.[1]
The upper reaches of the Mangatāwhiri are dammed to form reservoirs to store water for use by Auckland City.
History
During a meeting of the Māori King movement at Peria agreed that they would consider the construction of a road across the river as a hostile act from the government. The crossing of the river by colonial forces is considered the start of the invasion of the Waikato.[2]