Tales of the Whanganui

Rediscovering the ‘Rhine of New Zealand’

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO, New Zealand’s rivers were highways. Back then, the Whanganui River was called the Rhine of New Zealand. Goods were shipped up and down it as far as Taumarunui, 230 kilometres (140 miles) inland from the port of Whanganui.

That was one reason the river was compared to the Rhine. The other reason was the scenery.

The “Drop Scene” Wanganui River, 1900–1910, Whanganui, by Frederick George Radcliffe, Brown & Stewart. No known copyright restrictions. Via the online collection of Te Papa, the National Museum of New Zealand, Wellington (O.031110, Purchased 2007)

Like the Manawatu and the Rangitikei, the Whanganui cuts through gorges. Except that in the case of the Whanganui, it’s pretty much gorges all the way.

The stereo image, above, shows a bend in the upper reaches of the river called Aratira or ‘path of the travelling party’ by Māori. Colonials called it the Drop Scene, because they thought it looked like a stage backdrop for an opera.

The south-western part of the North Island of New Zealand, north of Wellington. Abbreviations are PN for the city of Palmerston North, and T for Mount Tongariro, N for Mount Ngāuruhoe and R for Mount Ruapehu. Green shows forested areas. North at top.

Here’s photo I first saw published in an article called ‘Smokestacks and Paddle-Wheels’, of a skittish horse being enticed onto a paddle steamer called the Wairere: an ambiguous Māori word meaning both river rapids and something that leaks!