Whanganui. The Wairua river boat with a white wooden church and red spire behind it. On the Whanganui River.
Wanganui/Whanganui. (Since 2009 the government uses Whanganui.)
In May of 1840 the NZ Company purchased 40,000 acres of land from 27 different Maori Chiefs. Wanganui was the second NZ Company settlement and after surveying land was sold to white settlers from February 1841. It was the third settlement in New Zealand after the Bay of Islands and Wellington. But the land at Wanganui was bought two months after the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed so it should have been purchased through the Crown. A Land Commission in 1844 ordered the NZ Company to pay more compensation for the land but left the amount up to the Company. Some chiefs accepted the original miserly compensation of 1840 and others did not. Conflict and resentment simmered. By 1847 Whanganui was a stockaded town, constructed by the British troops not the NZ Company and trouble was expected from the Maori. Trouble did erupt but not a major war as in some other districts. A Maori was accidentally killed by a British sailor in 1847 and reprisals led to the death of a white mother and her three children. Some Maori captured four Maori villains responsible for the white murders and handed them over to the British troops. Peace returned to the settlement after the four Maori were hung. Then in 1864 inter-tribal warfare broke out in the Wanganui River valley and the British siding with one group. As usual once peace was restored the British confiscated land from the warring Maoris. This created more Maori resentment. The stockade of Wanganui was only removed when all British troops left NZ (and Australian colonies) in 1870. By this time Wanganui was a well-established white settlement area with around 2,000 pakeha inhabitants as well as the Maori.
Whanganui grew in the 1870s after the river bridges were built and again in the 1880s after it had two railway connections – one to Wellington and the other to New Plymouth. These days Whanganui’s industrial base is centred on boat building (such as Fuller Ferries in Auckland), bicycle helmets and agriculture service and engineering industries. Whanganui is one of the major ports of New Zealand. The city has around 40,000 people and the wider district 42,000. A focus of the city is the Whanganui River which rises on the volcanic Mt Tongariro. The Whanganui River is 290 kms long and the second longest river in NZ. The river brings many tourists to the district for cruises and higher up the valley kayaking and rafting. Traditionally the Maori used their canoes for transport up and down the river. The city has many schools and cultural institutions. Its historic buildings include
•St Hill Street. The Victorian era Opera House built in 1899 at 69 St Hill Street; Wanganui Commercial Club at 72 St Hill St built in 1926; the Ward (a NZ astronomer) Observatory 1903 at 121 St Hill St;
•Cameron Terrace. Wanganui Regional Museum built 1928 in Cameron Tce; Sarjeant Gallery in Cameron Tce;
•Victoria Avenue. National Bank of New Zealand built in 1929 at 98 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New South Wales built in 1910 at 39 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New Zealand built in 1906 at 26 Victoria Avenue.
Waimarie Steamboat Cruise.
Our 11 am cruise on the Waimarie is a great way to enjoy the Wanganui River. The paddle boat was built in London and shipped in pieces for reassembly in Wanganui. The Wanganui Settlers’ Riverboat Company ran the ship along the river as transport for just 3 years to 1902 when she was taken over by Hatrick and Co who had 12 river boats. They named the boat the Waimarie meaning “good fortune.” The Waimarie carried mail, some passengers and freight up the river to its rapids. She sunk and was left in the river in 1952. A group of locals started rising funds, and volunteers to raise the boat in 1992 succeeding in this endeavour in 1993. Some 67,000 volunteer hours were needed to restore the Waimarie. She was recommissioned on 1st January 2000. She now carries well over 25,000 people a year on cruises along the Wanganui River. Coal for her steam boiler is supplied from a mine near Hamilton. Food and drinks from the bar are available during the two hour cruise.
Whanganui. The Wairua river boat with a white wooden church and red spire behind it. On the Whanganui River.
Wanganui/Whanganui. (Since 2009 the government uses Whanganui.)
In May of 1840 the NZ Company purchased 40,000 acres of land from 27 different Maori Chiefs. Wanganui was the second NZ Company settlement and after surveying land was sold to white settlers from February 1841. It was the third settlement in New Zealand after the Bay of Islands and Wellington. But the land at Wanganui was bought two months after the Treaty of Waitangi had been signed so it should have been purchased through the Crown. A Land Commission in 1844 ordered the NZ Company to pay more compensation for the land but left the amount up to the Company. Some chiefs accepted the original miserly compensation of 1840 and others did not. Conflict and resentment simmered. By 1847 Whanganui was a stockaded town, constructed by the British troops not the NZ Company and trouble was expected from the Maori. Trouble did erupt but not a major war as in some other districts. A Maori was accidentally killed by a British sailor in 1847 and reprisals led to the death of a white mother and her three children. Some Maori captured four Maori villains responsible for the white murders and handed them over to the British troops. Peace returned to the settlement after the four Maori were hung. Then in 1864 inter-tribal warfare broke out in the Wanganui River valley and the British siding with one group. As usual once peace was restored the British confiscated land from the warring Maoris. This created more Maori resentment. The stockade of Wanganui was only removed when all British troops left NZ (and Australian colonies) in 1870. By this time Wanganui was a well-established white settlement area with around 2,000 pakeha inhabitants as well as the Maori.
Whanganui grew in the 1870s after the river bridges were built and again in the 1880s after it had two railway connections – one to Wellington and the other to New Plymouth. These days Whanganui’s industrial base is centred on boat building (such as Fuller Ferries in Auckland), bicycle helmets and agriculture service and engineering industries. Whanganui is one of the major ports of New Zealand. The city has around 40,000 people and the wider district 42,000. A focus of the city is the Whanganui River which rises on the volcanic Mt Tongariro. The Whanganui River is 290 kms long and the second longest river in NZ. The river brings many tourists to the district for cruises and higher up the valley kayaking and rafting. Traditionally the Maori used their canoes for transport up and down the river. The city has many schools and cultural institutions. Its historic buildings include
•St Hill Street. The Victorian era Opera House built in 1899 at 69 St Hill Street; Wanganui Commercial Club at 72 St Hill St built in 1926; the Ward (a NZ astronomer) Observatory 1903 at 121 St Hill St;
•Cameron Terrace. Wanganui Regional Museum built 1928 in Cameron Tce; Sarjeant Gallery in Cameron Tce;
•Victoria Avenue. National Bank of New Zealand built in 1929 at 98 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New South Wales built in 1910 at 39 Victoria Avenue; Bank of New Zealand built in 1906 at 26 Victoria Avenue.
Waimarie Steamboat Cruise.
Our 11 am cruise on the Waimarie is a great way to enjoy the Wanganui River. The paddle boat was built in London and shipped in pieces for reassembly in Wanganui. The Wanganui Settlers’ Riverboat Company ran the ship along the river as transport for just 3 years to 1902 when she was taken over by Hatrick and Co who had 12 river boats. They named the boat the Waimarie meaning “good fortune.” The Waimarie carried mail, some passengers and freight up the river to its rapids. She sunk and was left in the river in 1952. A group of locals started rising funds, and volunteers to raise the boat in 1992 succeeding in this endeavour in 1993. Some 67,000 volunteer hours were needed to restore the Waimarie. She was recommissioned on 1st January 2000. She now carries well over 25,000 people a year on cruises along the Wanganui River. Coal for her steam boiler is supplied from a mine near Hamilton. Food and drinks from the bar are available during the two hour cruise.