Moutoa Gardens, also known as Pākaitore, is a park in the city of

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whang ...

, New Zealand. Named after the Battle of Moutoa Island in the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who ei ...

, it contains a memorial to the battle inscribed "To the memory of the brave men who fell at Moutoa, 14 May 1864, in defence of law and order against fanaticism and barbarism." It also contained a statue of

John Ballance John Ballance (27 March 1839 – 27 April 1893) was an Irish-born New Zealand politician who was the 14th premier of New Zealand, from January 1891 to April 1893, the founder of the Liberal Party (the country's first organised political part ...

, organiser of a volunteer cavalry troop in Tītokowaru's War and later

Premier of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (informa ...

, but the statue was beheaded and a replacement installed outside the district council building. A number of items present in the park are registered 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 ...

History

Historically, Pākaitore was a traditional fishing settlement for hundreds of years and later became a marketplace. The area was considered a sanctuary where all tribes were equal and the police could not enter. Between 1839 and 1848 the

New Zealand Company The New Zealand Company, chartered in the United Kingdom, was a company that existed in the first half of the 19th century on a business model focused on the systematic colonisation of New Zealand. The company was formed to carry out the principl ...

purchased Wanganui lands on behalf of the crown from people and tribes who may have had little or no claim to it. The park was occupied for 79 days in 1995 in protest over a

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the History of New Zealand, history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in ...

claim, an action which split the town and the nation and garnered significant attention from police. Local

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, ...

claim the site was the location of a pā and trading site, left to

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 ...

in the 1848 sale of Wanganui. Leading up to the protest the statue of Ballance was beheaded; a replacement Ballance statue was commissioned in 2009 and placed outside the Wanganui District Council buildings.

Listed heritage items

Kemp Monument

The most prominent monument at Moutoa Gardens today honours

Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (died 15 April 1898) was a Māori military commander and noted ally of the government forces during the New Zealand Wars. First known as Te Rangihiwinui, he was later known as Te Keepa, Meiha Keepa, Major Keepa or Ma ...

, a Māori military commander and noted ally of the government forces during the New Zealand Wars. First known as Te Rangihiwinui and later as Major Kemp, he led the government allied Māori forces who defeated the rebel Māori at Moutoa Island. The inscription on the plinth says the monument was erected by the people of New Zealand to honour the ''"high-born Maori chief, brave soldier and staunch ally of the New Zealand Government"''. Installed in 1911, the Kemp Monument is listed as Category I.

Ballance Memorial

The Ballance Memorial commemorates

, who was the organiser of a volunteer cavalry troop and from 1891 until his death in 1893 was premier of New Zealand. The Ballance Memorial was unveiled in 1898. After the statue was beheaded twice—in 1993 and in 1994—it was removed in 1995 and only the plinth remains. A replacement statue was erected in front of the district council office in 2007. The statue was added to the country's heritage register in 1982 and the plinth remains on the register as a Category II item.

Māori War Memorial

The Māori War Memorial commemorates the participation of Māori in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. With an obelisk of nearly in height, it is the tallest of the memorials. It was unveiled on Anzac Day in 1925. It is registered as a Category II structure.

Moutoa Monument

The Moutoa Monument was built in 1865 and commemorates the Battle of Moutoa Island that was fought on 14 May 1864. It is registered as a Category II structure.

First School Memorial

A fountain was erected in Moutoa Gardens in 1900. It was later found that the fountain occupied the site of Whanganui's first school, which opened to cater for Māori children but was also attended by

pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New Z ...

. The fountain is no longer operational and it was not recorded when the fountain was converted into a landscaped garden. It is registered as a Category II structure.

Standard chain mark

A standard chain mark is located in Moutoa Gardens. Following the abolition of the provincial government system, surveying was standardised in New Zealand in 1879 with a chain mark being installed in

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 metr ...

. The Whanganui chain mark was installed in the following year and may be the only unmodified chain mark that remains in New Zealand. The standard chain mark is registered as a Category I item. File:Kemp Monument 894.jpg, Kemp Monument File:Ballance Memorial 891c.jpg, Plinth of the Ballance Memorial File:Maori War Memorial, Whanganui.jpg, Māori War Memorial File:Moutoa Monument 883 (cropped).jpg, Moutoa Monument File:School Memorial, Moutoa Gardens.jpg, First School Memorial File:Standard Chain Mark, Moutoa Gardens.jpg, Standard chain mark

References

{{Authority control Parks in New Zealand Whanganui History of Manawatū-Whanganui Protected areas of Manawatū-Whanganui