Hauraki Plains
The Hauraki Plains are a plain on the North Island of New Zealand .
geography
They are located about 75 km southeast of Auckland at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula . The plain lies in the southern part of a rift valley which is bounded by the Kaimai Range to the east and by a hilly landscape to the west, which separates the plain from the much larger plain of the Waikato River . Administratively, the level is largely part of the Hauraki District .
The about 400 km² large alluvial land was formed by sediment deposits. They come from the Piako River and Waihou River , which flow northward into the Firth of Thames , and from a fossil river bed of the Waikato River. The resulting alluvial land is flat, peaty and partly swampy, but it is well suited for dairy farming , which is the main industry here.
Tourism in the Hauraki Plains area has increased significantly in recent years. It helps ensure that the region's summer employment rate is higher than the New Zealand national average.
The largest city on the plain is Ngatea , nearby is Turua , the larger Te Aroha is near the southern border with the Thames Valley district .
geology
The Hauraki Rift Valley formed about 2 to 3 million years ago when a large block of the earth's crust sank 500 to 2000 meters. The fossil Waikato River then often flowed through the resulting valley into the Hauraki Gulf , most recently about 20,000 years ago through the Hinuera Valley . Over time, the rift valley was filled with sediment up to 40 m deep. At Shelly beach and Maukoro you can still find remnants of the former sea coast.
After the Waitako River shifted its drain to the west coast one last time, the Waihou and Piako Rivers formed. These two extended the plain through the silt they carried with them into the Firth of Thames .
history
Decision to drain
The plain was dense with mangrove and a dense Kahikatea covered -Forest. Most of the swampy soil was raw peat, anywhere from one to more than twenty meters deep.
Once a year the Waihou and Piako Rivers burst their banks. The people around Hauraki demanded permission from the government to drain the land. However, the government believed that this would never be possible - after all, parts of the plain were up to 2 meters below sea level.
However, the population did not give up, so in 1908 an ordinance was issued that allowed drainage. The government paid the workers who dug the drainage trenches, which took about 10 years.
First land raffle
In 1910, the government decided to open up 66 km² of the plain for settlement and to draw lots. Not only future settlers but also business people in the Thames Valley district were interested in this land. South Island miners said that if you drew one of the lots, you were a made man. On May 18, 1910, the first land applications were accepted in Miner's Union Hall in Thames. The prices for the land ranged from $ 10 to $ 15 per acre , depending on the area and location of the lots. For some pieces of land there are up to 99 applicants.
Drainage system
Work to drain the area began immediately after the passage of the Hauraki Plains Act . First the floods had to be prevented. Dykes had to be built on the Piako River, which overflowed at least once a year, to prevent flooding from floods and tides .
After that, the farmers had to dig 1–2 m wide trenches through their land, which ended in main collectors, which in turn drained the water into canals. Flood gates between the collectors and the canals prevented the water from flowing back into the trenches when the water level was high. When the work was completed, 75% of the plain's wetland was drained.
However, this was only the first step in land reclamation. To turn it into pastureland, it had to be cleared of bushes, trees and stumps and leveled. To do this, the workers usually piled up the scrub and peat waste and burned it.
Transportation
The Māori had used the rivers for hundreds of years before the arrival of the Europeans to gain access to the plains' rich food resources.
Since roads either did not exist at the time or were in poor condition, the rivers were the best way to transport goods, people and animals to the Hauraki Plains. Both Māori and the European settlers benefited from this.
Ships of all sizes, from tiny rowboats to huge barges , sailed the course of the river. Most were powered by steam engines from A & G Price in Thames.
As industrialization progressed (such as mining in Waihi ), larger ships were needed that could carry larger loads. Most of these ships were screw steamers, but also some paddle steamers . Larger passenger ships had luxurious lounges for men and women, the walls of which were padded with velvet and decorated with paintings. There were even marching bands and dance floors on deck. But there were also rooms for horses and cargo. Some transport ships and rafts had fold-down side walls to facilitate loading and unloading on the riverbanks, especially when loading animals.
The government closed the hotels during a mine strike. You could only drink alcohol on moving ships. So the residents went on day trips just to use the ship's bar.
In 1877, when the tide was high, large barges drove to Bagnalls' mill in Turua to ship the kahikatea wood cut there to Auckland and Australia. The remains of the quay can still be seen here.
At Orchard (now Ngatea), Pipiroa, Kopu and Paeroa there were cable ferries in the form of rafts that brought people, horses and wagons across the river for a small fee. At Te Aroha there was a wire rope across the river to which a Māori canoe was tied. Later it was replaced by a cable ferry with a crank drive and the passengers could pull themselves to the other side for 2 shillings.
Gold discoveries brought numerous ships with mining equipment and miners up the Waihou and Ohinimuri Rivers. At Paeroa there was even a particularly stable quay for unloading them, as it was feared that the usual quays would collapse when unloading the heavy machinery.
Although the rivers were the lifelines of the Hauraki Plains during the pioneering days, inland shipping experienced a decline as roads improved and bridges made shipping unnecessary. Today there is only one ferry that goes up the Waihou from Auckland to Paeroa and one boat that goes to Kopu to pick up cargo.
Agriculture
The dairy industry is the main industry in the Hauraki plains, with the largest contribution to the region's income. The size of the farms ranges from 100 to over 500 cows. 779.34 km², that is 66% of the plain, is used for dairy farming.
In addition to the dairy industry, sheep breeding and crop production are beginning to play a role. There is an ostrich farm near Turua that produces meat and gifts and is used for tourism.
Education
The co-educational Hauraki Plains College at the end of Kaihere Road has about 650 students. It offers a junior diploma of learning for 9th and 10th grade students. In 1912 the school opened as the Ngate Orchard School and had only 15 students. In 1923 it was renamed Ngatea District High School and in 1963 Hauraki Plains College .
natural reserve
In the 1840s, about 1,100 km² of wetlands covered the Lower Waikato and Hauraki Plains. Since then, 85 to 90% of New Zealand's wetlands have been drained. Estimates by the nature conservation authority assume that around 320 km² (25% of the original area) have been preserved in the Waikato area. these include Whangamarino with 59.23 km² and the Kopuatai Peat Dome with 102.01 km². About 80% of New Zealand's remaining wetlands are in the areas of Waikato, Matamata-Piako , Hauraki and Franklin Districts . Five of New Zealand's wetlands have been classified as Wetlands of International Importance under the Ramsar Convention , including three in the Waikato region (Whangamarino Wetlands, Kopuatai Peat Dome and the mouth of the Firth of Thames).
Kopuatai Peat Dome
The Kopuatai Peat Dome is New Zealand's largest unchanged peat bog with 102.01 km² and is also unique in the world. The area was placed under protection as a Wetland Management Reserve under the Nature Conservation Act of 1987 and is administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC). 54 bird species, including 27 protected species, 17 non-protected species and 10 hunting birds were observed. The endangered Australian bittern ( Botaurus poiciloptilus ), banded rail ( Rallus philipensis assimilis), a subspecies of the pygmy moorhen (Porzana pusilla affinis) and the North Island grass warbler ( Bowdleria punctata vealeae) are some of the protected species.
Whangamarino
The Whangamarino wetland is located in the Miranda / Kaiaua area and is the second largest moor and swamp area on the North Island. Of this, 59.23 km² of bog, marshland and rivers are managed by the DOC as wild and wetland protection areas under the Ramsar Convention.
literature
- RE Tye: Hauraki Plains Story. Thames Valley News, Paeroa 1974, OCLC 2543402 .
- E. MacDonald: Western Hauraki Plains - It's History. 2002, OCLC 155836469 (copy of a manuscript in the Hauraki Plains Library)
- William Sullivan (Captain): “Kotuku” Log Book. Handwriting. 1877.
Individual evidence
- ↑ "It was undoubtedly the waters of the Firth , Piako and Waihou that gave access to the plains for human enterprise and settlement for both Māori and Pakeha" - Ruffus Tye (Hauraki Plains Story).
- ↑ About Hauraki . Hauraki District Council , accessed April 14, 2018 .
Coordinates: 37 ° 15 ′ 0 ″ S , 175 ° 30 ′ 0 ″ E