Tūrangi


Tūrangi is a small town on the west bank of the Tongariro River, 50 kilometres south-west of Taupo on the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand. It was built to accommodate the workers associated with the Tongariro hydro-electric power development project and their families. The town was designed to remain as a small servicing centre for the exotic forest plantations south of Lake Taupo and for tourists. It is well known for its trout fishing and calls itself "The trout fishing capital of the world". The major Māori hapu of the Turangi area is Ngāti Tūrangitukua.

Geography

The Tūrangi area covers some 2273 km², and is located close to the edge of the Kaimanawa Ranges and ten kilometres north of the stretch of State Highway 1 known as the Desert Road.
The streets around Tūrangi in autumn are lined with "brilliant" foliage.
Built on the banks of the Tongariro River, Tūrangi and its surrounding countryside offers challenging hunting, fishing, mountain biking, hiking or leisurely bush walks, white water rafting, kayaking and sight seeing.

Population and demographics

The town has a population of around 3500, and it is the second largest population centre in the Taupo District. Tūrangi's population peaked at 9000 during the 1970s. Since the end of the Project in the 1980s the population has declined but has remained stable due to the town's handy location for tourists.

Economy

Tourism and forestry are the mainstay of the community with the Department of Corrections two prisons, Genesis Energy, the Department of Conservation and farming being the main employers. The town is also home to a Centre for Sustainable Practice at , providing education and enterprise training.

History

Māori settlement

The area was settled by the people of Ngati Tuwharetoa, descendants of those who had originally settled in the Kawerau area. The major Tuwharetoa migration occurred from about the 16th century with a war party under command of Turangitukua who engaged in a number of battles against earlier inhabitants of the Taupo, Rotoaira and Kaimanawa area. Following these battles a variety of settlements were established in the area with major pa established on the cliff overlooking the Tongariro River and at Waitahanui on the Tongariro Delta. Another important settlement was at Tokaanu.
The people who eventually become known as Ngati Turangitukua associate mainly with Waitahanui pa. From here they established a number of homesteads along both sides of the Tongariro River and its tributaries, including houses along the main Highway to Taumarunui. In 1910 construction of a wharepuni begun which eventually became the Hirangi Marae complex.

Non-Māori settlement

The first Europeans reached the Tūrangi area in the 1830s, however it was not until the 1850s that European settlement occurred with the construction of a Mission Station at Pukawa.
In the 1880s and 1890s brown and rainbow trout were introduced into the lake and rivers of the area. A small fishing camp was established at Taupahi on the Tongariro river bank and a number of European fisherman camped here.
In the 1920s two prison farms were opened at Rangipo and Hautu because of the isolated nature of the area. Also during this period the Morar family arrived from India, settling and establishing a store in Tokaanu.
By 1960 the population was about 500.

Tongariro power development

In the 1950s, in response to post World War II needs for rapid expansion of energy resources to meet the growing industrialisation in New Zealand, the Tongariro Power Scheme proposal was developed. The scheme would require a large construction force, and provide accommodation for that force for the duration of the project.
Four sites were considered for the township to accommodate the project workers: Rotoaira, Rangipo, Turangi West, and Turangi East. The tourism potential of Lake Taupo was appreciated, as well as the economic benefits that could be captured by creating a permanent township. Taking in account accessibility, climate, and adequacy of suitable land for development of a township, it was decided to go with the Turangi West site.
Construction of the town began late in 1964. The Government invested $16 million in the development and by May 1966, the population of Tūrangi had jumped from 500 to 2,500 people. By 1968 the population reached a high of 6,500. A model town with curving streets and cul-de-sacs, uniform houses, pedestrian shopping centre, parking lots and separation from the traffic on the main highway was created.
A publicity pamphlet published by the Ministry of Works in 1969 described Tūrangi at that time as a pleasant and attractive town of 5000 people which offered a ‘balanced community life’. The pamphlet enumerated the town's amenities, shops, and services, such as its mall, schools, sports facilities, library, maternity hospital, parks, and, not least, its wide, grassy verges and kerbing.
Following the completion of the project in the late 1970s, the Ministry of Works and other government departments began a process of selling assets within the Turangi township.

Treaty settlement

In 1989 Ngati Turangitukua registered with the Waitangi Tribunal. The claim was heard under urgency between April and October 1994, and the Tribunal's Report was released in September 1995.
The Tribunal found that the Crown had breached the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi in a number of ways:
In July 1998, the Crown and Ngati Turangitukua negotiated to achieve a full and final settlement of Ngati Turangitukua's Treaty claims and to remove the continuing sense of grievance.
The Crown and Ngati Turangitukua entered into a deed of settlement on 26 September 1998, resulting in a full and final settlement of Ngati Turangitukua's Treaty claims relating to the development and construction of the Turangi Township and its after effects.
In 1999 the Ngati Turangitukua Claims Settlement Act 1999 was passed to:

Marae

The local Hīrangi Marae and Tūwharetoa i te Aupōuri meeting house, located in the Tūrangi township, is a meeting place Ngāti Tūrangitukua and Ngāti Tūwharetoa. Rongomai Marae and meeting house, located east of the township, is a meeting place of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa hapū of Ngāti Rongomai. Korohe Marae Rereao meeting house, located further east, is a meeting place of the Ngāti Tūwharetoa hapū of Ngāti Hine.

Government

Tūrangi is located in the administrative areas of the Taupo District Council and three of the council's eleven representatives is elected directly from a Turangi Tongariro ward. Tūrangi is administered by the Turangi/Tongariro Community Board under delegated powers from the Taupo District Council. This ensures that all locally important decisions are made by local residents.
The role of the Tūrangi Tongariro Community Boards is to:
The Taupo District is itself part of the Waikato region, controlled administratively by the Environment Waikato.
Tūrangi is part of the Taupo electorate in New Zealand's general elections. The electorate is currently represented in the New Zealand Parliament by Louise Upston.

Education

There are three schools in the Tūrangi area. Within the Tūrangi township are two schools, both area schools which cater for Year 1 to 13 students. The schools opened in February 2004, following the Tūrangi Education Network Review that resulted in the closure of four schools: Hirangi Primary, Turangi Primary, Tongariro High and Tauranga-Taupo Primary Schools were closed. Previously Pihanga Primary existed, but was closed in the mid 1980s.
A single Year 1 – 15 composite state area school, Tongariro School, was established in their place. with a roll of as of
A Māori immersion school for Year 1 – 13 students, Te Kura o Hirangi, was established for those who wish to receive their education in te reo Māori. with a roll of.
There is also a rural school at Kuratau, approximately 30 km west of Tūrangi on SH 41 to Taumarunui.

Sister city