Whanganui River
| Whanganui River | ||
 The course of the river |
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| Data | ||
| location | Manawatu-Wanganui ( New Zealand ) | |
| River system | Whanganui River | |
| source | Tongariro | |
| muzzle | at Castlecliff (near Wanganui ) in the Tasman Sea Coordinates: 39 ° 56 ′ 47 " S , 174 ° 59 ′ 33" E 39 ° 56 ′ 47 " S , 174 ° 59 ′ 33" E |
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| Mouth height |
0 m
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| length | 290 km | |
| Left tributaries | Whakapapa River | |
| Right tributaries | Tangarakau River , Whangamomona River | |
| Big cities | - | |
| Medium-sized cities | Wanganui | |
| Small towns | Taumarunui, Pipiriki, Jerusalem, Atene, Upokongaro, ... | |
| Navigable | from Castlecliff to Taumarunui (170 km) | |
 Whanganui River and Wanganui City as seen from Durie Hill |
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The Whanganui River is the third longest river and the longest navigable waterway in New Zealand . It is 290 kilometers long and flows exclusively through the region Manawatu-Wanganui . Unlike its northern neighbor, the Waikato River , it is much more natural, as it does not flow through a large metropolitan area, but through two national parks and is New Zealand's center for river kayakers.
In 1991, at the will of the resident Iwi , the river was officially renamed Whanganui River again, after it had long been known as the Wanganui River . The city and the district kept their name Wanganui . In 2017, the Whanganui River, together with the surrounding areas, was granted legal entity status due to its cultural significance for the Maori people as only the second natural resource worldwide (after Te Urewera , which is also located in New Zealand ) .
geography
The Whanganui River rises on the slopes of the Tongariro deep in the national park of the same name . From the mountain, the river turns through dense rainforest towards the northwest, before continuing in a south-westerly direction at the 5000-inhabitant town of Taumarunui . From here the river is navigable. This hilly area, which is partly covered by extensive grassland and partly covered by native rainforest, is called King Country . After this rough, partly bush-covered area, the Whanganui River turns in a south-easterly direction. Before it encounters extensive dune landscapes near Castlecliff, a suburb of the 40,000-inhabitant city of Wanganui , and flows into the Tasman Sea at South Taranaki Bight , it flows through the Whanganui National Park , which was founded in 1986 and which has natural rainforest areas on both sides of the river protects but does not include the course of the river itself.
Overall, the Whanganui River, which better reflects the diversity of the country like no other large river in New Zealand, is characterized by a distinctive environment: In addition to the fact that the river flows through numerous vegetation zones mentioned above, the river sometimes winds in countless narrow river loops deep, sharp-edged valleys through the rainforest. The whole area is much less populated than, for example, the waterfront of the Waikato River, only a few paved roads lead through the area. There is no big city here; the largest village is Wanganui just before the mouth.
history
The Māori explained the origin of the Whanganui River with the help of the Mount Taranaki legend . According to this, Mount Taranaki is said to have been in earlier times together with the three volcanoes Tongariro, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe in the central high plateau. But when the Taranaki started a quarrel with the little Pihanga , who was also there , Tongariro defended him. During the argument, among other things, the sky went dark and the earth shook. After the lost confrontation, the offended and angry Taranaki decided to distance himself from the others and soon found himself in his present exposed spot. The furrow left on his journey was soon filled with clear water from the Tongariro. Many Māori believed that the Taranaki could one day return to the other mountains and sometimes avoided this area as a place of residence.
Despite this legend, the Māori were the first to explore the river and use it as a source of food. Kupe has the honor of being the first person to discover the river . As more and more Polynesians came to the area, populating New Zealand in their canoes, the river developed as an important trade and travel route. The first Europeans reached the mouth of the Whanganui in 1831 and the New Zealand Company founded today's Wanganui in 1840 , which 20 years later already had 2000 inhabitants. Although the river has over 200 rapids and was therefore not always easy to navigate, for a long time it served as the most important route into the interior of the North Island. This status was strengthened again with the opening of the first regular steamboat line in 1892. With the completion of the North Island Main Trunk Railway , the main railway line on the North Island (between Auckland and Wellington ), steam shipping lost its importance and the region's economy shifted towards forestry . Today a restored steamship, the Waimarie , is once again operating as a tourist attraction on the river.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the river was one of the most popular tourist destinations in New Zealand. After the First World War , attempts were in vain to settle war returnees in the hitherto impenetrable jungle to build farms there. A well-known testimony to the failed "colonization attempts" is the Bridge to Nowhere ( German : Brücke nach Nirgendwo ). The 145 km Whanganui Journey kayak tour is one of the nine Great Walks .
On March 22, 2017, the New Zealand Parliament declared the river a legal person to improve the possibilities to protect it. Two guards (used for this purpose Guardians ) may for example, in the name of the river complain against pollution, without having to prove damage to third parties.
Flora and fauna
flora
Before the first humans reached the region, the whole area was forested - with the exception of a few places in swamp areas or on dunes. While on the mountain ridges of the hills mostly southern beech grew, presented angiosperms and podocarpaceae the majority of tree species on the slopes and in the plane. Among the latter, the Rimu ( Dacrydium cupressinum ) is particularly well represented, although it was often felled for wood. The tawa ( Beilschmiedia tawa ) is most common among the Bedecktsamern , other well-known trees are tree ferns and Māhoe .
fauna
While many freshwater eels and lampreys live in the river itself , the neighboring rainforests offer excellent conditions for many New Zealand bird species. Examples are the brown kiwi ( Apteryx mantelli ), snapper , the Maori bell honey eater ( English : New Zealand Bellbird ; Anthoris melanura ), Maori fruit pigeons ( Māori : Kererū ; Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae ) and many more.
Web links
- DestinationWanganui.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Isaac Davison: Whanganui River given legal status of a person under unique Treaty of Waitangi settlement . Retrieved March 16, 2017.
- ^ Eleanor Ainge Roy: New Zealand river granted same legal rights as human being . In: The Guardian . March 16, 2017.
- ^ New Zealand declares a river a person. In: www.economist.com. The Economist , March 22, 2017, accessed March 24, 2017 .