Ohakune is a small town at the southern end of

Tongariro National Park Tongariro National Park (; ) is the oldest national park in New Zealand,Department of Conservation"Tongariro National Park: Features", retrieved 21 April 2013 located in the central North Island. It has been acknowledged by UNESCO as a World H ...

, close to the southwestern slopes of the active

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often found where tectonic plates are ...

Mount Ruapehu Mount Ruapehu (; ) is an active stratovolcano at the southern end of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and North Island volcanic plateau in New Zealand. It is northeast of Ohakune and southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō, within the Tongari ...

, in the

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 ...

New Zealand 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 count ...

. A rural service town known as New Zealand's Carrot Capital, Ohakune is a popular base in winter for skiers using the ski fields (particularly

Turoa Turoa (or Tūroa) is a skifield on the south western side of Mount Ruapehu, the highest mountain in the North Island of New Zealand, in Tongariro National Park. The area has been used for skiing since before the completion of the Mountain Roa ...

) of Mount Ruapehu and in summer for trampers hiking the

Tongariro Alpine Crossing The Tongariro Alpine Crossing in Tongariro National Park is a tramping track in New Zealand, and is among the most popular day hikes in the country. The Tongariro National Park is a World Heritage site which has the distinction of dual status, ...

Toponymy

The

Ngāti Rangi Ngāti Rangi or Ngāti Rangituhia is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. Contemporary settlement is mainly around Waiouru, Ohakune, and the Upper Whanganui River in the central North Island. The iwi's area of interest extends north from the Paret ...

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, an ...

say the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

name ''Ohakune'' comes from the phrase "''he Ohakune ki te ao''", which broadly means "an opening to a new world" and refers to the descent from Mount Ruapehu into the valley and swamps of the area. In 2019 the

New Zealand Geographic Board The New Zealand Geographic Board Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa (NZGB) was established by the New Zealand Geographic Board Act 1946, which has since been replaced by the New Zealand Geographic Board (Ngā Pou Taunaha o Aotearoa) Act 2008. Althoug ...

changed the official name to ''Ōhakune'', indicating that the first letter was a long vowel, but swiftly reverted to ''Ohakune'' without a macron when Ngāti Rangi objected.

History and culture

Pre-European history

The lands to the south and west of

were historically inhabited by the

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 ...

of the Ngāti Rangi iwi. Around the middle of the seventeenth century a

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

Rangataua Rangataua is a small village in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located at the southern end of both the Tongariro National Park and Rangataua State Forest, adjacent to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu. Part of t ...

, a small town about five kilometres south-east of Ohakune, was attacked and the inhabitants were driven from their homes by raiders from the Ngāti Raukawa, an iwi from farther east in Manawatu. Around 75 of the village's population were slain and the dozen or so survivors fled to Maungarongo and established a pā on the present site of the town of Ohakune.

European settlement

The Crown purchased 10,000 acres of Native land at Ohakune in 1879. In 1883, the first engineering reconnaissance commenced for the Marton—

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilto ...

section of the

North Island Main Trunk Railway The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

and a base was established upon the present site of Ohakune, and soon became a permanent camp for railway and road construction workers. Settlement of the town commenced in the early 1890s. Forty quarter-acre sections in the township were sold at auction in February 1983. Prior to the completion of the railway to the town, all supplies had to be transported via cart from

Hunterville Hunterville is a small community on State Highway 1, in the Rangitikei district of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located halfway between Taupo and Wellington and has a population (2018 census) of 411, a decrease of 18 people from 2013 ...

, or from Whanganui via the Whanganui River steamer to

Pipiriki Pipiriki is a settlement in New Zealand, on the east bank of the Whanganui River, due west of the town of Raetihi and upriver from Whanganui; it was originally on the opposite bank. It is the home of Ngāti Kura, a hapū of the Ngāti Ruanui iwi ...

and then by cart for the remaining distance. By March 1908 the railway line had reached Ohakune. The period of railway construction activities was followed quickly by intensive timber milling; as the forest was cleared, cattle and sheep were introduced and farming progressed. Ohakune was constituted a town district in August 1908 and in November 1911 attained borough status.

Marae

Ohakune has two

. Maungārongo Marae and Tikaraina Ringapoto or Ko Te Kingi o Te Maungārongo meeting house is a meeting place of 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 ...

of Ngāti Tui-o-Nuku. Ngā Mōkai Marae and Whakarongo meeting house are a meeting place of the

hapū of Ngāti Tongaiti. In October 2020, the Government committed $836,930 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

to upgrade a cluster of 7 marae, including Maungārongo Marae, creating 95 jobs.

Geography

Setting

Ohakune is located in the

Ruapehu District Ruapehu District is a territorial authority in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. It has an area of 6,734 square kilometers and the district's population in was . Features The district is landlocked, and contains the western half of the ...

and 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, to the immediate south-west of the slopes of the

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and per ...

. The town is west of

Waiouru Waiouru is a small town in the Ruapehu District, in New Zealand's Manawatū-Whanganui region. It is located on the south-eastern North Island Volcanic Plateau, north of Palmerston North and 25 kilometres south-east of Mount Ruapehu. The town ...

, northeast 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. Whangan ...

, north of

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 ...

and south of

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 ...

, and is at an elevation of .

Climate

Demographics

Ohakune, which covers , had a population of 1,182 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 198 people (20.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 87 people (7.9%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 450 households. There were 621 males and 561 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.11 males per female. The median age was 36.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 225 people (19.0%) aged under 15 years, 246 (20.8%) aged 15 to 29, 555 (47.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 150 (12.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 69.8% European/Pākehā, 34.8% Māori, 2.3% Pacific peoples, 7.9% Asian, and 3.3% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 18.5%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 53.6% had no religion, 29.2% were Christian, 2.3% were Hindu, 0.3% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 7.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 168 (17.6%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 162 (16.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $31,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 528 (55.2%) people were employed full-time, 144 (15.0%) were part-time, and 39 (4.1%) were unemployed.

Economy

In the year to March 2021, the GDP of Ohakune was $74m, representing approximately 10% of the GDP for the Ruapehu District as a whole. The economy of the town is largely based on services. The largest categories of GDP were retail trade (15.8%), arts and recreation services (14%), accommodation and food services (10.9%) and owner-occupied property operation (9.1%). In the same period there were 781 filled jobs, with 22.5% of these in retail trade, 19.9% in accommodation and food services, and 14.3% in arts and recreation services.

Facilities

Ohakune has facilities for snow sports, trout fishing, mountain biking, tramping and bushwalking.

Landmarks

On the eastern edge of the town there is a large replica of a

carrot The carrot ('' Daucus carota'' subsp. ''sativus'') is a root vegetable, typically orange in color, though purple, black, red, white, and yellow cultivars exist, all of which are domesticated forms of the wild carrot, ''Daucus carota'', nat ...

, known as "The Big Carrot". This is reputedly the world's largest

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the Plan_(drawing), plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a mea ...

carrot, and was originally constructed as a prop for a television advertisement for the

ANZ Bank ANZ may refer to: People * Anz (musician), a British DJ and electronic musician Banks * ANZ (bank), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, the fourth-largest bank in Australia ** ANZ Bank New Zealand, the largest bank in New Zealand ...

in the early 1980s. After filming was complete, the carrot was donated to the town in recognition of the area's reputation as the source of a high proportion of New Zealand's carrots, and installed in its current position in 1984. In the 1980s and '90s Ohakune was home to the

Weather Rock The weather rock or weather stone is a humour display that pokes fun at the intricate technology used in modern weather forecasts, as well as the fact that their accuracy is less than perfect. A rock is typically hung from a tripod and accompanied ...

, a local landmark in Thames Street popular with tourists for photographs; the rock used to "forecast" current weather conditions with a sign listing sayings such as "If rock is hot – sunny", "If rock is wet – raining", etc., and appropriately for the region, "If rock is bouncing – earthquake". The site is currently vacant. The world's first commercial

bungee jumping Bungee jumping (), also spelled bungy jumping, is an activity that involves a person jumping from a great height while connected to a large elastic cord. The launching pad is usually erected on a tall structure such as a building or crane, a ...

site was established just outside Ohakune at the old railway viaduct. This was operated during the 1980s until the bridge became too unsafe to continue operations. This bridge is now restored and a highlight of the 'Old Coach Road' walk/bikeway.

Ohakune railway station Ohakune railway station is a station on the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT), it served the town of Ohakune in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. It was called Ohakune Junction from 10 August 1926 until Raetihi Branch closed in 1968 ...

has the second highest elevation of any operating railway station in New Zealand behind National Park Railway Station; a sign on the platform side of the station building lists its height at 2,029 feet (618.4 metres) above sea level.

Health and welfare

In 2015 Ohakune had a dental clinic, pharmacy, fire station, police station, ambulance station, social welfare branch, churches, a marae with a district nurse, gymnasium, and a health shuttle for

outpatient care Ambulatory care or outpatient care is medical care provided on an outpatient basis, including diagnosis, observation, consultation, treatment, intervention, and rehabilitation services. This care can include advanced medical technology and proce ...

Hospital 110 km away. The nearest medical centre with GP, nurses and physiotherapist is 11 km to the west, at

Raetihi Raetihi, a small town in the center of New Zealand's North Island, is located at the junction of State Highways 4 and 49 in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It lies in a valley between Tongariro and Whanganui National Parks, 11 kilometres west ...

Shopping and services

Ohakune has the usual range of shops and services found within a typical small New Zealand town.

Sporting clubs

Ohakune has a number of clubs and is home to the Ruapehu Rugby & Sports Club.

Media

Ohakune is covered by the

Whanganui Chronicle ''The Whanganui Chronicle'' is New Zealand's oldest newspaper. Based in Whanganui, it celebrated 160 years of publishing in September 2016. It is the main daily paper for the Whanganui, Ruapehu and Rangitīkei regions, including the towns of Patea ...

, a daily paper part of the

NZ Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation of all newspapers ...

network. Ski FM Network operates out of Ohakune hosted by 91.8 FM Ruapehu/Turoa, a Central North Island radio station. During the winter it operates as an "information desk" for information about the snow levels for the region.

Activities and events

Winter activities

Ohakune provides easy access to the nearby ski fields of

; the large commercials ski resorts of

(the closest resort to Ohakune) and

Whakapapa Whakapapa (, ), or genealogy, is a fundamental principle in Māori culture. Reciting one's whakapapa proclaims one's Māori identity, places oneself in a wider context, and links oneself to land and tribal groupings and the mana of those. Exper ...

, and well as the small club field

Tukino Tukino skifield is located on the eastern face of Mount Ruapehu, in the central area of the North Island, New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmass ...

. Various outlets for clothing and ski hire, as well as purchasing lift tickets, are available in the town.

Summer activities

Ohakune caters for various summer activities, and provides access for trampers hiking the

. Mountain bikes are available for hire at various outlets in town. Various water activities are available on the nearby rivers, with jet boating on the

Whanganui River The Whanganui River is a major river in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the country's third-longest river, and has special status owing to its importance to the region's Māori people. In March 2017 it became the world's second natura ...

and rafting available along the Whanganui, Rangitikei and Tongariro rivers. Trout fishing is available in nearby lakes and rivers, including the world-famous

Tongariro River The Tongariro River is a river in the North Island of New Zealand. The part of the Waikato River from the Waihohonu Stream, down to Lake Taupo, was formally named the Tongariro River in 1945. The river originates in the Central Plateau of the ...

. Activities can be booked at the Ruapehu i-SITE. The

Bridge to Nowhere A bridge to nowhere is a bridge where one or both ends are broken, incomplete, or unconnected to any roads. If it is an overpass or an interchange, the term overpass to nowhere or interchange to nowhere may be used respectively. There are f ...

in the

Whanganui National Park The Whanganui National Park is a national park located in the North Island of New Zealand. Established in 1986, it covers an area of 742 km2 bordering the Whanganui River. It incorporates areas of Crown land, former state forest and a numb ...

located between Okakune and

is a popular destination for trampers and mountain bikers.

Events

In recent years the number of events hosted by Ohakune has increased, with both the

Big Mountain Short Film Festival The Big Mountain Short Film Festival is a short film festival based in Ohakune, New Zealand designed to encourage and celebrate creative short film making and storytelling. Entry is free and open to filmmakers internationally, who are encouraged ...

and Ohakune Mardi Gras featuring on the calendar. The Mardi Gras is both a ski party and celebration of winter, and includes musicians, stalls and rides.

Education

Ohakune has three schools. *Ohakune School is a state full primary (Year 1–8) school. It has students as of *Ruapehu College is a state secondary (Year 9–13) school. It has students as of *Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngati Rangi is a state

Kura Kaupapa Māori Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori-language immersion schools () in New Zealand where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture. Kura kaupapa Māori are establish ...

, offering a full primary (Year 1–8) education. It has students as of

Transportation

Road

State Highway 49 runs through the town, where it is locally named Clyde Street. Ohakune is on the

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 ...

coach network, with a non-daily service running north to Auckland via

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kuiti and 55 km west of ...

and south to

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

via

Rail

Ohakune is on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. The railway station is located off Thames Street in the Ohakune Junction area, approximately 2.5 kilometres from Clyde Street in the centre of town. , no scheduled passenger services currently serve Ohakune. Passenger services were previously provided by the national operator

KiwiRail KiwiRail Holdings Limited is a New Zealand state-owned enterprise responsible for rail operations in New Zealand, and operates inter-island ferries. Trading as KiwiRail and headquartered in Wellington, New Zealand, KiwiRail is the largest rail ...

. The

Northern Explorer The ''Northern Explorer'' is a long-distance passenger train operated by The Great Journeys of New Zealand division of KiwiRail between Auckland and Wellington in the North Island of New Zealand, along the North Island Main Trunk (NIMT). Three ...

was a non-daily service operating between

and

until its discontinuation in December 2021. The journey to/from Auckland crossed the famous

Raurimu Spiral The Raurimu Spiral is a single-track railway spiral, starting with a horseshoe curve, overcoming a height difference, in the central North Island of New Zealand, on the North Island Main Trunk railway (NIMT) between Wellington and Auckland. It ...

. From 18 December 1917 until 1 January 1968, Ohakune was also the junction for the

Raetihi Branch The Raetihi Branch was a branch line railway in the central North Island of New Zealand. It formed part of New Zealand's national rail network and operated from 1917 until 1968. Construction A combination of political pressure and the ec ...

, a

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industri ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

. A

truss bridge A truss bridge is a bridge whose load-bearing superstructure is composed of a truss, a structure of connected elements, usually forming triangular units. The connected elements (typically straight) may be stressed from tension, compression, or ...

formerly used by this branch still stands near the Big Carrot. Seventeen kilometres to the east of the town is the Tangiwai Bridge, site of New Zealand's worst railway accident, the

Tangiwai Disaster The Tangiwai disaster occurred at 10:21 p.m. on 24 December 1953 when a railway bridge over the Whangaehu River collapsed beneath an express passenger train at Tangiwai, North Island, New Zealand. The locomotive and the first six carriage ...

, on 24 December 1953.

Popular culture

A mock-romantic song from the mid-1960s called ''September in Ohakune'' was recorded by Peter Harcourt on an LP called ''Land of the Long White Shroud''.

Notable people

Notable people from Ohakune include: * Erwin Leonard Guy Abel – grocer, businessman, athlete and racehorse owner * Martin Edmond – author and screenplay writer * William Taylor (writer) – primary school principal, Mayor of Ohakune, and writer *

Peter Williams (lawyer) Sir Peter Alderidge Williams (1 December 1934 – 9 June 2015) was a New Zealand barrister and penal reform advocate. He was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1987. Biography Williams was born in 1934 and educated at Feilding High School. He gra ...

– barrister, Queen's Counsel and penal reform advocate

References

External links

Ohakune
at Visit Ruapehu {{Authority control Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui Ruapehu District