WAIHOROTIU

We are working on a short documentary to rediscover our buried waterways. It is a search for the Waihorotiu stream that once ran where Auckland’s Queen Street now lies.

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Peering down a manhole on Fort St, Auckland CBD.

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Auckland looking North West, 1843, by Edward Ashworth. 

“Auckland City from the hills behind the city, with a flax bush to the right and three Maori viewing the scene from the fern on the left. A stream in the middle ground (now the site of Queen Street) leads down to the town with Government House shown in the fenced area in the centre right and St Paul's Church silhouetted against Mt Victoria across the harbour. The cluster of buildings closest to the viewer at the lowest point in the valley is the Queen Street gaol, excavated in 1987.” - natlib.govt.nz

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The Waihorotiu is also known as The Ligar Canal, and this photo is of the man himself, C W Ligar, who proudly labelled the stream turned sewer by his own name. Amoung other complaints regarding the dangers of the then open waterway situated along side Queen Street, was a personal matter: his wife once lost a shoe in Waihorotiu. Not long after the river was closed over. 

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The Wet Index

Artist Kedron Parker's project 'The Wet Index' reconnects people with the lost waterways of Wellington. 

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More news on our subterranean city. 

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Getting under queen street to film our buried river waihorotiu is much harder than you'd think, even with weeks of organising its possible we will only be able to buy ourselves an hour or so down under. So here we are practicing in storm water tunnels in mt albert on our weekend. Find out more and support the project Www.boosted.org.nz/projects/waihorotiu #sewersaturdays #loadingdocs #lostrivers

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Yesterday we got a pretty cool surprise trawling though some footage taken of a buried stream around the college hill area. With out trying to give too much away... it was r-eel-y r-eel-y exciting.

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http://www.boosted.org.nz/projects/waihorotiu

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Water is the driving force of all nature.

Leonardo da Vinci

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We think we've worked out that there is a man hole on Darby street which may access our buried river.

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Flipping through a 1987 Metro Magazine for more information. Research is getting archeological.