Everything about Wanganui totally explained
Wanganui
Whanganui |
|
| Population: |
38,900
(urban-Wanganui)
42,636
(territorial)
(2006 census) |
| Urban Area |
| Extent: |
N to
Aramoho Valley, NE to Wanganui East; SW to
Castlecliff and Gonville, W to Westmere and E to Marybank. |
| Territorial Authority |
|
| Name: |
Wanganui District |
| Mayor: |
Michael Laws |
| Extent: |
NW to Matemateaonga Ranges,
N to Kakatahi, Pipiriki and Ruapehu District; NE to Rangitikei District; SW
to Waitotara and South Taranaki District; S to Tasman Sea & SE to Rangitikei District |
| Land Area: |
2,372.66 km² (916.09 sq mi) |
| Website: |
http://www.wanganui.govt.nz |
| See also: |
Manawatu District, Horowhenua |
| Regional Council |
| Name: |
Manawatu-Wanganui (Horizons Regional Council) |
| Website: |
http://www.horizons.govt.nz |
Wanganui is an urban area and district on the west coast of the
North Island of
New Zealand. It is part of the
Manawatu-Wanganui region.
Like several New Zealand centres, it was officially designated a
city until administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by a District Council. Despite this, it's still regarded as a city by most New Zealanders.
Wanganui City
Wanganui is located on the
South Taranaki Bight, close to the mouth of the
Whanganui River. It is 200 kilometres north of
Wellington and 75 kilometres northwest of
Palmerston North, at the junction of
State Highways 3 and 4. Most of the town lies on the river's northwestern bank, although some suburbs are located on the opposite side of the river.
It enjoys a temperate climate, with slightly above the national average sunshine (2100 hours per annum), and about 900 mm of annual rainfall. Several frosts are experienced in winter.
It is administered by Wanganui District Council. The current mayor is
Michael Laws.
History
The area around the mouth of the Whanganui was a major site of pre-European
Māori settlement. In the 1820s coastal tribes in the area assaulted the
Kapiti Island of
Ngāti Toa chief
Te Rauparaha. Te Rauparaha retaliated in 1830 sacking Putiki
Pā and slaughtering the inhabitants.
The first European traders arrived in 1831, followed in 1840 by missionaries
Octavius Hadfield and
Henry Williams who collected signatures for the
Treaty of Waitangi.
The
Whanganui River catchment is seen as a sacred area to Māori, and the Wanganui region is still seen as a focal point for any resentment over land ownership. In 1995,
Moutoa Gardens in Wanganui, known to local Māori as
Pakaitore, were occupied for 79 days in a mainly peaceful protest by the Whanganui iwi over land claims.
Wanganui was the site of the
New Zealand Police Law Enforcement System (LES) from 1976 to 1995. An early
Sperry mainframe computer based intelligence and data management system, it was known colloquially as the
"Wanganui Computer". The data centre housing the
LES was subject to New Zealand's highest profile
suicide bombing in 1982 when
anarchist Neil Roberts detonated a
gelignite bomb in the entry foyer. Roberts was the only casualty of the bombing.
The name
Whāngā nui means
big bay or
big harbour. Europeans called it
Petre (pronounced Peter), after Lord Petre, an officer of the
New Zealand Company, but the name didn't persist.
Wanganui or Whanganui?
In the local accent,
Māori say
wh as
w followed by a glottal stop, and the name as something like "W'anganui", hard to reproduce by non-locals. Until recently it was generally written as "Wanganui" and pronounced with a
w by non-speakers of
Māori and a
wh by those Māori speakers from other areas who knew its derivation.
Following an article about the river by David Young in the
New Zealand Geographic magazine that used "Whanganui" throughout, in accord with the wishes of the local
iwi, the spelling of the river's name reverted to Whanganui in 1991. The region's name is now sometimes also spelt "Whanganui", but the city has kept the spelling "Wanganui".
As a result, many people from outside the area now take pains to pronounce the river and the region as "Whanganui" and the city as "Wanganui", though the variant spellings don't reflect any difference in the underlying name.
A non-binding
referendum was held in 2006, where 82 percent voted for Wanganui without an 'h'. Turnout was 55.4 percent.
(External Link
) (External Link)
City features
Prominent buildings of the city include the
Sarjeant Art Gallery, and the
Royal Wanganui Opera House, which was built in 1901.
Cook's Gardens are a major sporting venue, used for cricket, cycling, and athletics. On
January 27 1962, a world record time for running the
mile was set by
Peter Snell on the grass track at the gardens.
Much of the city is on the river's northwest bank. The river is crossed by four bridges - Cobham Bridge, City Bridge, Dublin Street Bridge and Aramoho Railway Bridge (rail and pedestrians only). Close to the southeast end of the City Bridge is one of Wanganui's more unusual features, an elevator leading to a monument on the top of Durie Hill.
Suburbs of the city include (clockwise from due south), Gonville, Castlecliff, Springvale, St. Johns Hill, Aramoho, Wanganui East, Bastia Hill, and Durie Hill. Of these, all except Wanganui East, Bastia Hill, and Durie Hill are on the northwest bank.
Economy
A considerable proportion of Wanganui's economy relates directly to the fertile and prosperous farming area that surrounds the city. Other local industries include engineering and port facilities.
Climate
Wanganui district
Wanganui District Council resulted from amalgamation of Wanganui and Waitotara county councils and Wanganui City Council.
The district has an area of 2373 km². Much of the land in Wanganui district is rough hill country surrounding the valley of the Whanganui River. A large proportion of this is within the
Whanganui National Park.
All but some 4,500 people in the Wanganui district live in the city itself, meaning there are few prominent outlying settlements. A small but notable village is
Jerusalem.
Sport
Sport Team's Colours>
| Blue |
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| Black |
|
| Blue |
| Shorts/Skirt |
|
Rugby
Wanganui is one of the oldest
rugby unions in New Zealand, but has never held the
Ranfurly Shield. The Wanganui environs have produced several
All Blacks including Andrew Donald, Bill Osborne, Buff Milner, George Bullock-Douglas, Harrison Rowley, John Blair, John Hogan, Moke Belliss, Mona Thomson, Pat Potaka, Peina Taituha, Peter Johns, Peter McDonnell, Peter Murray, Peter Henderson, Sandy McNicol and Glenn Osborne.
Sister cities
Wanganui has three
sister cities, as designated by
Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
Further Information
Get more info on 'Wanganui'.
|
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