Kawhātau River
Kawhātau River in 1954
Native nameKawhātau (Māori)
Location
RegionManawatū-Whanganui
DistrictRangitikei District
Physical characteristics
SourceOhuinga
 • locationRuahine Range
 • coordinates39°51′33″S 176°07′50″E / 39.85920°S 176.13065°E / -39.85920; 176.13065
 • elevation1686m
MouthRangitīkei River
 • coordinates
39°46′27″S 175°48′30″E / 39.77417°S 175.80833°E / -39.77417; 175.80833
 • elevation
365m
Length55km
Basin size23,000ha
Basin features
River systemRangitikei River
Tributaries 
 • leftPourangaki River

The Kawhātau River is a river of about 55 km (34 mi) in the southwestern North Island of New Zealand. Its source is in the Ruahine Range and its outflow is into the larger Rangitīkei River, which it meets close to Mangaweka. It was given the official name of Kawhātau River in 2020.[1] It is joined by the Pourangaki River at Upper Kawhātau.[2]

Geology

Like other parts of the Rangitīkei River system, the Kawhātau has been incised into the soft Quaternary, 3.5 to 1.7 million year old marine mudstones and sandstones, as the land has risen since the last ice age.[3] A large proportion of the sediment in the Rangitīkei comes from the Kawhātau.[4] Gravel has long[5] been taken from the river.[6]

History

Māori skeletons and moa bones were discovered near the river when the bush was being burnt.[7]

Felling of bush in the valley was first begun by 12 settlers from Timaru on 1,000 acres (400 ha) in 1895. At that time the only access was by a cage suspended on a 380 ft (120 m) wire rope across the Rangitīkei from Mangaweka (then called Three Log Whare).[8] Kawhātau Valley Road was being built by 1898.[9] Sawmilling of totara started about 1900[10] By 1905 it was also milling mataī and kahikatea.[11] St Stephen's Anglican church was built about 1917.[12] Possum were released into the bush in 1923 at Hinakura.[13] The area is now mainly one of sheep and beef farming, plus 3 commercial fruit and vegetable growers.[14]

Bridges

The river was bridged between 1979[15] and 1981 by the NIMT railway, as part of the Mangaweka deviation, with a 110 m (360 ft) prestressed concrete box girder, plus end spans, giving a total length of 182 m (597 ft), 70 m (230 ft) above the river.[16] It is the 6th highest railway bridge in the country.[17] The next bridge upstream carries Potaka Road and replaced a ford[18] in 1908.[19] The uppermost bridge is on Rangitane Road and was built about 1922[20][21] and replaced in 1974.[22][23]

Wildlife

Plants found in the valley in 2000 included Mazus novaezeelandiae (dwarf musk), Anemanthele lessoniana (gossamer grass), Trisetum drucei (tufted grass), Scandia rosifolia, Azorella hookeri, Rubus squarrosus (bush lawyer), Trisetum lepidum (3-bristled grass), Uncinia leptostachya (hook-sedge), Asplenium flabellifolium (necklace fern), Korthalsella lindsayi (leafless mistletoe), Myoporum laetum (Ngaio), Olearia paniculata (Akiraho), Lastreopsis velutina (shieldfern) and Schoenus pauciflorus(Sedge tussock).[24]

Walks

A circuit of the upper valley can be walked in 2, or 3 days,[25] using Kawhatau Base, a former Forest Service hut at the foot of the Hikurangi Range,[26] and Crow Hut.[27] However, since 2016, landowners have closed routes to access the upper valley.[28]

Schools

Kawhātau School opened in 1896.[29] Pourangaki School opened in 1920.[30]

References

  1. ↑ "Kawhātau River". gazetteer.linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "Pourangaki River, Manawatu-Wanganui". NZ Topo Map. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  3. ↑ T. D. Journeaux , Peter J. J. Kamp & Tim Naish (1996). "Middle Pliocene cyclothems, Mangaweka region". doi:10.1080/00288306.1996.9514700. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ↑ Guyez, Anne; Bonnet, Stephane; Reimann, Tony; Wallinga, Jakob (1 May 2020). "Fluvial transport dynamics in the Rangitikei River (New Zealand) unravelled through single-grain feldspar luminescence". Egu General Assembly Conference Abstracts: 8160. Bibcode:2020EGUGA..22.8160G. doi:10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-8160. S2CID 236803558.
  5. ↑ "RANGITIKEI CATCHMENT BOARD. WANGANUI CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 18 May 1949. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  6. ↑ "Kawhatau Gravel Resource Study" (PDF). Horizons RC. 12 June 2018.
  7. ↑ "MISCELLANEOUS. NEW ZEALAND MAIL". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 27 April 1899. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  8. ↑ ""THREE LOG WHARE." TIMARU HERALD". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 24 September 1895. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  9. ↑ "FEILDING STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 14 June 1898. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "Local and General News. FEILDING STAR". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 6 September 1900. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  11. ↑ "THE TIMBER INDUSTRY". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1905. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  12. ↑ "MANGAWEKA NOTES. RANGITIKEI ADVOCATE AND MANAWATU ARGUS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 19 May 1917. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  13. ↑ L.T. Pracy (1974). "Introduction and liberation of the opossum (Trichosurus vulpecula) into New Zealand".
  14. ↑ "Kawhatau Valley Catchment". beeflambnz.com. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  15. ↑ "No early start on viaduct PRESS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 22 February 1979. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  16. ↑ "Mangaweka to Utiku North Island rail deviation". www.engineeringnz.org. March 1988. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  17. ↑ JAMIL KHAN, GEOFF BROWN (9 October 2014). "HISTORY OF CONCRETE BRIDGES IN NEW ZEALAND" (PDF).
  18. ↑ "KIWITEA COUNTY COUNCIL. MANAWATU TIMES". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 21 August 1907. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  19. ↑ "Cart Bridge - Kawhatau River, Potaka Road". archivescentral.org.nz. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  20. ↑ "RANGITIKEI COUNTY COUNCIL. WANGANUI CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 29 October 1920. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  21. ↑ "RANGITIKEI COUNTY COUNCIL. WANGANUI CHRONICLE". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 22 December 1922. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  22. ↑ "Kiwitea County Council, Renewal of Hikurangi and Kawhatau River Bridges on Upper Kawhatau Road - General Plan and Elevation". archivescentral.org.nz. 1974. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  23. ↑ "Kiwitea County Council, Renewal of Hikurangi and Kawhatau River Bridges on Upper Kawhatau Road - Site Plan and Longitudinal Section of Approach Roads". archivescentral.org.nz. 1974. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  24. ↑ "List of Vascular Plants of Forest Remnants adjoining Lower Kawhatau River" (PDF). nzpcn.org. 5 January 2000.
  25. ↑ "Kawhatau Base Circuit via Crow Hut". Wilderness Magazine. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  26. ↑ "Kawhatau Base". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  27. ↑ "Crow Hut". www.doc.govt.nz. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  28. ↑ Matthew Pike (14 March 2016). "None shall pass". Wilderness Magazine. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  29. ↑ "DEPARTMENT OF LANDS AND SURVEY ANNUAL REPORT". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1896. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
  30. ↑ "EDUCATION: PRIMARY". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 1920. Retrieved 23 October 2022.
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