Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Whanganui
POP 42,150
With rafts of casual Huck Finn sensibility, Whanganui is a raggedy historic town on the
banks of the wide Whanganui River. The local arts community is thriving: old port build-
ings are being turned into glass-art studios, and the town centre has been rejuvenated -
there are few more appealing places to while away a sunny afternoon than beneath Victor-
ia Ave's leafy canopy.
History
Maori settlement at Whanganui dates from around 1100. The first European on the river
was Andrew Powers in 1831, but Whanganui's European settlement didn't take off until
1840 when the New Zealand Company could no longer satisfy Wellington's land demands
- settlers moved here instead.
When the Maori understood that the gifts the Pakeha settlers had given them were in
permanent exchange for their land, they were understandably irate, and seven years of
conflict ensued. Thousands of government troops occupied the Rutland Stockade in
Queens Park. Ultimately, the struggle was settled by arbitration; during the Taranaki Land
Wars the Whanganui Maoris assisted the Pakeha.
