The Whau River () is an estuarial arm of the southwestern Waitemata Harbour (rather than a river) within the Auckland metropolitan area in New Zealand. It flows north for from its origin at the confluence of the Avondale Stream and Whau Stream The area at the mouth of the estuary is legally protected as the Motu Manawa (Pollen Island) Marine Reserve.

The Whau River is named after a native tree, the whau (Entelea arborescens).

The river's catchment covers and includes all or part of Te Atatū South, Glendene, Kelston, Titirangi, Titirangi North, Green Bay, New Lynn, Glen Eden, Avondale, Blockhouse Bay and Mount Albert. Watersheds closely follow Te Atatu Road, Titirangi Road, Hillsborough Road, Richardson Road and Rosebank Road. The catchment consists of clay, sandstone and mud and was formed 20 million years ago when the land was raised from the sea.

From 1841, the banks of the Whau River were logged for Kauri timber. In 1852, the first brickworks in West Auckland were opened on the Rosebank Peninsula by Dr Daniel Pollen on the Whau River. By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Whau River became the centre of West Auckland's clayworks; of the 39 brick and clayworks of West Auckland, 23 were located on the Whau River.

The West End Rowing Club has been based in the Whau since 2001.

The Whau River formerly marked the boundary between two territorial authorities in the Auckland region: Waitakere City, centred around West Auckland suburbs, and Auckland City, composed of the central suburbs of the Auckland isthmus. After the amalgamation of the Auckland councils in 2010, the suburbs adjacent to the river were administered by the Whau ward.

In 2015, construction began on the Te Whau Pathway, a walking and cycling path along the western edge of the Whau River from Te Atatū Peninsula to Olympic Park in New Lynn. The path is planned to continue on to Green Bay beach thus connecting the Waitemata Harbour to the Manukau Harbour.

References

  • Whau River Catchment Trust and Friends of the Whau
  • Photographs of Whau River held in Auckland Libraries' heritage collections.