Known as Skerrets Creek, it underwent a name change in 2022 to rectify the misspelling of ‘Skerretts’.
Location
Skerretts Creek, is another main tributary of the Wainuiomata River. It flows through the valley where Sunny Grove is located. Originating in the hills behind Sunny Grove, specifically near the junction of the Mt McKerrow Track and the Whakanui Track, the creek descends down the slope. It eventually reaches the valley floor passing behind residences situated on the odd-numbered side of Sunny Grove.
It then passes next to the Hine Road Recreational Area carpark at the end of Hine Road where an entrance to the Wainuiomata Regional Park is located.
The creek ends when it flows into the Wainuiomata River near the beginning of Reservoir Road. This confluence was the location of Smiths Whare a favored fishing spot of Charles Perrin Skerrett (1863 – 1929).
He served as the Chief Justice of New Zealand and was an enthusiastic outdoors man.
In the 1950s, Norman Elias Willis the land developer, altered the course of the creek where Sunny Grove is located, to enhance the valley’s suitability for residential purposes. Initially, the creek followed a meandering course mostly along the eastern side, but shifted to the western side at least twice and down the middle too. An aerial photograph from 1942 vividly displays this, showcasing a sinuous line of trees that delineates the original route of the creek. See photo to the right and zoom in to see the detail.
Skerretts Creek Water Catchment
Skerretts Creek is the location for a small water catchment that supplied water to Wainuiomata in the 1950s and 60s. Long since abandoned, a walk up the creek reveals pipes, concrete tanks, and other pieces of infrastructure being slowly eroded away and reclaimed by the forest. The water catchment was for local needs and was constructed to avoid paying Wellington for water who invested in and owned the infrastructure and water that came from Morton Dam.
The Black House
There was an old hunters hut near Skerretts Creek that according to reports could have housed a ranger or caretaker for the water catchment. The hut burned down in the 1970s, but there are still remnants and debris at the site today.
Kitty Hawk Plane Wreckage
Skerretts Creek is the site of a plane crash. On May 1, 1943, a Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk plowed into the hillside above Sunny Grove. Parts of the wreckage still exist to this day, but are very hard to find.
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