Ngaruawahia - Turangawaewae

Ngaruawahia (pop. 5,000) is a town at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers.

The town Ngaruawahia is important historically, and is the location of Turangawaewae marae, the centre of the Maori King Movement. The King Movement emerged in the late 1850s as part of Maori efforts to prevent loss of their land to European newcomers.

In the twentieth century, Princess Te Puea established a marae at Ngaruawahia called Turangawaewae which has become important in King Movement history. Several notable historic buildings stand on the marae.

Mount Taupiri, the sacred mountain of the Waikato iwi, is where the Maori kings and other ariki (of high-born families) are buried.

Waikato-Tainui with its headquarters in Hamilton, is the group which holds the assets of the Waikato tribes following a Treaty of Waitangi settlement in 1995. These assets are now valued at over $1 billion.
In 2013 the four lane Waikato expressway cut Ngaruawahia out of State Highway One.

Image Credit: Ngaruawahia, Waikato, New Zealand, by Burton Brothers studio, Muir & Moodie studio. Te Papa