Wairarapa

Wairarapa is the name of a scenic region in the south of the North Island of New Zealand.

The Wairarapa region is dominated by viticulture and sheep. Here is the famous wine-growing Martinborough. The population density is very low. In the southern part is Lake Wairarapa.

Confines

Wairarapa is formally part, with the southern half, in the Wellington region, but is not placed in general usage in connection therewith, as the Rimutaka Ranges form a natural border to the Wellington region in the narrow sense. The northern half is in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region to the north end in the Hawke's Bay region, in which case the boundaries are somewhat blurred.

Along the Pacific coast are rural villages like Tinui, Castlepoint, Riversdale and that serve the residents of Wellington and the Hutt Valley as resorts.

History

The name means glittering water and dates according to the tradition of Huanui, an early Māori settlers of the Lake Wairarapa and several rivers considered by the westerly mountains from.

Ngāti Kahungunu Rangitane and settled here are the Māori tribes.

The colonization by Europeans began in 1840, leased from Māori to pasture. Today almost nothing left to see the original jungle, like almost throughout New Zealand this was cleared in favor of grazing land for sheep farming.

On January 23, 1855, the region was hit by the strongest earthquake ever recorded in New Zealand. The quake reached the strength of 8.2 on the Richter scale and went as the Wairarapa earthquake of 1855 in history. Despite the strength of the quake but were suspended due to the vast wooden architecture houses less severe damage and thus casualties amounted to only 4 deaths.