Riverhead, New Zealand
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Riverhead is a small, historically predominantly working-class town located at the head of the Waitematā Harbour in the north-west of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located on the northwestern shores of the Upper Waitematā Harbour, north-east of the towns of Kumeū and Huapai.
Riverhead seen from a glider at 1201 feet
The Rangitōpuni Creek was the eastern end of Te Tōangaroa, a portage where waka could be hauled between the Kaipara Harbour and the Waitematā Harbour
Riverhead Tavern was established in the early 1870s
Portages of New Zealand
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Portages in New Zealand, known in Māori as Tō or Tōanga Waka, are locations where waka (canoes) could easily be transported overland. Portages were extremely important for early Māori, especially along the narrow Tāmaki isthmus of modern-day Auckland, as they served as crucial transportation and trade links between the east and west coasts. Portages can be found across New Zealand, especially in the narrow Northland and Auckland regions, and the rivers of the Waikato Region.
A number of traditional portages were proposed as sites where canals could be built (pictured: the proposed Waitematā-Manukau harbour canal, along Te Toanga Waka (the Whau River portage) in 1907)
Outrigger canoes used by the Portage Crossing Canoe Club for events such as the annual waka ama crossing of Te Tō Waka