Glen Murray is a

rural community In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

in the

Waikato District Waikato District is a territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngāruawāhia. The district is centred to t ...

and

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region of

New Zealand's New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country b ...

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

, on Highway 22, about up the Tikotiko Stream from

Lake Whangape Lake Whangape (also written as Wangape, Whangapu, or Whangapae) is shallow, supertrophic, lateral and the second largest lake (after Lake Waikare) in the lower Waikato River basin in New Zealand. One source said the name translated to 'a large s ...

. In 2013 the population of meshblock 0846601, which includes Glen Murray, was 42. It has a garage and a War Memorial Hall, which opened in 1952. It is named after William Murray, who moved from Piako in 1885. Te Poho o Tanikena Marae is the meeting place of the local

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand ...

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

of Ngāti Tāhinga, Ngāti Taratikitiki and Tainui Hapū. It includes a

meeting house A meeting house (meetinghouse, meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a * church, which is a body of people who believe in Chr ...

of the same name.

History

Glen Murray was settled by Ngāti Tipa. In 1864 the area was described as inaccessible to the British troops in the

Invasion of the Waikato The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

, due to the swamps and bush. Glen_Murray_landing,_Opuatia_Stream

However, by 1866 it was in the confiscated area. By 1868 large parcels of land had been surveyed. As part of a policy of opening up land for settlement under the deferred payment scheme, the Government built

bridleways A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...

from the

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

, to give access to two blocks. The northernmost of the 2 routes began at Churchill, a settlement which then stood on the west bank of the river about west of

Rangiriri Rangiriri is a rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the Waikato River near Lake Waikare in the Waikato District. State Highway 1 now bypasses Rangiriri. Rangiriri was the s ...

. By 1881, had been opened as far as Glen Murray, through heavy swamp at the Churchill end. By 1883 a through track from the Waikato River to the West Coast was in existence. In 1881 a road was constructed from Churchill west to Glen Murray, and in 1882 a road south from Glen Murray towards Naike was surveyed. In 1893 a post office opened, with a telephone from 1905. Whangape Lake and neighbouring streams were used for transport, a Whangape Launch Company being set up in 1906 to convey goods from Rangiriri. Earlier, in 1894, Parliament had been asked to "''have obstructions in the shape of eel weirs removed from the navigable creeks flowing from Whangape Lake into the Waikato River, so as to enable steamers now running on the Waikato River to carry goods for settlers in that district.''" In 1889 the weir had been partly removed to allow a boat to get through. Bothwell Sawmill was selling

totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

kahikatea ''Dacrycarpus dacrydioides'', commonly known as kahikatea (from Māori) and white pine, is a coniferous tree endemic to New Zealand. A podocarp, it is New Zealand's tallest tree, gaining heights of 60 m and a life span of 600 years. It was fi ...

and matai in 1912.

School

In 1893 a temporary school opened. By April 1896 a schoolhouse was nearing completion. It closed in February 2002.

References

{{Geographic Location, title=Neighbouring areas, Northwest=

Port Waikato Port Waikato is on the south bank of the Waikato River at its outflow into the Tasman Sea, in northern New Zealand. Port Waikato is a well-known surfing and whitebaiting destination and a popular holiday spot. Fish can be caught off the rocks ...

, North=

Onewhero Onewhero is a village and rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Pukekohe and Tuakau are located north of Onewhero, across the Waikato River; The name Onewhero translates from Maori as "Red ...

, Northeast=

Pukekawa Pukekawa is a town in the Lower Waikato River area of New Zealand's North Island, 66 km south of central Auckland. The area's fertile soils are used to grow a range of vegetables, including onions, potatoes and carrots. The town was in ...

, West= Limestone Downs, Centre=Glen Murray, East=

, South=

Te Ākau Te Ākau is a small farming settlement in the North Island of New Zealand, located north west of Hamilton, south west of Huntly, south of Port Waikato and , or by ferry and road, north of Raglan. It has a hall and a school. (Te Ākau (off ...

, Southeast= Glen Afton, Southwest=

Waikaretu Waikaretu ( mi, Waikāretu) is a rural community and caving area in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located 49 kilometres south-west of Tuakau. The area features the long Nikau Cave, which has lim ...

Waikato District Populated places in Waikato