Aotea Lagoon
| Aotea Lagoon | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Aotea Lagoon from the north-east in 2007: miniature railway station is in the centre with the model windmill to the right then State Highway 1 (now 59), the North Island Main Trunk railway and Porirua Harbour (now Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour) further right. | |
.png)  Aotea Lagoon | |
| Location | Porirua |
| Coordinates | 41°7′12″S 174°51′25″E / 41.12000°S 174.85694°E |
| Type | Lagoon |
| Primary inflows | Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour and stormwater drains |
| Primary outflows | Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour |
| Basin countries | New Zealand |
| Surface area | 5 ha (12 acres) |
| Shore length1 | 0.732 km (0.455 mi) |
| Surface elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Islands | 1 |
| Settlements | Papakōwhai |
| Website | Official website  |
| 1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. | |
Aotea Lagoon is an artificial lagoon surrounded by a public park in the Papakōwhai suburb of Porirua, New Zealand.
History[edit]
The North Island Main Trunk railway and State Highway 1 used to run around three bays from Porirua city centre through Papakōwhai. The bays were between the mouth of Porirua Stream and promontories at Gear Homestead, Thurso Grove and Brora Crescent. In 1958–1961, the construction of a causeway, to realign the railway, cut the bays off from the sea turning them into lagoons.[1]
To realign the state highway, the lagoons were partly filled in from the Ministry of Works and Development's nearby earthworks. The ministry also had to develop reserves for recreation, so it shaped a public park around the central lagoon,[1] on a site totalling 7.1 ha (18 acres).[2] Then the Project Employment Programme landscaped the park and local service clubs built amenities,[1] while Poriua City Council co-ordinated the work.[2]
Aotea Lagoon opened to the public in March 1980.[3] Originally leased from the Crown, the park was given to the city council in 1994.[1] In 2021, the state highway alongside the lagoons was renumbered 59.[4]
Hydrology[edit]
The lagoon covers 5 ha (12 acres). It is connected to Porirua Harbour,[2] renamed Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour in 2014,[5] by a culvert.[2] The tidal flow is regulated by gates at the lagoon end of the culvert beneath the model windmill.[6] Built by Paremata Jaycee, the windmill houses controls for the gates.
Stormwater enters the lagoon in three places.[2] It also entered and was retained in a shallow duck pond,[7] to the north-east of the lagoon, that had persistently poor water quality.[2][7] This problem was eliminated in 2022–2023 when the pond was filled in.[7][8]
Poor water quality in the lagoon means contact recreation, including swimming, is prohibited.[9]
Amenities[edit]
The park has three zones: lagoon, play and garden.[9] As of 2024[update], the first zone has a 732 m (2,402 ft) path around the lagoon,[1] a bridge to an island and a Pétanque court. To the north-east, the play zone has adventure and toddlers's playgrounds,[10] a pump track,[8] a splash pad,[11] and the Butterfly Walkway.[10] The garden zone, to the south-west, includes a rose garden developed by Porirua Rotary.[1] All the zones also have lawns.[10]
A rideable miniature train runs around the park on an 832 m (2,730 ft) track.[12] Built by Waitangirua Lions,[1] the railway operates Sunday afternoon, weather permitting, from a station south of the lagoon.[12]
The amenities at Aotea Lagoon have changed over the years. At the start of the 1980s, when the park opened, a newspaper report noted the rose garden, model railway, lawns and the plan for a fernery.[3] The original adventure playground was added in the mid 1980s, and rowing boats on the lagoon were available 1984–1989.[1] By the mid 1990s, when the city council took over management of the park, the fernery or shade house had been added next to the rose garden and opposite the entrance to the garden zone there was a jetty into the lagoon.[2] In the 2010s, the adventure playground was rebuilt and the splash pad was added in 2014 and 2017 respectively.[1][11] Between the late 2010s and early 2020s, both the fernery and the jetty were removed. In 2023, the pump track was added where the duck pond used to be.[8]
In 2009, the city council surveyed visitors to Aotea Lagoon. Most people visited the park to relax, play or walk, and they lived nearby in Porirua or neighbouring Tawa. However, the playgrounds drew visitors from a wider area including Wellington and the Hutt Valley.[13]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Historic Site: Aotea Lagoon". Porirua Library. n.d. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g Aotea Lagoon Management Plan (Report). Porirua City Council. December 1994. pp. 1, 3, 7, 24.
- ^ a b "Opening of Aotea Lagoon Next Week". Kapi-Mana News. Porirua. 11 March 1980. p. 3.
- ^ "The Country's Newest State Highway Number Is Here" (Press release). Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency. 7 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
- ^ "New Zealand Geographic Board Gazetteer: Poriua Harbour". Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand. 7 August 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ Barton, Warren (27 September 1997). "Making a Good Impression". Weekend. The Dominion. Wellington. p. 17.
- ^ a b c Williams, Katarina (18 January 2021). "Porirua's Aotea Lagoon: Home to the Pond Where Ducks Dare Not Dive". Stuff. New Zealand. Retrieved 13 May 2024.
- ^ a b c "Grab Your Wheels! New Pump Track Lands in Porirua" (Press release). Porirua City Council. 1 December 2023. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Aotea Lagoon Reserve". Porirua City Council. n.d. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Aotea Lagoon". Porirua City Council. December 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
- ^ a b Fallon, Virginia (14 December 2017). "Merry Christmas Porirua: $910,000 Splash Pad Set to Open for Summer Holidays". Stuff. New Zealand. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ a b "It's Full Steam Ahead for Aotea Lagoon's Miniature Train" (Press release). Porirua City Council. 16 October 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
- ^ Jacobson, Christine (August 2009). Aotea Lagoon Visitor Monitoring 2009 (Report). Porirua City Council. pp. 2, 7, 15, 16. Archived from the original on 7 April 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2023.