Ātene is a former village located 35 kilometres (22 mi) up the Whanganui River from Whanganui. Originally called Warepakoko, [1] then Kakata, [2] it was renamed by the missionary Richard Taylor in the 19th century as a Māori transliteration of Athens. It was the home of the hapū Ngāti Hineoneone of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. [3] A small meeting house called Te Rangi-i-heke-iho, restored by carver Bill Ranginui, [4] is all that remains. [5]
The hill next to Ātene, Puketapu, was once on a peninsula almost completely surrounded by a meander of the Whanganui River; centuries ago the river broke through the neck of the peninsula, connecting the two bends and cutting off the meander. [6] In the 1960s, a hydroelectric dam was proposed at Ātene, because the meander could have been reinstated while the dam was being constructed. [7] A hydroelectric dam would have flooded the river as far back as Taumarunui, and the project was abandoned. [8] While investigating the possibility of a dam, the Ministry of Works built a road in 1959 along the ridgeline overlooking Puketapu. The road is now an 18 km walking track, the Ātene Skyline Track. [9]
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately 1,150 square kilometres (440 sq mi) and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest city, Christchurch, is immediately north of the peninsula.
Whanganui, also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is the 19th most-populous urban area in New Zealand and the second-most-populous in Manawatū-Whanganui, with a population of 42,200 as of June 2020.
Manawatū-Whanganui is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council, which operates under the name Horizons Regional Council.
Lake Waikaremoana is located in Te Urewera in the North Island of New Zealand, 60 kilometres northwest of Wairoa and 80 kilometres west-southwest of Gisborne. It covers an area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). From the Maori Waikaremoana translates as 'sea of rippling waters'.
The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natural resource to be given its own legal identity, with the rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person. The Whanganui Treaty settlement brought the longest-running litigation in New Zealand history to an end.
The Kepler Track is a 60 km (37 mi) circular hiking track which travels through the landscape of the South Island of New Zealand and is situated near the town of Te Anau. The track passes through many landscapes of the Fiordland National Park such as rocky mountain ridges, tall mossy forests, lake shores, deep gorges, rare wetlands and rivers. Like the mountains it traverses, the track is named after Johannes Kepler. The track is one of the New Zealand Great Walks and is administered by the Department of Conservation (DOC).
Lake Matheson is a small glacial lake in South Westland, New Zealand, near the township of Fox Glacier. It was a traditional mahinga kai for local Māori. An easy walking track circles the lake, which is famous for its reflected views of Aoraki / Mount Cook and Mount Tasman.
Tieke Kāinga is a small Māori community in New Zealand, on the middle reaches of the Whanganui River 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) downstream from the mouth of the Mangatiti Stream. It is centred on Tieke Marae, a converted Department of Conservation tramping hut. The surrounding land is subject to a Māori land claim which began with occupation of the hut in 1993.
Richard Taylor was a Church Missionary Society (CMS) missionary in New Zealand. He was born on 21 March 1805 at Letwell, Yorkshire, England, one of four children of Richard Taylor and his wife, Catherine Spencer.
Whirinaki Te Pua-a-Tāne Conservation Park is a publicly accessible conservation park in the North Island of New Zealand. The park is centered on the town of Minginui and part of the eastern boundary flanks Te Urewera. The Whirinaki Forest is one of the world's last prehistoric rainforests.
Whanganui Māori are the Māori iwi (tribes) and hapū (sub-tribes) of the Whanganui River area of New Zealand.
The Māori people have a strong and changing conservation ethic from the time of their discovery and settlement of New Zealand until the present day and is closely tied to spiritual beliefs.
Ranana is a settlement 60 kilometres (37 mi) up the Whanganui River from Whanganui, New Zealand.
Ihakara Porutu "Kara" Puketapu is a leader of the Te Āti Awa iwi in Waiwhetū, Lower Hutt, New Zealand..
Pipiriki is a settlement in New Zealand, on the east bank of the Whanganui River, due west of the town of Raetihi and 79 kilometres (49 mi) upriver from Whanganui; it was originally on the opposite bank. It is the home of Ngāti Kura, a hapū of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi. It is also the location of the Paraweka Marae of the hapū Ngāti Kurawhatia of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi.
Matahiwi is a farming community 55 kilometres (34 mi) upriver from Whanganui, New Zealand, home to the Māori hapū known as Ngā Poutama of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi. The township takes its name from the bush-clad puke (hill) on the western side of the Whanganui River, right above the local marae, whose name translates as "the face on the ridge".
Koriniti is a settlement 47 kilometres (29 mi) upriver from Whanganui, New Zealand, home to the Ngāti Pāmoana hapū of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi.
Parikino is a settlement 24 kilometres (15 mi) upriver from Whanganui, New Zealand; the original pā site was across the Whanganui River.
Kaiwhaiki is a settlement 18 kilometres (11 mi) upriver from Whanganui, New Zealand.
The Matemateāonga Range is a range of rugged hills in the northern Manawatū-Whanganui region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the western side the Whanganui River between Wanganui and Taumarunui.