Waiwera

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Waiwera is a locality in north of the Auckland Region in New Zealand. The name is of Māori origin and means "hot water". Its main claim to fame are the hot water springs which were well-known in pre-European times and reputedly visited by Māori from as far away as Thames. The first European settler to promote the springs was Robert Graham who established a health resort in the 1860s. During the late 19th century there was a regular steam ferry service from Auckland.^[1] Waiwera is 6km north of Orewa, 6km south-east of Puhoi, 23km south-east of Warkworth and approximately 45km from the Auckland City centre. The settlement lies at the outlet of a small stream also called Waiwera. At present the turn-off from State Highway 1 is adjacent to the bridge crossing the stream but a few kilometres up the valley in which the stream lies a viaduct is being constructed as part of the Auckland Northern Motorway ^[2] which will mean that Waiwera will in future be bypassed by the main highway. Less than 1 kilometre north of the Waiwera turn-off lies the turn-off to Wenderholm Regional Park which is situated on the far side of the headland to the north of the Waiwera stream outlet.