Wikipedia

Mawaihakona Stream

The Mawaihakona Stream (also known as Māwai Hākona Stream) is a small watercourse in Upper Hutt, in the North Island of New Zealand. The stream begins at a spring in Trentham Memorial Park and drains the western side of the Hutt Valley from Trentham to Heretaunga, flowing into the Hutt River north of the Silverstream bridge. An environmental restoration project has been underway since 2002 with the aim of restoring the health of the stream. Over 10,000 trees have been planted on the banks of the stream, and the stream bed has been progressively cleared of invasive exotic species. The project has been recognised with several environmental awards.

Mawaihakona Stream
Stream with vegetation on banks
Mawaihakona Stream showing replanted banks
Map
Native nameMāwai Hākona (Māori)
Location
CountryNew Zealand
RegionWellington
Physical characteristics
Source 
 • locationTrentham
Mouth 
 • location
Hutt River
 • coordinates
41°8′33″S 175°0′7″E / 41.14250°S 175.00194°E / -41.14250; 175.00194
 • elevation
40 m (130 ft)

Toponymy

edit

The word Mawaihakona means "stream where clear water was scooped out".[1] The name Mawai Hakona was the Māori name for the Trentham district,[2] and was formerly used as the name for a settlement near Trentham railway station.[3]

Geography

edit

The stream begins at a spring in Trentham Memorial Park and drains the western side of the Hutt Valley from Trentham to Heretaunga. It passes through the property of Wellington Golf Club, around Heretaunga Park and the perimeter of the playing fields of St Patrick's College, Silverstream and flows into the Hutt River north of the Silverstream bridge.[4][5] In the section near Heretaunga Park the stream is broad and attracts a large number of ducks and other waterfowl.[6]

Introduction of grass carp

edit

In 1997, Upper Hutt City Council and the Wellington Golf Club proposed to introduce diploid grass carp into the stream for aquatic weed control. The plan was opposed by the Wellington Fish and Game Council and Forest & Bird because of the potential environmental consequences if grass carp became established as a breeding population.[7][8] The Upper Hutt City Council withdrew from the proposal, but in June 1998 a contractor for the Wellington Golf Club released 260 diploid carp into the stream. Consent had been obtained from the Department of Conservation and Ministry of Fisheries but not from the Wellington Fish and Game Council, who threatened legal action.[9]

Environmental restoration

edit

In 2002, Bart Hogan established the Friends of the Mawaihakona Stream, with the aim of restoring the health of the stream.[10] At that time, woody weeds including gorse, broom, blackberry, and alder grew along banks of the stream and the stream itself was choked with crack willow. The project aimed to remove those weeds and plant the stream banks with lowland forest species that were present prior to European settlement. The planting has included emergent forest trees such as rimu, tōtara, mataī and kahikatea. Pathways, bridges and seats were built to provide walkways through the planted areas. The work has been carried out by volunteers, and the native plants have been funded through grants and donations. The group Friends of the Mawaihakona Stream became a registered charity in 2014.[4][10][11] By 2020, over 10,000 trees had been planted.[12]

The stream has been overgrown with aquatic weeds. The oxygen weed Lagarosiphon major was first reported in the stream in 2003.[13] Another invasive aquatic plant in the stream is cape pond weed. These weeds have to be removed by hand.[14]

A fish ladder was constructed by Wellington Regional Council to assist fish to enter the stream from the Hutt River. Surveys of fish in the stream have revealed that eels and inanga are present.[10]

 
Australasian shoveler (male) in the Mawaihakona Stream

During the removal of willow from the stream, an 18-metre-long (59 ft) tōtara log was discovered. This was used to create large marker posts (pou rāhui) at each end of the replanted section of the stream signifying that the planted area has a rāhui or protected status.[11]

In 2020, a proposed major land development was announced for land immediately adjacent to the restored stream banks. The land is a flood plain of the Hutt River. To allow building on the site, the proposal was to raise the level of the land by 3 m (9.8 ft), requiring the placement of 550,000 m3 (19,000,000 cu ft) of fill, in a project that would take at least 7 years and potentially have a major impact on the planted area.[12]

Awards

edit

In August 2023, the Friends of the Mawaihakona Stream received both the Heritage and Environment Award and the Regional Supreme Award in the 2023 Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards - Upper Hutt.[15] The project also won the Environmental and Sustainability Award at the 2024 Hutt Valley Sports Awards.[16][17]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Mawaihakona Stream". New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  2. ^ "The Mawai-Hakona Maori Association Upper Hutt". Te Ao Hou. June 1965. p. 3. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Crown Lands Sale". Hutt Valley Independent. 9 February 1911 – via Papers Past.
  4. ^ a b "Māwai Hakona - a place that makes us want to learn". Enviroschools. 5 August 2021. Archived from the original on 20 July 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Mawaihakona Stream". NZ Topomap. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  6. ^ Milne, Juliet; Wyatt, Katherine (August 2006). "Will I get sick if I swim? Suitability for recreation grades for selected marine and fresh water bathing sites in the Wellington region" (PDF). Greater Wellington Regional Council. p. 22. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  7. ^ Williams, Sharon (3 July 1997). "Ecological dangers seen in grass carp proposal". Evening Post. ProQuest 314492329.
  8. ^ Sheddan, Amanda (12 September 1997). "Councils want to try carp as weed-eaters". Dominion. ProQuest 314957589.
  9. ^ Williams, Sharon (25 July 1998). "Club carp in creek sparks legal threat". Evening Post. p. 3. ProQuest 314564735.
  10. ^ a b c "A message from the Friends of the Mawaihakona Stream". The Upper Hutt Connection. 7 March 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  11. ^ a b "Friends of the Mawaihakona Stream". Trees That Count. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  12. ^ a b Tso, Matthew (14 August 2020). "Massive proposed earthworks sparks concern for environmental restoration". Stuff. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. ^ de Winton, Mary D.; Champion, Paul D.; Clayton, John S.; Wells, Rohan D.S. (2009). "Spread and status of seven submerged pest plants in New Zealand lakes". New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research. 43: 554. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Friends of Mawaihakona Stream – Update: 28th of September, 2023". The Upper Hutt Connection. 27 September 2023. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Friends of the Mawaihakona Stream Upper Hutt winners". Wellington Airport. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Hutt Valley Sports Awards - 2024 Winners". Hutt Valley Sports Awards. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  17. ^ "The Mawaihakona Stream Restoration Project wins the Environmental and Sustainability Award at the Hutt Valley Sports Awards 2024". The Upper Hutt Connection. 27 May 2024. Archived from the original on 17 August 2024. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
edit
 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mawaihakona Stream.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mawaihakona_Stream&oldid=1240752260"