Piako River
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The Piako River is located to the south of the Hauraki Gulf in the North Island of New Zealand. It is, with the Waihou River, one of the two main rivers which form the Hauraki Plains, at the southern end of the Firth of Thames.
The Piako River rises to the south of Matamata and flows north for 100 kilometres before reaching the Firth of Thames five kilometres west of Thames. On its journey it passes through the towns of Morrinsville and Ngatea.
[edit] The Piako River Bridge
The original Piako River Bridge was built in Ngatea and opened in 1917. In the earliest days all transport or access too and from the land was either by sea, river or canal; but with the first roads being developed, it was an essential idea that a bridge was to be built over the Piako River so it could become a main route between Auckland and Tauranga.