Taumarunui

Taumarunui is a town in Ruapehu District on the North Island of New Zealand. The town is the administrative center of the Ruapehu District.

The name Taumarunui is attributed to the last words of the Māori chief PEhi Taroa - taumaru called a screen and nui big, so literally big screen, which is to protect him from the sun. Another derivation means a large region shielded in the Kumara is grown.

Location

The place is located right on State Highway 4 and is a station on the North Iceland Main Trunk Railway ( NIMT ), the main line of the New Zealand Railways in the North Island.

The city is located in a rugged terrain in the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 kilometers south of Te Kuiti, and 55 kilometers west of Turangi. It has a population of 5,136 inhabitants ( 2001 census ), making it the largest settlement in this region in any direction. Taumarunui is the starting point of the boat tour Whanganui Journey, one of the New Zealand Great Walks.

History

In 1874 a trading post was established by Alexander Bell. He was the first European settlers on the site of the later town Taumarunui. Today, a street bears his name, the Bell Road in the town.

The area around the confluence of the Whanganui River and the Ongarue already encouraged the first immigrant Māori and later the European-born Pākehā to settle here and set up trading centers. Some places former Pā various Iwi Māori are known in the area of Taumarunui. The landing site near Taumarunui ( Taumarunui Landing ) was the last stop of Alexander Hatricks steamboat service on the Whanganui, but this was moved to Kirikau, as the road to Taumarunui was opened in 1927.

Later Taumarunui gained importance by the construction of the North Iceland Main Trunk Railway. South of the city had to overcome considerable differences in altitude along the route extensive civil engineering services in the construction of the famous Raurimu spiral are provided.

Traffic

Since 1908 made ​​closing the gap and the production of continuous connection to the NIMT between Auckland and Wellington Taumarunui is an important station in the route network. North of the village branches off the Stratford- Okahukura Line, the branch railway line from Stratford. The train station of Taumarunui is stop the Overlander, the only long-distance passenger transport connection on the North Island.

North of the town center branches of the Forgotten World Highway (SH 43 ) from by one of the wildest regions of the North Island. On SH 4 are located south of the city to the villages Manunui, Piriaka, Owhango and National Park.

Economy

In earlier times, the forestry and agriculture determined the economy of the town. Today, the focus of economic activity in the tourism is a main orientation of the nearby Tongariro National Park.

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