Taihape

Taihape is a small town in the interior of the North Island of New Zealand. Administratively it belongs to the Ward of Taihape Rangitikei District in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region. She's service center for the surrounding farms and is located on State Highway 1 and the North Iceland Main Trunk Railway. Taihape is in New Zealand because of its rural isolation, the target of numerous jokes. Mayor Bob Buchanan.

Economy

Taihape is a rural service center and had his best time in the 1960s, when it was a railroad and transportation hub for the surrounding farmland. Much of the economy was connected to the railway and the surrounding agriculture. In the 1980s, she experienced a severe slump since the railroad was restructured and electrified and agriculture experienced a downturn. In recent years, the city benefited from tourism. Because of its location on State Highway 1, it serves many travelers as a stopover. Taihape describes himself as " Gumboot Capital of the World" ( " wellies Capital of the World " ) and draws an annual competition in the rubber boot throwing numerous visitors.

Geography

Taihape is located near the confluence of the River Hautapu with the Rangitikei River, approximately 500 meters above sea level. It lies in a sheltered valley in the highlands of the interior of the North Island near the Ruahine Ranges. Despite its transport connections, it is considered by most New Zealanders as isolated location, there are no other major towns in the wider community. The town is surrounded by fertile, suitable for sheep and deer farm highlands. Its location in the vicinity of mountains, rivers and lakes makes the place the starting point for hunting and outdoor tourism.

The compounds according to Taihape have been greatly improved with time. While the site was previously accessible only through winding, dangerous road through the hills, the State Highway 1 now offers a quick connection to Mangaweka in the south and in the north of Waiouru. North of Taihape the road leads first through the Rangipo Desert, then to reach Lake Taupo east around Taupo. The railway line runs through the Raurimu Spiral west towards Ohakune.

Because of the rugged hill country, there is still no good transport links to the West. To the east there is only the Gentle Annie Road, which runs with steep slopes on one mountain range to the port city of Napier. Before the construction of the highway and the railway line this road was the main route to the then very isolated community.

History

The region around Taihape was settled long before the arrival of Europeans of Maori tribes, whose descendants still live here. The first record of a European to visit the region is provided by William Colenso in 1845. 1884 built the surveyor of the North Iceland Main Trunk Railway a temporary roadway through the region.

The town was founded in 1894, when European settlers from Canterbury on the South Island arrived here. The settlement was established on a small natural clearing in the dense bush, the first Sioedler began clearing. Many descendants of the original settler families still live in the area. The settlement was first called " Hautapu " after Hautapu River, then Otaihape ( "the place of Tai the Hunchback " ), and finally " Taihape ".

Before the construction of the railway line, most products of the surrounding farms, mainly sheep's wool with horses and bullock carts to the east had to be transported to Napier, where they were exported. Until the construction of better roads and the railway line in the early 20th century Taihape was like many other rural communities, an isolated pioneer settlement. They then evolved into an important railway and transport nodes. After peaking in the 1950s and 1960s, the city suffered during the economic downturn of the 1980s, a decline in the importance. Today, he is mainly a stopover for travelers and service center for the surrounding agricultural area.

Taihape experienced by a peak of approximately 3500 inhabitants in the late 1960s, a decline to about 2000 inhabitants.

The village had a primary school, a secondary school and in 1916 opened integrated Catholic school "St. Joseph 's". These schools are also used by the children of the surrounding, sparsely populated farmland. The secondary school was said to be the second smallest of New Zealand. In April 2004, Education Minister Trevor Mallard announced the merger of the two state schools to Area School for the 1st to 15th class. The Taihape Area School had in 2009 a decile rating of 4 and 388 students. The Catholic school had in the same year, a decile rating of 5 and 95 students.

For most New Zealanders Taihape is a typical " one-horse town" on the highway, which is ideal as a stopover when traveling between the north and south of the island. The community is known for organized annually since April 9, 1985 " Gumboot Day". The festival was founded by local business people to life, who realized that they never loswürden the backwoods, rural image of the place and decided then to beat up from this image capital.

Taihape is in New Zealand next Eketahuna the archetype of a " typical small New Zealand rural community ". This reputation was amplified by the writer John Clarke, who left his satire on the fictitious satirist Fred Dagg play here.

Traffic

Taihape has long been regarded as a railroad town. Previously had a large part of the local family members who worked on the railways. Along the Road Mataroa there were numerous houses of the railway company, of which only three have survived. Taihape was until the late 1970s an important marshalling yard. The trains were given an additional locomotive that helped them in the long ascent to the central plateau. To turn smaller, weaker locomotives, a turntable was built. This was dismantled in the early 1980s. Rotarians bought the turntable back with donations and built it up again. Thanks to the hub can go to Taihape and drive back after turning today special trains.

A construction company in town has an old steam whistle, which is now operated by compressed air. This was the signal of the place for smoko at 10 clock in the morning, noon and 3 clock in the afternoon. Tourists take account of this signal to often, a steam locomotive is in place.