The Tutaekuri River (Māori: Tūtaekurī) flows eastward for 99.9 kilometres through the Hawke's Bay Region of the eastern North Island of New Zealand into the Pacific Ocean. It starts in the Kaweka Range roughly 50 kilometres north-east of Taihape, and reaches the sea just to the south of Napier, where the Ngaruroro and Clive Rivers join it.[1]
| Tutaekuri River | |
|---|---|
 The Tutaekuri at Puketapu | |
 | |
| Location | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Physical characteristics | |
| Source | |
| • location | Kaweka Ranges |
| • elevation | 759 m (2,490 ft) |
| Mouth | |
• location | Heretaunga Plains |
• elevation | Sea level |
| Length | 99.9 km (62.1 mi) |
History
editNgāti Pārau, which is the local Māori hapū (sub-tribe), are said to have disposed of their waste food in the river. Tribes such as Ngāti Pāhauwera travelled to the river to share food and trade.[2]
According to Ngāti Te Whatuiāpiti tradition, the river received the name Tūtaekurī, which means "dog-excrement", in commemoration of a feast in the late seventeenth century, when Kaitahi was travelling from Pōrangahau to Oeroa with people from Ngāti Kahungunu, and his cousin Te Hikawera found the travellers en route eating kōuka (shoots of the tī kōuka or cabbage tree). Hikawera invited them to Te Umukuri and feasted them on eels, freshwater mussels, and dogs. The innards of the dogs were disposed of in the traditional manner in the nearby river, which therefore gained its name. In thanks for his hospitality, the guests gave Te Rangimokai as a wife for Te Hikawera. One of their sons, Te Kereru, was an ancestor of Ngāti Pārau.[3]
Until 1931, the lowest part of the Tutaekuri River flowed north, following its original channel (the location of present-day Taradale) and into Ahuriri Harbour. In the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake, the land underneath Ahuriri Harbour was drastically raised. The river was forced to seek an alternative route and started to back up, and so the residents of Hawke's Bay dug out a new, alternate path connecting it to the Ngaruroro River, into which it still flows today.[4]
On 14 February 2023, the Tutaekuri River experienced a major flood as Cyclone Gabrielle moved over New Zealand. Due to buildup of debris at key crossing points such as the Redclyffe and Brookfields bridges, the riverbanks failed, flooding large areas of Puketapu, Taradale, Meeanee and Awatoto. Four bridges crossing the Tutaekuri collapsed, while the major Redclyffe electrical substation beside the river was heavily damaged, leaving 32,000 properties in Napier without power.
References
edit- ^ "Place name detail: Tutaekuri River". New Zealand Gazetteer. New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 18 April 2020.
- ^ Harper, Belinda (2018). "Summary of cultural values associated with water bodies in Hawke's Bay" (PDF). hbrc.govt.nz. Hawke's Bay Regional Council. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ Parsons, Patrick (1997). WAI 400: The Ahuriri Block: Maori Cusomary Interests (PDF). p. 132 & 136. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ McLintock, A. H., ed. (1966). "Tutaekuri River". An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 2 December 2023 – via Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand.