Ngātapa is a rural community in the
Gisborne District 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 ...
.
In late 1868 and early 1869 between 86 and 128 followers of
Te Kooti were executed on Ngātapa hill during the
siege of Ngatapa
The siege of Ngatapa ( mi, Ngātapa) was an engagement that took place from 31 December 1868 to 5 January 1869 during Te Kooti's War in the East Coast region of New Zealand.
Te Kooti's War was part of the New Zealand Wars, a series of confl ...
.
The
Waitangi Tribunal
The Waitangi Tribunal (Māori: ''Te Rōpū Whakamana i te Tiriti o Waitangi'') is a New Zealand permanent commission of inquiry established under the Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975. It is charged with investigating and making recommendations on cla ...
described the siege as "one of the worst abuses of law and human rights in New Zealand’s colonial history".
The 150th anniversary was commemorated in Ngatapa in January 2019.
Parks
Eastwoodhill Arboretum
Eastwoodhill is the national arboretum of New Zealand. It covers and is located 35 km northwest of Gisborne, in the hill country of Ngatapa. It was founded in 1910 by William Douglas Cook. Cook's life work would become the creation of a g ...
, the national
arboretum
An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...
of New Zealand, is located in Ngātapa. It includes a walkway and cycleway.
Marae
The Ngātapa Marae is a meeting ground of the
Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki
Te Aitanga-a-Mahaki is one of the three principal Māori iwi of the Tūranga district; the others being Rongowhakaata and Ngai Tamanuhiri. It is numerically the largest of the three, with 6,258 affiliated members as of 2013.
The rohe (territo ...
hapū of
Te Whānau a Kai.
In October 2020, the Government committed $460,500 from the
Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade
Pakowhai Marae
Pakowhai is a small settlement in the Hastings District and Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is a located between Napier and Hastings, north of the Ngaruroro River.
Mission Estate Winery established its first vineyard in Haw ...
,
Takitimu Marae and Ngātapa Marae, creating 13 jobs.
Transport
Ngātapa is the terminus of the former
Ngatapa Branch railway that closed in 1931. The locality is served by Wharekopae Road.
Education
Ngatapa School is a Year 1–8 co-educational state primary school.
In 2019, it was a
decile 8 school with a roll of 18.
Waerenga-o-Kuri School is a Year 1–8 co-educational state primary school.
In 2019, it was a
decile 9 school with two teachers and a roll of 46.
References
Populated places in the Gisborne District
{{Gisborne-geo-stub