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 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 ...

and Rangataua State Forest, adjacent to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano

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 ...

. Part of the Manawatū-Whanganui region, the town is 5 kilometres east of

Ohakune Ohakune is a small town at the southern end of Tongariro National Park, close to the southwestern slopes of the active volcano Mount Ruapehu, in the North Island of New Zealand. A rural service town known as New Zealand's Carrot Capital, Ohak ...

, 75 kilometres northeast of

Wanganui 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 ...

, and 20 kilometres 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 ...

. The village's permanent population work in the nearby region with much of the seasonal population working at the

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 ...

Skifield. When the timber industry was at its peak, Rangataua had a population of 957 in 1914. Rangataua contains many properties that are owned as holiday villas or baches usually used for skiing at the nearby

Skifield.

Transportation

State Highway 49 runs immediately adjacent to the village, as does the

North Island Main Trunk 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 se ...

railway. There is no station and all passenger rail traffic uses the railway station at

History

The name Rangataua comes from two Māori words: Ranga - to parade in ranks; to fall in, and taua - war party. Rangataua was the site of a

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 ...

village. In the mid seventeenth century this village was attacked and subsequently destroyed. The survivors of the attack established a Pā on the site of present-day

. The town grew rapidly after the railway opened. A 1909 report said a billiard room, hair-dressing saloon, stationery shop and bakery were open, or being built. Marino and Piwari Streets were nearing completion and Miharo was expected to be a business street. A skating rink opened in 1911. The Raetihi Forest Fire of March 19–20, 1918 almost destroyed Rangataua. Many houses and sawmills were burnt down. Fires had previously threatened the town in January 1914.

Demographics

Rangataua is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider

Tangiwai Tangiwai is a census area and a small rural community in the Ruapehu District of the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located east of Ohakune and Rangataua and west of Waiouru on State Highway 49. In 2018 37.5% ...

statistical area, which covers . The population of Rangataua was 132 in 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 ...

, unchanged since the 2013 census, and an increase of 12 (10.%) since the 2006 census. There were 63 males and 69 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.91 males per female. Ethnicities were 117 people (88.6%) European/Pākehā, 39 (29.5%) Māori, 3 (2.3%) Pacific peoples, and 3 (2.3%) Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Of the total population, 36 people (27.3%) were under 15 years old, 24 (18.2%) were 15–29, 66 (50.0%) were 30–64, and 9 (6.8%) were over 65.

Conservation areas

To the immediate east of the village is the 6710 hectare Rangataua Conservation Area, which is contiguous with the UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

on its northern boundary. Rangataua is bounded to the north by the 58 hectare Rangataua Scenic Reserve, and to the immediate southeast by the 77 hectare Mangaehuehu Scenic Reserve.

References

External links