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[1] just north of the Gladstone Road bridge into Gladstone, southeast of Carterton.[2] 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.[3]

The river itself is slow and sluggish, flowing in a willow-lined, restricted and gravel-less channel.[4] 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.[5] 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.[6]