Нгаруавахиа: История и современность новозеландского города

Town in Waikato, New Zealand

Ngāruawāhia is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located north west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Range. Ngāruawāhia is in the Hamilton Urban Area, the fourth largest urban area in New Zealand. The location was once considered as a potential capital of New Zealand.

The name Ngāruawāhia means "the opened food pits", which derives from a great feast in the 17th century.

When Rangiriri pā was taken by General Cameron after a white flag of truce was flown, Cameron informed Māori that Governor Grey would only come to talk peace if his forces were allowed to enter Ngāruawāhia unopposed. Cameron entered a deserted Ngāruawāhia on 8 December 1863, but Grey never came to talk peace. Despite Māori protest, sales of confiscated land went ahead in 1864, shortly after the invasion. During the 19th century, Ngāruawāhia was named Queenstown and then Newcastle. However, the town returned to the original name in 1878.

A gas power station was built in Herschell St in 1913 by the Town Board for lighting. It used Glen Massey coal, which was converted to gas in a Cambridge Patent Gas Producer (many were used about this time in Australasia) and used to drive a 2 cylinder gas engine. It closed in 1924. Much of the machinery was removed in 1950 and from 1954 the building was used as a scout hall. Queen Elizabeth II has visited Ngāruawāhia on two occasions (1953 & 1974). On the latter occasion, then Māori Queen Dame Te Ātairangikaahu and her husband Whatumoana Paki welcomed Queen Elizabeth II to the local marae. The Great Ngaruawahia Music Festival was held in 1973, and featured many music acts, including some that went on to become internationally famous such as Black Sabbath and Split Enz. It was the first large outdoor music festival in New Zealand. In 1980, Mayor Latta released a book about the history of the town titled 'Meeting of the Waters'. In March 1998, a freight train derailed on the local North Island Main Trunk line's rail bridge across the Waikato River. The incident caused structural damage to the bridge. away, in the Hakarimatas. The concrete dam is 100 feet (30 m) long and 26 feet (8 m) high and now accessible by the Waterworks Walk from Brownlee Avenue, alongside Mangarata Stream. The population was then 1100 in 240 houses. so water was instead pumped from the Waikato and from a deep bore, with a new reservoir and water treatment plant opened in 1965.

By April 2001, the damaged rail bridge was mended. and by 2010 the town had its own community news. Ngaruawahia High School (which opened in 1963) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2013. In May 2016, Heather du Plessis Allan (an NZME broadcaster) claimed that the "town is rotting". and an article relating to the incident appeared on a Waikato Times front page. According to Waikato District Mayor Allan Sanson, du Plessis Allan "really upset locals". In June 2016, local mayor Allan Sanson said du Plessis Allan spent around three hours in the town, apologizing to residents. In 2019, the name of the town was officially gazetted as Ngāruawāhia.

Until the Waikato invasion the rivers were the main transport routes, but, after the Great South Road and main trunk line were built, the rivers became barriers, which needed crossings. As early as 1870 a public meeting called for a bridge, but a punt continued to be the main means of crossing the river until the road rail bridge opened for traffic in 1876. So long as there were few trains, there was little complaint that gates closed 10 minutes before a train was due. However, by the 1900s road and rail traffic was increasing, averaging 20 trains, 275 pedestrians, 43 equestrians, 29 light vehicles, 18 milk carts, 6 wagons, and 55 stock a day in 1910.

A survey for a road bridge was done in 1911. Test borings for piles were done in 1912. The Ngāruawāhia Town Board and Waikato, Waipa, and Raglan County Councils agreed to share the cost in 1914. The State Advances office lent £2,500 for the bridge in 1915. Wartime shortages caused further delays, but by 1917 the new bridge was taking shape. Further delay occurred when additional piles had to be driven. The Minister reported the work well in hand in 1919, but then a temporary bridge, used in construction, was hit by a steamer. Work got under way again, £3,000 was in the Public Works Estimates and the bridge was reported complete in 1920, except for its approaches. The bridge opened in 1921 and, on 28 July 1921, was officially opened by the Minister of Public Works, J. G. Coates. It was 12 feet (4 m) wide and 436 feet (133 m) long, made up of 3 x 123 feet (37 m), a 43 feet (13 m) and a 20 feet (6 m) span. Two piers were in the river on 6 feet (2 m) concrete cylinders sunk 37 feet (11 m) below normal water level. The others were reinforced concrete on concrete piling and the deck and trusses of Australian hardwood. Complaints had been made about a single lane bridge since before it was built, The conversion was completed in early November 1931, allowing 2 way traffic. Single lane traffic was reinstated for a few months in 1936 to allow a 40 feet (12 m) truss on the 1921 bridge to be replaced. Traffic was still increasing. In 1935 traffic between Ohinewai and Ngāruawāhia averaged 660 vehicles a day. By 1938 it had risen to 1,329.

On 13 March 1953 a contract was let for a new steel truss bridge. No more recent counts have been published, but, after the opening of the Taupiri link in 2013, traffic on the Great South Rd in Ngāruawāhia, was 12,467 in 2015, suggesting that traffic on the bridge has been reduced by about 5,000 vehicles a day.

Ngāruawāhia is home to the Kīngitanga. The first Māori King, Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, was crowned at Ngāruawāhia in 1858 and was living there when he died two years later. The current Māori King is Tūheitia Paki; he obtained the throne at Tūrangawaewae Marae immediately following his mother's passing in 2006.

Ngāruawāhia has two marae affiliated with the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Mahuta and Ngāti Te Weehi: Tūrangawaewae and its Mahinaarangi or Turongo meeting house, and Waikeri Tangirau Marae.

A local gang is Tribal Huk, who have been seen as heroes by the community for providing lunches to schoolchildren in Ngāruawāhia, Hamilton and Huntly. In particular, they have been known for making sandwiches, which earned them the nickname "Sandwich Gang". Waikato District Mayor Allan Sanson supported Pink's message to Ngāruawāhia methamphetamine dealers to either leave the town within 24 hours or "visits" would begin. The demand was also supported by members of the community who had gathered at a local meeting. According to a gang source, Ngāruawāhia became P free, but the Police Association stated that there was no evidence that P dealers had left Ngāruawāhia. There is additionally concern Pink has damaged the work that Tribal Huk did feeding a thousand Waikato schoolchildren.

In the 1996 census, the majority of residents identified as Christian. A Bible is traditionally used during the crowning of a Māori monarch. The 'Ngaruawahia Rugby League Club' is the oldest such club in the Waikato. Early games were played on varying venues, for instance Taupiri paddock and Paterson Park. The first major match for the town was held in August 1911 when they lost to Auckland 22 – 36 at the Caledonian Ground in Frankton. Ngaruawahia did however beat Hamilton United 27 – 4 in the first ever Northern Union game to be played at Hamilton's Steele Park in 1912. The senior team were Champion of Champions in 1956 and 1957. Ngāruawāhia is the home of the rugby league team Turangawaewae RLC, which is named after the marae opposite the clubrooms. The club currently holds the record for the first team to win consecutive titles in the annual Waicoa Bay Premiers Competition, consisting of all teams in the Waikato, Coast and Bay Of Plenty regions. 'Ngaruawahia Rugby League Club' (Panthers) are 2011 champions, Premiers, U17, U14, U13 are all champions.

The local regatta has been a fundamental event for the region for well over a century. An event is held every year in March on the Waikato River. During the centennial regatta in March 1996, over 48,000 people visited the town to see thousands of performers from a number of countries.

Hopuhopu is north of Ngāruawāhia. From 1853 Hopuhopu had a boys' mission school, which lost most of its pupils in 1862 and, by 1863, was reported as in disrepair. The mission house burnt down in 1886. An army camp was built on the mission site in the 1920s, including its own water supply, ammunition dumps and a railway siding. A 1925 photograph showed only one building and many tents, but a 1955 aerial photo showed the extent of building, which was largely complete by 1927. In 1993 the camp was returned to Waikato Tainui, who converted it to their headquarters and Waikato Tainui College for Research and Development.

Ngaruawahia High School is the town's co educational state secondary school, with a roll of as of
The town has two English language state primary schools: Ngaruawahia School, with a roll of ; and Waipa School, with a roll of
St Paul's Catholic School is a co educational state integrated primary school, with a roll of
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Bernard Fergusson is a co educational Māori language state primary school, with a roll of .