| Waikumete Stream | |||||||||||||||||
| Map: |
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| Map Size: | 270px | ||||||||||||||||
| Pushpin Map: | Auckland#New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||
| Pushpin Map Size: | 270px | ||||||||||||||||
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Mouth of the Waikumete Stream | ||||||||||||||||
| Subdivision Type1: | Country | ||||||||||||||||
| Subdivision Name1: | New Zealand | ||||||||||||||||
| Subdivision Type2: | Region | ||||||||||||||||
| Subdivision Name2: | Auckland Region | ||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 6abbr=onNaNabbr=on | ||||||||||||||||
| Source1 Location: | Titirangi | ||||||||||||||||
| Mouth: | Oratia Stream | ||||||||||||||||
| Mouth Location: | Sunnyvale | ||||||||||||||||
| Mouth Coordinates: | -36.8939°N 174.6325°W | ||||||||||||||||
| Progression: | Waikumete Stream → Oratia Stream → Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek → Waitematā Harbour | ||||||||||||||||
| River System: | Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek | ||||||||||||||||
The Waikumete Stream is a stream of the Auckland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows north from its sources in Titirangi, before joining the Oratia Stream. Both bodies are tributaries of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek, which flows into the western Waitematā Harbour. The stream passes through the suburbs of Titirangi, Kaurilands, Glen Eden and Sunnyvale, and since the mid-2000s has been forested with native flora.
The stream begins north of Titirangi township, flowing north through the suburbs of Kaurilands and Glen Eden.[1] At Glen Eden, the stream changes course, flowing north-west towards Parrs Park.[1] The stream finishes its course at Millbrook Esplanade in the suburb of Sunnyvale, where it flows into the Oratia Stream.[1]
The stream has one tributary, the Hibernia Stream,[2] which flows parallel to the Waikumete Stream to the west, flowing through Wirihana Park and Kowhai Reserve, meeting the Waikumete Stream at Ceramco Park.
The stream is a habitat for the New Zealand longfin eel, the short-finned eel, cran's bully, common bully (toitoi), redfin bully, New Zealand smelt, banded kōkopu, common galaxias (īnanga) and torrentfish (panoko).
The stream is in the traditional rohe of Te Kawerau ā Maki.[3] While the stream's traditional name has been lost, the upper catchments of Te Wai-o-Pareira / Henderson Creek were known as Ōkaurirahi, due to the large kauri trees in the area.[3] When the area was settled by Europeans, the stream was given the name Waikumete, a name applied to the area (but originally referring to Little Muddy Creek to the south of Titirangi.[3] The area was milled for kauri timber in the mid-19th century.[3] The stream was officially gazetted as the Waikumete Stream in 1988.[1]
On 23 May 1992, the Waikumete Stream was polluted with tributyltin by a timber treatment yard, resulting in the death of wildlife and contaminated sediments over the next two years.[4] Between the mid-2000s and the 2020s, large-scale riparian planting was undertaken along the Waikumete Stream, as a part of Project Twin Streams.[3]