The Porirua Harbour
focus of the Porirua Harbour and Catchments Community Trust
known as the Porirua Harbour Trust (PHT)
Welcome to the Te Awarua-o-Porirua Harbour and Catchments Community Trust (PHT) website
The Porirua Harbour (Te Awarua o Porirua) is the heart of Porirua City and the largest estuary system in the lower North Island. It’s a place of cultural, ecological, recreational, and economic importance — and it needs our care.
Our mission is simple: to protect and restore the health of the harbour while ensuring it remains a place for people, wildlife, and future generations to enjoy.
Vision & Purpose
- Vision: A harbour and catchment that is healthy, resilient, and thriving — where ecosystems are protected or restored, people can safely use and enjoy the harbour, kai moana is safe to harvest, and economic activity is sustained without compromising future needs.
- Purpose: To adopt a long-term perspective in decision making, foster public awareness of the harbour’s values, promote and facilitate restorative actions, and to actively advocate and monitor for the best possible outcomes for the harbour and catchment.
Latest News
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Whitireia Escarpment planting
Another 700 plants went into the ground of the Whitireia escarpment at the first community planting day of 2026 held by the Park Restoration Group . The aim is to create bird and lizard habitat. Plants have been carefully chosen for this purpose including some that are unique to the Cook Strait coast. Well organised…
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Inlet community planting days coming up
The Plimmerton Rotary Club is gearing up for another year of planting around the edges of the beautiful Pauatahanui Inlet — and they would love you to be part of it. Four planting days are planned for this year, mostly through the winter months. Whether you’ve participated before or this will be your first time…
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Jono Ridler, we salute you and your cause!
The Trust salutes Jono Ridler for his epic record breaking 1337km swim of the entire East Coast of the North Island and into Wellington, drawing attention to the dangers to the ocean of bottom trawling. Our shallow water west-coast harbour in Porirua is safe from commercial trawling and has legal protection against nets although individuals…
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Shameful pollution of our awa and harbour
Another huge haul-out of pollutants in and around the Porirua Stream. Thanks to Keep New Zealand Beautiful and the Petone Beach Cleanup Crew plus many local volunteers who turned up in drizzly conditions. Plastic bottles and takeaway wrappers is one thing but tyres, cones, builders waste and those damn trolleys is another… Help protect our…
Follow the news and stay up to date with cultural, ecological, recreational, and economic activities around the Porirua Harbour. Browse the news gallery, visit us on Facebook or subscribe to News by Email.
Explore the Harbour
Discover the largest estuary in the lower North Island
This website will give you an introduction to our wonderful harbour. The link below will help build your knowledge of this natural treasure or taonga. We hope it will also whet your appetite to physically experience the environment in all its moods and gain a better understanding of the changes that humans have wreaked on the habitats of the awarua. We hope too that it might inspire you to lend your support to restoring the harbour’s health.
Take a hike and meander the inlet
Latest Events
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Inlet community planting days coming up
The Plimmerton Rotary Club is gearing up for another year of planting around the edges of the beautiful Pauatahanui Inlet — and they would love you to be part of it. Four planting days are planned for this year, mostly through the winter months. Whether you’ve participated before or this will be your first time…
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Proposed road threatens harbour
Former WCC Councillor and Porirua Harbour Trust trustee, Peter Gilberd, is drawing our attention to the proposed Petone to Grenada link road that will have a negative impact on a key tributary of the Porirua Stream that feeds into our harbour. Join the locals for a protest walk on Kings birthday…
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Whitireia planting
The Whitireia Park Restoration Group’s winter planting season is starting on 7 June from 9.30am to 12.30pm. They will be planting along the top of the escarpment (in green) to bolster the areas already planted and provide a seed source for the surrounding areas to naturally regenerate. (the orange areas are archaeological sites). Gorse has…
Subscribe to our events calendar and stay up to date with cultural, ecological, recreational, and economic activities around the Porirua Harbour. Browse the events calender, visit us on Facebook or subscribe to Events by Email.
Media Galleries
The harbour is a rich subject for nature photography and videograhy. An exquisite compilation showcases a diverse array of media that capture the essence of different eras.
