27-782: The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand . Together with the Waihou River , it is one of the two main rivers systems which drains the Hauraki Plains . It is the dominant river system in the Matamata-Piako District , and on its journey it passes through the towns of Morrinsville and Ngatea . The Piako River has an annual mean flow of 17 cubic metres per second (600 cu ft/s) (at Paeroa- Tahuna Road), with
54-517: A total catchment area of approximately 1,440 square kilometres (560 sq mi). The river system is approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) long, aligned in a north-south direction and occupies much of the central and western Hauraki Plains (or more broadly, the Thames Valley ), extending from Hinuera in the south before discharging into the Firth of Thames in the north, five kilometres west of Thames . The Piako River has two major stems:
81-681: A whole. During the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the North and South islands were connected by a vast coastal plain which formed at the South Taranaki Bight . During this period, most of the North Island was covered in thorn scrubland and forest , while the modern-day Northland Peninsula was a subtropical rainforest . Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, eventually separating
108-459: Is in the North Island", "my mother lives in the North Island". Maps, headings, tables, and adjectival expressions use North Island without "the". According to Māori mythology , the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through the actions of the demigod Māui . Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe (the South Island) when he caught a great fish and pulled it right up from
135-469: Is one of the two main islands of New Zealand , separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait . With an area of 113,729 km (43,911 sq mi), it is the world's 14th-largest island , constituting 43% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 4,077,800 (June 2024), which is 76% of New Zealand's residents, making it the most populous island in Polynesia and
162-448: The 28th-most-populous island in the world. Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in the North Island. From north to south, they are Whangārei , Auckland , Hamilton , Tauranga , Rotorua , Gisborne , New Plymouth , Napier , Hastings , Whanganui , Palmerston North , and New Zealand's capital city Wellington , which is located at the south-west tip of the island. The island has been known internationally as
189-593: The Miranda Naturalists' Trust , is located on the Seabird Coast , on the western shore of the bay at Miranda . However, the firth overall is severely damaged by man-made influences, especially dairy-farm run-off, and has not recovered from large-scale mussel dredging over 40 years after the practice ceased (more information in the Hauraki Gulf article). Whales such as southern right whales (one of two of
216-494: The North Island for many years. The Te Reo Māori name for it, Te Ika-a-Māui , also has official recognition but it remains seldom used by most residents. On some 19th-century maps, the North Island is named New Ulster (named after Ulster province in northern Ireland) which was also a province of New Zealand that included the North Island. In 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with
243-573: The 2023 census, 63.1% of North Islanders identified as European ( Pākehā ), 19.8% as Māori , 10.6% as Pacific peoples , 19.3% as Asian , 1.9% as Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, and 1.1% as other ethnicities. Percentages add to more than 100% as people can identify with more than one ethnicity. Māori form the majority in three districts of the North Island: Kawerau (63.2%), Ōpōtiki (66.2%) and Wairoa (68.5%). Europeans formed
270-720: The Piako River progresses north, it is fed by numerous small streams draining the eastern slopes of the Hangawera Hills. The second stem is the Waitoa River , which starts near Piarere. The Waitoa River catchment drains the Hinuera Flats and broad southern Hauraki Plains, before converging with the Piako River in the large wetland known as the Kopuatai Peat Dome , northeast of Tahuna . The Upper Piako River catchment also drains
297-508: The South Island, the North Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board officially named it North Island, or the aforementioned Te Ika-a-Māui, in October 2013. In prose, the two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island , with the definite article. It is also normal to use the preposition in rather than on , for example "Hamilton
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#1732852789911324-437: The South Island, this is solely due to the North Island having higher natural increase (i.e. births minus deaths) and international migration; since the late 1980s, the internal migration flow has been from the North Island to the South Island. In the year to June 2020, the North Island gained 21,950 people from natural increase and 62,710 people from international migration, while losing 3,570 people from internal migration. At
351-462: The South Island, with the country's largest city, Auckland, and the capital, Wellington, accounting for nearly half of it. There are 30 urban areas in the North Island with a population of 10,000 or more: The sub-national GDP of the North Island was estimated at NZ$ 282.355 billion in 2021 (78% of New Zealand's national GDP). Nine local government regions cover the North Island and its adjacent islands and territorial waters. Healthcare in
378-405: The banks of the river, as in winter it is the direct cause of flooding through the low-lying Hauraki Plains . From 1917 to 1952 the bridge had a lifting section to allow ships to pass. 37°12′S 175°30′E / 37.200°S 175.500°E / -37.200; 175.500 Firth of Thames The Firth of Thames ( Māori : Tikapa Moana-o-Hauraki ) is a large bay located in
405-414: The bends in the river below Kaihere Landing. Since the 1930s, considerable flood protection measures have been undertaken on the Piako River and surrounding catchment, especially mainly north of Paeroa-Tahuna Road and the Kopuatai Peat Dome . The scheme includes river management works, river diversions and channel enlargement, ponding systems, floodway improvements, stopbanks, floodgates and pumps. However,
432-411: The circumnavigation of New Zealand. The maps described the North Island as " Ea Heinom Auwe " and " Aeheinomowe ", which recognises the "Fish of Māui" element. Another Māori name that was given to the North Island, but is now used less commonly, is Aotearoa . Use of Aotearoa to describe the North Island fell out of favour in the early 20th century, and it is now a collective Māori name for New Zealand as
459-447: The conclusion of the Otago gold rush in the 1860s, New Zealand's European population growth has experienced a steady 'Northern drift' as population centres in the North Island have grown faster than those of New Zealand's South Island. This population trend has continued into the twenty-first century, but at a much slower rate. While the North Island's population continues to grow faster than
486-514: The eastern aspects of the Hapuakohe Range through small tributaries. The river system is highly modified by intensive dairy farming and associated industry. Given this, the Toenepi Stream - a small sub-catchment of the Piako River - has been extensively used to research the impact of intensive farming on water quality and develop improved farming practices. In 1906 work started on cutting
513-580: The first confirmed birth records in main islands waters since the end of commercial and illegal whaling was observed in Browns Bay region in 2012) and Bryde's whales can be seen in the bay to calve and rest. 37°00′S 175°25′E / 37.000°S 175.417°E / -37.000; 175.417 North Island The North Island ( Māori : Te Ika-a-Māui [tɛ i.kɐ ɐ mɑː.ʉ.i] , lit. 'the fish of Māui', officially North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui or historically New Ulster )
540-583: The first, and main, stem drains the northern Te Miro-Tahuroa hills, and the Pakaroa Range. The dominant tributaries on the eastern slopes of these hills are the Piakonui and Piakoiti Streams. These streams, together with the smaller Toenepi Stream, converge just south of Kereone to become the Piako River. The western slopes are drained by the Waitakaruru Stream which joins the Piako River at Morrinsville . As
567-648: The islands and linking the Cook Strait to the Tasman Sea . The North Island has an estimated population of 4,077,800 as of June 2024. The North Island had a population of 3,808,005 at the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 213,453 people (5.9%) since the 2018 census , and an increase of 570,957 people (17.6%) since the 2013 census . Of the total population, 733,893 people (19.3%) were aged under 15 years, 743,154 (19.5%) were 15 to 29, 1,721,427 (45.2%) were 30 to 64, and 609,534 (16.0%) were 65 or older. Ever since
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#1732852789911594-496: The main highways in the area, partly with ratepayer funding. The original Piako River Bridge was built in Ngatea and opened in 1917. In the earliest days all transport or access to and from the land was either by sea, river or canal, but with the first roads being developed, it was essential that a bridge be built over the Piako River so it could become a main route between Auckland and Tauranga . Considerable work has gone into restoring
621-458: The north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the firth of the rivers Waihou and Piako , the former of which was formerly named the Thames River, and the town of Thames lies on its southeastern coast. Its Maori name is Tikapa . In traditional legend, the firth and the greater Hauraki Gulf are protected by a taniwha named Ureia, who takes the form of a whale. The firth lies at
648-465: The plurality in the Auckland region (49.8%) and are the majority in the remaining 39 districts. The proportion of North Islanders born overseas at the 2018 census were 29.3%. The most common foreign countries of birth were England (15.4% of overseas-born residents), Mainland China (11.3%), India (10.1%), South Africa (5.9%), Australia (5.5%) and Samoa (5.3%). The North Island has a larger population than
675-504: The river flooded again in 2017. A 2018 plan provides for strengthened stopbanks and diversion ponds. The scheme works includes the following: The scheme provides the following levels of service: Until 1930 the river was used to Tahuna and occasionally Morrinsville to carry people and goods. Northern Steamship had a weekly trip from Auckland to Tahuna and back until 1927, calling at Pipiroa , Hopai, Ngatea (Orchard), Kerepehi and Waikaka. A few years earlier plans had been made to upgrade
702-480: The sea. While he was not looking, his brothers fought over the fish and chopped it up. This great fish became the North Island, and thus a Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui ("The Fish of Māui"). The mountains and valleys are believed to have been formed as a result of Māui's brothers' hacking at the fish. During Captain James Cook 's voyage between 1769 and 1770 , Tahitian navigator Tupaia accompanied
729-547: The southern end of the Hauraki Gulf , southeast of the city of Auckland . It occupies a rift valley or graben between the Coromandel Peninsula and Hunua Ranges , which continues into the Hauraki Plains to the south. The Firth of Thames is an important site for waders or shorebirds, and is listed as a wetland of international importance under the Ramsar Convention . The Miranda Shorebird Centre, operated by
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