Aro Valley

Story

The Aro Valley forms a small inner-city suburb of Wellington in New Zealand. It takes its name from the Stream which originally flowed where modern Epuni Street is. The stream's Maori name was originally Wai-Mapihi, but it was commonly called Te Aro due to it running through the Te Aro flat.GeographyThe Aro Valley is 126 hectares running between the hills of Brooklyn to the south Kelburn to the north, with the area of Karori to the west and the city centre of Te Aro to the east.Much of Wellington consists of the remnants of an old peneplain, a flat expanse that rose from the sea about 20 million years ago. This land was heavily dissected by watercourses from that time and today the tops of the hills around Wellington indicate the general height of that eroded peneplain. During this time massive faults appeared that are still active today. To the immediate west of Aro Valley is the Wellington Fault running north-east along the foot of the Tinakori Hills and beyond.A series of splinter faults branch off from the Wellington Fault. Activity along these faults over millions of years caused tilting of the land to create valleys, including Aro Valley, south-east of the main fault. Aro Valley, and its tributary valleys, are well sheltered from the wind and have soil enriched by past alluvial deposits. The valley walls are steep in places and house sites are correspondingly uneven, in typical Wellington fashion.The Valley comprises part of the bed of the Wai-Mapihi Stream. Aro Street runs through the whole valley, from Willis Street in the east to Raroa Road in the west; major side-streets include Devon Street, Epuni Street, Adams Terrace, Mitchelltown's Holloway Road and Taitville's Norway Street.