Taumarunui


Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of Turangi. It is under the jurisdiction of Ruapehu District and Manawatū-Whanganui region.
Its population is 4,503, making it the largest centre for a considerable distance in any direction. It is on State Highway 4 and the North Island Main Trunk railway.
The name Taumarunui is reported to be the dying words of the Māori chief Pehi Turoa – taumaru meaning screen and nui big, literally translated as Big Screen, being built to shelter him from the sun, or more commonly known to mean – "The place of big shelter". There are also references to Taumarunui being known as large sheltered location for growing kumara.
In the 1980s publication Roll Back the Years there are some details on how Taumarunui got its name. Extract: "According to Frank T Brown, who wrote in the Taumarunui Press in 1926, the name Taumarunui is closely connected with the arrival of and conquering of that portion of the King Country by the Whanganui River natives during the 18th century... The war party that succeeded in capturing the principal pa and taking prisoner the chief of the district was headed by "Ki Maru". His warriors, to show their appreciation of his prowess and the honour of the victory, acclaimed him "Tau-maru-nui", which means "Maru the Great", or "Maru the Conqueror", that name was taken for the district and has been used ever since."

History and culture

Taumarunui was originally a Maori settlement at the confluence of the Ongarue River with the Whanganui, important canoe routes linking the interior of the island with the lower Whanganui River settlements. Some places, notably the valley of the Pungapunga Stream, which joins the upper Whanganui near Manunui, were celebrated for the size and quality of totara, and large canoes were built there. The area is a border area between a number of iwi including Whanganui, Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Tūwharetoa, who lived together in relative harmony.
Late in December 1843 Bishop Selwyn travelled from the district south of Taupo to a point on the Whanganui River about six miles downstream from Taumarunui and thence continued his journey to the coast by canoe. Towards the end of 1869 Te Kooti was at Taumarunui before his march through the western Taupo district to Tapapa. In the early 1880s the first surveys of the King Country commenced and by the early 1890s the Crown had begun the purchase of large areas of land.
In 1874 Alexander Bell set up a trading post, and became the first European settler. The town has a road called Bell Road.
During the New Zealand Wars a resident named William Moffatt manufactured and supplied Maori with a coarse kind of gunpowder. He was afterwards expelled from the district. Despite warnings he returned in 1880, ostensibly to prospect for gold, and was executed.
The Whanganui River long continued to be the principal route serving Taumarunui. Traffic was at first by Maori canoe, but by the late 1880s regular steamship communication was established. Taumarunui Landing was the last stop on Alexander Hatrick's steam boat service from Wanganui. The river vessels maintained the services between Wanganui and Taumarunui until the late 1920s, when the condition of the river deteriorated.
Later Taumarunui gained importance with the completion of the North Island Main Trunk line in 1908–09. The line south of Taumarunui caused considerable problems due to the terrain, and has several high viaducts and the famous Raurimu Spiral. The Stratford–Okahukura Line to Stratford connected just north of Taumarunui. In more recent times, the town's economy has been based on forestry and farming. It has gained in importance as a tourism centre, especially as an entry point for voyagers down the scenic Wanganui River and as the possessor of a high quality golf course.

Timeline

1800s

1914–18 – World War I
1939–1945 – World War II
Town Mayors immediately prior to 1988 include: Charles Binzegger, Les Byars and Terry Podmore.
There are a number of marae in the Taumarunui area, affiliated with local iwi and hapū:

Township and borough

On State Highway 4 south of Taumarunui are the villages of Manunui, Piriaka, Kakahi, Owhango, Raurimu and then National Park. To the north are the school and truck stop of Mapiu.

Taumarunui County

Taumarunui County was defined in the Waikato and King-country Counties Act 1922, this statute states:
Then subsequently in 1952 the Kaitieke County and the Ohura County were amalgamated with a new Taumarunui County.
Then in 1988 the Taumarunui District Council was formed only to be replaced in 1989 as it was merged into the now Ruapehu District Council.

Demographics

Taumarunui, including the surrounding areas of Tarrangower, Sunshine-Hospital Hill and Manunui, had a population of 4,503 at the 2013 New Zealand census, a decrease of 549 people since the 2006 census. There were 2,139 males and 2,364 females. 62.1% were European/Pākehā, 50.9% were Māori, 2.8% were Pacific peoples and 3.0% were Asian.

Community institutions

Ngāpuwaiwaha marae is on Taumarunui Street; its main hapū are Ngāti Haua and Ngāti Hauaroa of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi.
Taumarunui has many societies and community organizations. It has a
Cosmopolitan Club and RSA, a Lodge of the Freemasons as well as
Taumarunui Lodge NZ № 12 of the Royal Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes
Grand Council. This Lodge of the Buffaloes was established sometime in the
mid-late 1920s and thus predates the introduction of the Mighty NZR KA class steam locomotives
that became the hallmark of NIMT Rail Transport of the forties,
fifties and sixties.

Climate

Under the Köppen, Taumarunui has an Oceanic climate:. Due to location, low altitude and Geography surroundings, Taumarunui is more liable to warm to hot summers than other central North Island centres and in winter Taumarunui is cold and frosty. Rainfall yearly is. Annual sunshine yearly is 1822 hrs. In June 2002 Taumarunui recorded just 27 hrs of sun this lowest of the whole country beating the old record at Invercargill with 35 hrs in June 1935. The lowest temperature recorded in Taumarunui, −6.8 °C, was in July 2010.

Education

is a co-educational state secondary school for Year 9 to 13 students, with a roll of as of.
The town has three primary schools for Year 1 to 8 students: Taumarunui Primary School, with a roll of, Tarrangower School, with a roll of, and Turaki School, with a roll of.
St Patrick's Catholic School is a co-educational state-integrated Catholic primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of.

Notable people