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Wairoa
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Wairoa
Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Māhia Peninsula. It is 118 kilometres (73 mi) northeast of Napier, and 92 kilometres (57 mi) southwest of Gisborne, on State Highway 2. It is the nearest town to the Te Urewera protected area and former national park, which is accessible from Wairoa via State Highway 38. It is one of three towns in New Zealand where Māori outnumber other ethnicities (the other towns being Kawerau and Ōpōtiki), with 62.29% of the population identifying as Māori.
Te Wairoa was originally a Māori settlement. The ancestral waka (canoe) Tākitimu travelled up the Wairoa river (full name: Te Wairoa Hōpūpū Hōnengenenge Matangirau) and landed at Mākeakea, near where Tākitimu meeting house stands today. Te Reinga Falls is the starting point of the Wairoa river and said to be linked with the taniwha Hinekorako and Ruamano, who guided Takitimu to Aotearoa. The Wairoa River mouth is associated with two taniwha, Tapuwae and Te Maaha, who are engaged in an ongoing struggle. There were a number of pā in close vicinity to the river, and the river was a major route for transport and trading. The river was an important source of food and still is to this day, including whitebait, flounder, mullet and eel.
Early European settlement in the area included a whaling station and trading post established by William Rhodes in 1839, dealing largely in flax. These establishments offered sufficient income and attraction. Wairoa's initial name was Clyde, but this was changed, largely to avoid confusion with Clive near Napier and Clyde in the South Island. The north part of the town is called North Clyde. The town rose to prominence during the New Zealand Wars, during which time it was a garrison town.
The New Zealand government bought the land on which the town is built in 1864. This land was divided up and then sold as sections in 1866. The Wairoa Harbour Board was established in 1872. The Wairoa lighthouse was built between 1877 and 1878 and its beacon was first lit in 1878. The tower was reinforced in 1879 to provide greater stability after a storm damaged it. The first bridge across the Wairoa river was built in 1888.
The Wairoa Borough Council was established in 1909. The Napier to Wairoa railway line was started in 1911. Progress was intermittent with the Wairoa river railway bridge being built in 1930. The railway line was completed in 1937. In April 1938, flooding hit the area, causing hundreds of slips which damaged the railway line. Work to restore the railway took place and it was opened again for trains by the end of 1938 and fully utilised by 1939. This led to a decline in the use of the port at Wairoa, with the port used for the last time in 1942. The Wairoa Harbour Board was abolished in 1946. The road bridge across the Wairoa river was damaged in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and a replacement bridge was completed in 1933.
Annie and Rosamond Smyth were murdered in their home in the Salvation Army hall in 1942. The killer was not identified at the time. Herbert Brunton was murdered in 1948, and this also went unsolved. Leo Silvester Hannan made a death bed confession to the three killings in 1962 while in prison for a 1950 murder in Wellington.
In early March 1988, much of the North Island was severely affected by storm damage from Cyclone Bola. In Wairoa, three days of heavy rain in the catchment areas caused severe flooding and damage including the loss of a 60-metre section of town's main bridge, cutting the town in half, and interrupting phone lines and the town's water supply. There was severe flood damage to farms, businesses, homes and the showgrounds. A new bridge, the third at the location, was completed and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.
In 1990 Wairoa won the last New Zealand Top Town Final in the original Top Town series and were the reigning champs until the series started again in 2009. Due to some confusion with a claim by Greymouth to be the last champions, Wairoa was not eligible for the new top town series and unable to defend their title.
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Wairoa
Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Māhia Peninsula. It is 118 kilometres (73 mi) northeast of Napier, and 92 kilometres (57 mi) southwest of Gisborne, on State Highway 2. It is the nearest town to the Te Urewera protected area and former national park, which is accessible from Wairoa via State Highway 38. It is one of three towns in New Zealand where Māori outnumber other ethnicities (the other towns being Kawerau and Ōpōtiki), with 62.29% of the population identifying as Māori.
Te Wairoa was originally a Māori settlement. The ancestral waka (canoe) Tākitimu travelled up the Wairoa river (full name: Te Wairoa Hōpūpū Hōnengenenge Matangirau) and landed at Mākeakea, near where Tākitimu meeting house stands today. Te Reinga Falls is the starting point of the Wairoa river and said to be linked with the taniwha Hinekorako and Ruamano, who guided Takitimu to Aotearoa. The Wairoa River mouth is associated with two taniwha, Tapuwae and Te Maaha, who are engaged in an ongoing struggle. There were a number of pā in close vicinity to the river, and the river was a major route for transport and trading. The river was an important source of food and still is to this day, including whitebait, flounder, mullet and eel.
Early European settlement in the area included a whaling station and trading post established by William Rhodes in 1839, dealing largely in flax. These establishments offered sufficient income and attraction. Wairoa's initial name was Clyde, but this was changed, largely to avoid confusion with Clive near Napier and Clyde in the South Island. The north part of the town is called North Clyde. The town rose to prominence during the New Zealand Wars, during which time it was a garrison town.
The New Zealand government bought the land on which the town is built in 1864. This land was divided up and then sold as sections in 1866. The Wairoa Harbour Board was established in 1872. The Wairoa lighthouse was built between 1877 and 1878 and its beacon was first lit in 1878. The tower was reinforced in 1879 to provide greater stability after a storm damaged it. The first bridge across the Wairoa river was built in 1888.
The Wairoa Borough Council was established in 1909. The Napier to Wairoa railway line was started in 1911. Progress was intermittent with the Wairoa river railway bridge being built in 1930. The railway line was completed in 1937. In April 1938, flooding hit the area, causing hundreds of slips which damaged the railway line. Work to restore the railway took place and it was opened again for trains by the end of 1938 and fully utilised by 1939. This led to a decline in the use of the port at Wairoa, with the port used for the last time in 1942. The Wairoa Harbour Board was abolished in 1946. The road bridge across the Wairoa river was damaged in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and a replacement bridge was completed in 1933.
Annie and Rosamond Smyth were murdered in their home in the Salvation Army hall in 1942. The killer was not identified at the time. Herbert Brunton was murdered in 1948, and this also went unsolved. Leo Silvester Hannan made a death bed confession to the three killings in 1962 while in prison for a 1950 murder in Wellington.
In early March 1988, much of the North Island was severely affected by storm damage from Cyclone Bola. In Wairoa, three days of heavy rain in the catchment areas caused severe flooding and damage including the loss of a 60-metre section of town's main bridge, cutting the town in half, and interrupting phone lines and the town's water supply. There was severe flood damage to farms, businesses, homes and the showgrounds. A new bridge, the third at the location, was completed and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.
In 1990 Wairoa won the last New Zealand Top Town Final in the original Top Town series and were the reigning champs until the series started again in 2009. Due to some confusion with a claim by Greymouth to be the last champions, Wairoa was not eligible for the new top town series and unable to defend their title.
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