Moawhango is a rural community in the northern part of

Rangitikei District The Rangitikei District is a territorial authority district located primarily in the Manawatū-Whanganui region in the North Island of New Zealand, although a small part, the town of Ngamatea (13.63% by land area), lies in the Hawke's Bay Regio ...

of the

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

region of New Zealand's

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 ...

. It is situated 19 km north of

Taihape Taihape is in the Rangitikei District of the North Island of New Zealand. It serves a large rural community. State Highway 1, which runs North to South through the centre of the North Island, passes through the town. History and culture Early ...

and 91 km northeast of Marton. Nearby Moawhango are located

Moawhango River The Moawhango River is a tributary of the Rangitīkei River and is located the central North Island of New Zealand. Course The river flows generally southwest from its sources in the Kaimanawa Range east of Mount Ruapehu to reach Lake Moawhango. ...

and Lake Moawhango.

History and culture

Moawhango is bastion of cultural engagement within the iwi boundary of Ngāti Whitikaupekaa. Originally known to local Māori as Te Riu o Puanga, during European settlement the valley became known as Moawhango. There are two marae within the valley, Te Riu o Puanga marae which holds the whare rūnanga (ancestral meeting house) Oruamatua; and Moawhango marae where the whare puni (ancestral sleeping house) of Whitikaupeka stands. Ngāti Whitikaupeka occupy the northern boundary for the Mōkai Pātea confederation of iwi, which includes Ngāi Te Ohuake extending eastward to the summit of the Ruahine range, Ngāti Tamakōpiri to the west, and Ngāti Hauiti to the south. Through intricate whakapapa (genealogy) connections, Ngāti Whitikaupeka are also affiliated to

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua (Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North Isla ...

and

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative di ...

, and maintain their independent autonomy on the lands that surround Moawhango, while affirming their complex whakapapa relationships with others. Batley Memorial Chapel, Moawhango, New Zealand

Batley Memorial Chapel, Moawhango, New Zealand

Historic buildings

There are two historic buildings both of which are listed Category II by

Heritage New Zealand Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga (initially the National Historic Places Trust and then, from 1963 to 2014, the New Zealand Historic Places Trust) ( mi, Pouhere Taonga) is a Crown entity with a membership of around 20,000 people that advocate ...

. The Batley Memorial Chapel was built in 1902 by Robert and Emily Batley as a memorial to their daughter Nellie who drowned in 1899. It was designed by Alfred Atkins in Gothic Revival style and built from locally-made bricks. Whitikaupeka Church was built between 1903 and 1905 by the

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 ...

Ngāti Whiti to commemorate tribal elders. It is built of wood and the design is attributed by Alfred Atkins.

Geography

is a 62 km long river with its sources in the

Kaimanawa Range The Kaimanawa Range of mountains (often known as the ''Kaimanawas'') is located in the central North Island of New Zealand. They extend for 50 kilometres in a northeast/southwest direction through largely uninhabited country to the south of Lake T ...

and ending at Lake Moawhango. It passes through the town and then outflows into the

Rangitikei River Rangitikei may refer to the following in New Zealand: * Rangitikei River, one of country's longest rivers * Rangitikei District, a district council in the Manawatu-Wanganui Region * Rangitīkei (New Zealand electorate), a current general electorate ...

southeast of

. Lake Moawhango contains a large population of wild

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coasta ...

Government and politics

Local government

Moawhango forms part of the Taihape ward of the

Rangitikei District Council The Rangitikei District Council is the local government in New Zealand, local government authority for Rangitikei District in New Zealand. It is a territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority elected to represent the people of Ra ...

, which elects three of the eleven district councillors. The three representatives of the ward are Richard Aslett, Angus Gordon and Ruth Rainey, elected in the

2013 Rangitikei local elections The 2013 Rangitikei local elections were held across the Rangitikei District of Manawatū-Whanganui, New Zealand, for the offices of Mayor of Rangitikei and eleven members of the Rangitikei District Council on 12 October 2013. They were held as ...

. The current

Mayor of Rangitikei The Mayor of Rangitikei is the head of the Rangitikei District Council in New Zealand. The role was created in 1989 with the formation of the Rangitikei District as part of the 1989 local government reforms. The current mayor since 2013 Rangitikei ...

is Andy Watson. The mayor and all councillors are due for re-election in October 2016. Whitikaupeka Church, Moawhango, New Zealand

National government

Moawhango, like much of the rest of the Rangitikei District, is located in the general electorate of Rangitīkei and in the

Māori electorate Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

Te Tai Hauāuru Te Tai Hauāuru electorate boundaries used since the Te Tai Hauāuru is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives, that was first formed for the . The electorat ...

. Rangitīkei is a safe National Party seat since the 1938 election with the exception of 1978–1984 when it was held by

Bruce Beetham Bruce Craig Beetham (16 February 1936 – 3 May 1997) was an academic and politician from New Zealand, whose career spanned the 1970s and early 1980s. A lecturer at Hamilton's University of Waikato and at the Hamilton Teachers' Training Colle ...

of the Social Credit Party. Since

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

, it is held by

Ian McKelvie Ian Robert Flockhart McKelvie (born 1952) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives. He is a member of the National Party. Early life and career McKelvie was born to parents John and Rosemary in Palmer ...

. Te Tai Hauāuru is a more volatile seat, having been held by three different parties since

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, i.e.

New Zealand First New Zealand First ( mi, Aotearoa Tuatahi), commonly abbreviated to NZ First, is a nationalist and populist political party in New Zealand. The party formed in July 1993 following the resignation on 19 March 1993 of its leader and founder, Winst ...

, the

Māori Party Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

and the Labour Party. Since

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

it is held by

Adrian Rurawhe Adrian Paki Rurawhe (born 1961) is a New Zealand Labour Party politician of Ngāti Apa descent. He is the speaker of the New Zealand House of Representatives, the second Māori to hold the position, and Member of Parliament for Te Tai Hauāuru. ...

of the Labour Party.

Demographics

Moawhango had a population of 651 according to the

2013 New Zealand census The 2013 New Zealand census was the thirty-third national census. "The National Census Day" used for the census was on Tuesday, 5 March 2013. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,242,048, – an increase of 214,101 or 5.3% over the 20 ...

. This is a decrease of 45, or 6.5 percent, since the 2006 census. There were 243 occupied dwellings, 39 unoccupied dwellings, and no dwellings under construction. Of the residential population, 348 (53.5%) were male compared to 48.7% nationally, and 300 (46.5%) were female, compared to 51.3% nationally. The district had a median age of 39.8 years, 1.8 years above the national median age of 38.0 years. People aged 65 and over made up 8.8% of the population, compared to 14.3% nationally, and people under 15 years made up 20.7%, compared to 20.4% nationally. The meshblock's ethnicity is made up of (national figures in brackets): 84.0%

European European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe ...

(74.0%), 26.2%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

(14.9%), 1.0%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

(11.8%), 2.4%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

s (7.4%), 0.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American or African (1.2%), and 4.9% Other (1.7%). Moawhango had an unemployment rate of 3.0% of people 15 years and over, compared to 7.4% nationally. The median annual income of all people 15 years and over was $31,700, compared to $28,500 nationally. Of those, 31.6% earned under $20,000, compared to 38.2% nationally, while 20.0% earned over $50,000, compared to 26.7% nationally.

Transport

To get to the nearest town, Taihape, it is a 19 km drive south via Te Moehau Road and Spooners Hill Road.

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...

goes through Taihape, connecting

Cape Reinga , type =Cape , photo = Cape Reinga, Northland, New Zealand, October 2007.jpg , photo_width = 270px , photo_alt = , photo_caption = , map = New Zealand , map_width = 270px ...

and

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

; through this state highway

InterCity InterCity (commonly abbreviated ''IC'' on timetables and tickets) is the classification applied to certain long-distance passenger train services in Europe. Such trains (in contrast to regional, local, or commuter trains) generally call at m ...

buses can be used with ten daily

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

services. These include:

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

–Wellington, Wellington–Auckland and

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

–Wellington (throughout different times of the day).

Education

Moawhango School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

References

External links

Moawhango river fishing
{{Rangitikei District Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui Rangitikei District Ngāti Whitikaupeka