Tauweru River

The Tauweru River, sometimes called the Taueru River, is a river in the Wairarapa region of New Zealand's North Island. It drains from the pastoral eastern highlands of the Wairarapa and joins the Ruamahanga River [ [http://www.teara.govt.nz/1966/R/RuamahangaRiver/RuamahangaRiver/en 1966 Encyclopaedia Of New Zealand: Ruamahanga River] ] just north of the Gladstone Road bridge into Gladstone, southeast of Carterton. [ [http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?client=public&X=19556250.3126896&Y=-4996250.6152788&width=700&height=400&gride=19556580.3126896&gridn=-5003639.6152788&srec=0&coordsys=mercator&db=NZ&addr1=&addr2=&addr3=&pc=&advanced=&local=&localinfosel=&kw=&in
] ] The river's name is Māori for "hanging in clusters" and named after it is the town of Tauweru, located along the middle reaches of the river east of Masterton. [Sharpe, Marty, 6 July 2002, [http://wairarapa.co.nz/times-age/news2002/020706c.html "Tauweru Spelling Stays a Hot Issue"] , "Wairarapa Times-Age".]

The river itself is slow and sluggish, flowing in a willow-lined, restricted and gravel-less channel. [Heather, B. D., September 1973, [http://www.notornis.org.nz/free_issues/Notornis_20-1973/Notornis_20_3.pdf "The Black-Fronted Dotterel (Charadrius Melanops) in the Wairarapa"] , "Notornis: Journal of the Ornithological Society of New Zealand" 20(3), pg. 252.] A group of local farmers, the Mid-Tauweru Landcare Group, was established in 2000 to facilitate sound management of the river's riparian zone by replacing willows with native plants to enhance the river's flow and biodiversity. [ [http://www.landcare.co.nz/helpdesk/tip_view.cfm?MenuID=11&ID=14&CategoryID=3 Transpower Grants - Mid-Tauweru Landcare Group] ] Its catchment east of Masterton is extensive and fishing conditions in the lower three kilometres of the river are considered to be excellent, especially in summer. [ [http://www.fishandgame.org.nz/SITE_Default/SITE_your_region/SITE_Wellington/Fishing/access.asp Fish and Game New Zealand: Wellington - Fishing - Access] ]

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