Tukituki River

Tukituki River
Tukituki River and Te Mata Peak, May 2006
The Tukituki River system
Etymology	Maori meaning "to demolish"
Native name	Tukituki (Māori)
Location
Country	New Zealand
Region	Hawke's Bay
Physical characteristics
Source	Ruahine Ranges
Mouth	Pacific Ocean
• location	Haumoana
• coordinates	39°36′S 176°57′E / 39.600°S 176.950°E / -39.600; 176.950
• elevation	Sea level
Length	117 kilometres (73 mi)

The Tukituki River is in the Hawke's Bay region of the eastern North Island of New Zealand. It flows from the Ruahine Ranges to the Pacific Ocean at the southern end of Hawke Bay.

The river flows for 117 kilometres (73 mi), east and then northeast, passing through the town of Waipukurau before flowing into Hawke Bay, close to the city of Hastings. There, the Tukituki Valley is separated from Havelock North/Hastings by the craggy range of hills that includes Te Mata Peak.

The Maori name Tukituki roughly translates "to demolish", presumably referring to the power of the river in flood. Maori legend has it that there are two taniwha living in lake at the southern end of the river that fought over a young boy after he fell into the lake. The struggle of the two taniwha was thought to split the river into the Waipawa and Tukituki Rivers and thereby draining the lake.^[1]

• Mangaonuku Stream

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tukituki River.

• Tukituki River in the 1966 Encyclopaedia of New Zealand