Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
It is the powerful Maori history of Tongariro that has earned the national park an unusual
dual World Heritage status - it is cited on both natural and cultural grounds.
To the Maori the volcanoes of Tongariro were
tapu
(sacred) and they sought to prevent
anybody from climbing them. They believed Ngatoro-i-rangi, high priest of the Ngati
Tuwharetoa tribe of Lake Taupo, arrived in the Bay of Plenty and travelled south to claim
the volcanic plateau for his people. He climbed Ngauruhoe to view the land but, upon reach-
ing the top, suddenly found himself in the middle of a raging snowstorm. It was something
the high priest had never experienced and he cried out to priestess sisters in the north to send
him warmth.
The sisters responded by sending fire from the earth. It burst from the ground, creating
the craters of Ngauruhoe and Tongariro, thus saving Ngatoro-i-rangi. He slew a female
slave, then climbed to the newly formed crater and tossed the body in to give his prayer
more strength, claiming the surrounding land for his people.
The volcanoes, especially Tongariro, have been sacred to Maori ever since. They often
travelled to Ketetahi Hot Springs to bathe, but were forbidden to go any further. Europeans
were also discouraged from visiting the area. In 1839 John Bidwill, a botanist and explorer,
became the first Pakeha to scale Ngauruhoe.
For the next 12 years the local tribe was successful in keeping intruders from its sacred
grounds. However, in 1851, Ruapehu fell to a climber's passion when Sir George Grey as-
cended one of the volcano's peaks and then hid from his Maori guides to avoid their discon-
tent. In 1879 George Beetham and JP Maxwell became the first Europeans to scale Ruapehu
and see Crater Lake.
During the mid- to late 1880s the local
iwi
(tribe) was under considerable pressure to re-
linquish the lands to farmers, loggers and rival tribes. Horonuku Te Heuheu Tukino IV, para-
mount chief of Ngati Tuwharetoa, came up with a solution: on 23 September 1887 he gifted
the sacred volcanoes of Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu to the people of New Zealand.
An Act of Parliament formally established Tongariro National Park in 1894 and it was
gazetted as such in 1907. The original gift area of 2360 hectares has been increased over the
years by government purchase of surrounding land to create a national park of 797 sq km.
More recently, the park's fame has been bolstered by starring roles in Peter Jackson's
Lord of the Rings
and
The Hobbit
movies. Mt Ngauruhoe was most noticeably transformed
into fiery Mt Doom of Mordor, while numerous locations around Ruapehu, including the
Mangawhero Falls and River, make magical appearances.
