Papakura Stream

The stream begins in the Whitford Forest north of Brookby township, flowing south-west through farmland of the Brookby Valley, and through the suburbs of Alfriston, Randwick Park, Takanini and Manurewa. The stream reaches the Pahurehure Inlet of the Manukau Harbour, flowing past Wattle Downs to the west and Waiata Shores to the east.{{Cite web |url=https://gazetteer.linz.govt.nz/place/35256 |title=Papakura Stream|website=New Zealand Gazetteer |publisher=Land Information New Zealand|access-date=5 April 2023}}{{cite report|url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/technicalpublications/TR2008-014%20-%20Papakura%20stream%20assessment%20and%20management%20study.pdf |title=Papakura Stream Assessment and Management Study |date=October 2008 |last1=Bull |first1=L.S. |last2=Sides |first2=E. |last3=Lewis |first3=M. |last4=Wilson-Zandvoort |first4=K. |last5=Stephenson |first5=T. |last6=Ruffell |first6=J. |last7=Steer |first7=J. |last8=de Luca |first8=S. |last9=Slaven |first9=D. |work=Boffa Miskell Limited |publisher=Auckland Regional Council |isbn=978-1-877483-55-4 |access-date=5 April 2023}} The stream is approximately 63 kilometres long, with a catchment of approximately 4,100 hectares.

Papakura Stream is occasionally referred to as Māhia Stream.{{cite book|title=Naming Manurewa: Place and Street Names in Manurewa, Weymouth and Wiri |first1=Bruce |last1=Ringer |publisher=Manurewa Historical Society |year=2021 |isbn=978-0-473-59363-6 |pages=92}}

The stream is a known habitat for koura (native freshwater crayfish).{{cite report|url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/districtplanmanukau/changes/pa76/pa76vol2appv.pdf |title=Auckland Council District Plan Operative Manukau Section 2002: Plan amendment 76 - NOR for Mill Road - Volume 2 - Appendix V |publisher=Auckland Council |access-date=5 April 2023}}

The stream is in the traditional rohe of Waiohua, including Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua and Te Ākitai Waiohua, as well as Ngāi Tai ki Tāmaki. The stream was used as a source for freshwater resources, including koura and eels.{{cite report|url=http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/council/documents/districtplanmanukau/changes/pa76/pa76vol2appi.pdf |title=Redoubt Road – Mill Road Corridor Project Maori Values Assessment for Auckland Transport |date=December 2012 |author=Ngāti Te Ata Waiohua |publisher=Auckland Transport |access-date=30 March 2023}} By the early colonial era, the catchment of the stream was used by European settlers and Māori to harvest timber and flax. During European settlement, the stream was highly modified for agriculture.

The stream was used by the Lactos Ltd factory in the 1930s as a source of water, and from 1949, the East Tamaki Co-operative Dairy Company constructed a milk powder factory on the east side of stream in Takanini. The stream would regularly flood in the 1950s, causing problems for the factory.{{cite Q|Q117421984|page=24}}

The Papakura Stream formed the border between Manukau City and the Papakura District from 1989 to 2010.

By the late 2010s, the stream had become one of the more polluted waterways in the Auckland Region. A major volunteer regeneration project for the stream began in 2021, with an estimated 11,000 native trees planted along the stream's banks in the first year.{{cite news|url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/443515/volunteers-descend-on-papakura-stream-for-major-clean-up |title=Volunteers descend on Papakura Stream for major clean-up |date=27 May 2021 |website=Radio New Zealand |first=Carmina |last=Blewett |access-date=5 April 2023}}

The stream has two shared paths as it reaches the Manukau Harbour: the Wattle Downs South Path on the western banks,{{cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/auckland-seven-secret-cycleways/IKZCO43LFJ4Y3D7EP2O5WFZVBU/ |title=Auckland: Seven secret cycleways |date=8 February 2015 |website=The New Zealand Herald |first=Elisabeth |last= Easther |access-date=5 April 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/parks-recreation/get-outdoors/aklpaths/Pages/path-detail.aspx?ItemId=70 |title=Wattle Downs South Path |publisher=Auckland Council |access-date=5 April 2023}} and the Waiata Shores Shared Path, on the southeastern banks further upstream. A footbridge has been proposed to link Wattle Downs to Waiata Shores.{{Cite web|title=Bridging communities across the Papakura Stream|url=https://www.bikeauckland.org.nz/bridging-communities-papakura-stream/|date=2019-05-19|access-date=2021-12-01|publisher=Bike Auckland}}

• List of rivers of New Zealand

{{Reflist}}

{{Manurewa Local Board Area}}

{{Papakura Local Board Area}}

Category:Manukau Harbour catchment

Category:Manurewa Local Board Area

Category:Papakura Local Board Area

Category:Rivers of Auckland