Esk River (Hawke's Bay)

The river has had four names. Ahuriri Hapū refer to Esk River as Te Hukawai-o-Hinganga, as it was fast flowing, creating a froth (hukawai). An abbreviation of that name was Waiohinganga, which is the name shown on early maps, being the northern boundary of the Ahuriri Block in 1851. By 1862 the name 'Esk' was described as a, "modern designation, which has, notwithstanding, generally failed to become acclimatized". In 1865 it was referred to as 'Waiohinganga or Petane River'. An 1871 description said the Napier-Tāupō road followed the Petane River bed for several miles. In the 1890s one caption used 'Petane or Esk River'. The Geographic Board notes that it, "is the only surviving English river name in Hawke’s Bay, all the others having reverted to their Māori names. There are several places of the same name, all probably originating from the Scottish Esk." ==Flooding==

The river has a history of flooding. Flash flooding inundated the settlement in March 2018, leaving most of the local holiday park underwater. Large parts of the valley were inundated during Cyclone Gabrielle in February 2023. The floods caused significant damage in the settlement, destroying houses and sections of State Highway 5 and the Palmerston North–Gisborne Railway Line. There were also floods in 1938. The Esk has a mean annual flow of measured at Waipunga Bridge. == Environment ==

The upper Esk catchment is mostly in plantation forestry but has some intensive dairy farming. The middle and lower reaches are mainly in pastoral farming with some vineyards and orchards. Native fish in the river include longfin eel, shortfin eel, inanga, common smelt, koaro, koura, banded kokopu, pataki (black flounder), torrent fish, common bully, giant bully, blue gill bully, and redfin bully. The Esk also has a healthy rainbow and brown trout fishery. ==See also==