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The Cyclopedia of New Zealand [Wellington Provincial District]
Rivers
Rivers.
The Wellington provincial district is rich in rivers, but cannot boast of possessing the largest in the Colony. This is found in the South Island, and is known as the Clutha; but the second largest, the Waikato, though belonging to the Auckland provincial district, takes its rise at the base of Mount Ruapehu within the boundaries of the Wellington district. The largest river in the province is the Wanganui, which is sometimes called the “Rhine of New Zealand.” It is over 110 miles in length, and is navigable for river steamers for sixty miles. The Rangitikei, the second in importance, flows a distance of over 100 miles before reaching the coast, while the Manawatu, which has formed the celebrated gorge of that name, pours into the Tasman Sea a volume of water estimated at 642,593 cubic feet per minute. Smaller rivers include the Waitotara, the Wangaehu, the Turakina, the Ohau, and the Otaki on the West Coast, the Hutt (Heretaunga) which flows into Port Nicholson, the Ruamahanga, which, after flowing through the Wairarapa Valley and lakes, falls into Palliser Bay, and the Pahaoa, the Aohanga and the Akitio on the East Coast. There is but one lake of any importance in the district, namely, the Wairarapa, about twelve miles long by four miles broad, and situated at the southern end of the valley, whose name it bears. The northern line of the district is not far south of Lake Taupo and the small lake Roto Aira, the most southerly of the lakes included in what is known as the Hot Lakes District, is just within the boundaries.