Waiouru
| Waiouru | ||
| Geographical location | ||
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| Coordinates | 39 ° 29 ′ S , 175 ° 40 ′ E | |
| Region ISO | NZ-MWT | |
| Country |
 New Zealand
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| region | Manawatu-Wanganui | |
| District | Ruapehu District | |
| Ward | Waimarino-Waiouru Ward | |
| Residents | 741 (2013) | |
| height | 819 m | |
| Post Code | 4826 | |
| Telephone code | +64 (0) 6 | |
| UN / LOCODE | NZ WAO | |
| Photography of the place | ||
 Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum in Waiouru |
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Waiouru is a place in the Ruapehu District of the Manawatu-Wanganui region on the North Island of New Zealand .
geography
The place is located around 24 km south-southeast of the Ruapehu volcano and around 24 km north-northwest of Taihape on the southern edge of the Rangipo Desert . The Waiouru Stream flows through the village and flows a little further south into the Hautapu River .
Waiouru is a military settlement that serves as a service center with the Waiouru Military Camp of the New Zealand Defense Force and the Training Group (ATG). On Desert Road immediately north of the village there is an 870 km² military training area, which extends mainly east of the road. The radio station HMNZS Irirangi of the Royal New Zealand Navy with its huge antenna is located 2 km north of Waiouru .
history
In 1855, the missionary Tom Grace brought merino sheep from Taupo to graze on the grassland around Waiouru, which is dominated by tussock grass . However, the flock was eaten by Te Kooti's warriors in 1869 . Another 4,000 sheep were later brought from Hawke's Bay over the mountains to the Waiouru area . In the 1890s there were around 40,000 merino sheep in the grasslands between the Karioi bush and the Kaimanawa Mountains .
Mule tracks to Waiouru were created in the 1870s after traces of gold were found 30 km northeast of Waiouru on Mr. Lyon's pasture near Kereru in 1869 . The trails were used to bring the hundreds of tons of merino wool to Napier ( Gentle Annie Track) and later to Lake Taupo ( The Desert Road ) or down to Wanganui ( Hales' Track and Field's Track ). These paths later developed into roads that can be driven by wagons for transporting wool. In 1897 there was a post office in Waiouru for the passengers of the stagecoach between Napier and Taupo .
The railroad reached the place in 1907, but at that time there was little wool to send. Overgrazing by the sheep had led to a rabbit plague. In the 1930s no sheep could be kept at Waiouru and in 1939 most of the land that was only leased from the sheep breeding station was taken over by the government for the army camp.
Around 1904 Alfred Peters set up a post office with shops and overnight accommodation for the travelers and the 500 men who carried out excavation work for the railroad west of Waiouru . His descendants were still farmers in the area in 2007. Wally Harding took over the sheep station in 1939 and began fertilizing his pastures in 1951 with the help of a de Havilland Tiger Moth from war stocks. This project developed into the company Wanganui Aero Work Ltd. . Wallie's grandson Lockie still runs a farm in Waiouru in 2007 .
Seven kilometers west of Waiouru is the small settlement Tangiwai , the site of New Zealand's worst rail accident when the night train from Wellington to Auckland passed the railway bridge on December 24, 1953 , shortly after it was destroyed by a lahar from Mount Ruapehu . The train crashed into the Whangaehu River and 151 passengers were killed. Many army and navy members from Waiouru were involved in the rescue and recovery work at the time. Sister Mortimer from the Waiouru Military Camp hospital is said to have cared for the survivors and laid out the corpses for three days without a break. She was referred to as " The Angel of Tangiwai " (The Angel of Tangiwai ).
population
In the 2013 census, the town had 741 inhabitants, 46.3% fewer than in the 2006 census.
Infrastructure
Road traffic
The New Zealand State Highway 1 leads directly through Waiouru in a north-south direction, the section called Desert Road runs north through the Rangipo Desert to Turangi at the southern end of Lake Taupo and connects the place to Taihape to the south . In the place, the New Zealand State Highway 49 branches off west to Ohakune .
Rail transport
Waiouru is located on the main railway line of the North Island Main Trunk Railway , which reached the place in 1907 and runs past the southwest side of the place and branches off from there to the west. The train station in Waiouru is at 814 m the highest on the New Zealand railway network. However, the Overlander passenger train has not stopped in Waiouru since April 2005 .
Attractions
Opened in 1978, the Queen Elizabeth II Army Memorial Museum is located on the southeastern edge of the town and deals with New Zealand's military history. Anti-aircraft guns and tanks are visible from afar and point to the museum.
See also
literature
- Geoffrey Moss : The Waiouru tussock lands . July 16, 1956 (English).
- Cedric H. Arthur, Phyllis Arthur : Waiouru : land of the tussock, 1935-40 . Ed .: PM Arthur . Taihape 1984 (English).
- Helga Neubauer: Waiouru . In: The New Zealand Book . 1st edition. NZ Visitor Publications , Nelson 2003, ISBN 1-877339-00-8 , pp. 573 .
Web links
- Homepage . Waiouru,accessed October 24, 2017.
- Homepage . National Arny Museum,accessed October 24, 2017.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b 2013 Census QuickStats about a place : Waiouru . Statistics New Zealand , accessed October 24, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Topo250 maps . Land Information New Zealand , accessed October 24, 2017 .