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Kōrero: Floods

The Kōpuawhara memorial

Image
A tall concrete obelisk memorial surrounded by a fence.

This memorial was built in 1942 to commemorate those who were killed in the Kōpuawhara flood. It is hard to visualise the devastating power of the Kōpuawhara Stream in full flood, but the memorial serves as a reminder of the unpredictability of New Zealand’s rivers. The memorial lists 22 names, 21 killed at Kōpuawhara and one man who was swept away at Boyd's Camp on Maraetaha Stream, closer to Gisborne.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Private collection

by Bruce Scott

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Eileen McSaveney, Floods – The Kōpuawhara flash flood, 1938, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/4885/the-kopuawhara-memorial (accessed 4 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Eileen McSaveney, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009, updated 1 February 2024.