rangiwahia history |
"he who does not know the past will never understand the present" |
As recorded in the Centennial journal "Rangiwahia As It Was and Is -1886-1986", Rangiwahia district was included in the Otamakapua block, specifically block No. 2, which was legally purchased from Maori in the 1880s. Block No. 2 was treated by Maori as a summer hunting ground. They were mainly seeking pigeons in the bush and eels in the rivers. As the area was so close to the mountains and covered in dense bush Maori found it too cold for year-round habitation.
Approximately 20 years from when the first settlers arrived in the 1880s, to take up land covered with dense bush, they in the face of incredible hardship, constructed four schools, one in each corner of the district and three churches. They also established dairy farming with district creameries and later a central butter factory. They built roads and community facilities. Initially their only income was from what the men earned building the roads, felling and clearing the bush, and for many, milking a few cows and shearing sheep.
All this couldn't have been more different from the circumstances they had left at home or expected to find when they arrived from the other side of the world in the hope of creating better lives for themselves and their families.
With the early settlers' incedible hard work, Rangiwahia became a bustling village with business supporting the growing agriculture and forestry of the surrounding area. There was always a hotel up until the 1950s when the 3rd one burnt down. In 1910, the first telephone system opened up the world of telecommunication. From the 1950's sheep and beef farming virtually replaced dairy. Around 1900 the local population of what was considered the Rangiwahia District was in the region of 1000 folks.
Today, Rangiwahia is typical of small town New Zealand - a shadow of what it used to be like.
There remains a few houses, the hall, domain, Anglican Church, a Fire Station, the Memorial Hall used for the local play group, the cemetery and the 1935 dairy factory. Rangiwahia could now be classified as a "village with a past".
Take a look at the links below for further information about the history and stories of the Rangiwahia district.
Approximately 20 years from when the first settlers arrived in the 1880s, to take up land covered with dense bush, they in the face of incredible hardship, constructed four schools, one in each corner of the district and three churches. They also established dairy farming with district creameries and later a central butter factory. They built roads and community facilities. Initially their only income was from what the men earned building the roads, felling and clearing the bush, and for many, milking a few cows and shearing sheep.
All this couldn't have been more different from the circumstances they had left at home or expected to find when they arrived from the other side of the world in the hope of creating better lives for themselves and their families.
With the early settlers' incedible hard work, Rangiwahia became a bustling village with business supporting the growing agriculture and forestry of the surrounding area. There was always a hotel up until the 1950s when the 3rd one burnt down. In 1910, the first telephone system opened up the world of telecommunication. From the 1950's sheep and beef farming virtually replaced dairy. Around 1900 the local population of what was considered the Rangiwahia District was in the region of 1000 folks.
Today, Rangiwahia is typical of small town New Zealand - a shadow of what it used to be like.
There remains a few houses, the hall, domain, Anglican Church, a Fire Station, the Memorial Hall used for the local play group, the cemetery and the 1935 dairy factory. Rangiwahia could now be classified as a "village with a past".
- Grateful thanks to the late Alister Tompkins, past Rangiwahia resident & historian, for his incredible knowledge and old photographs used within the website.
Take a look at the links below for further information about the history and stories of the Rangiwahia district.
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rangiwahia historyRangiwahia means “piercing the sky”, “cloud piercer” or “opening in the heavens”. Read more .......
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pemberton village“ Put the small man on the land” was the political slogan of the 1880s. From it came the 1881 Land Act that created the Special Settlement Scheme to develop “waste Lands” in New Zealand.
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history of rangiwahia dairy farmingIn 1906, the Wanganui Chronicle reported, “The dairy industry in Rangiwahia has become one of the most profitable branches of agriculture”. Read more ........
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History of rangiwahia telecommunicationsThis is the story about the original telephone in Rangiwahia - The Golden Wire. Read more .......
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History of ruahineRuahine was originally called Manga-wharariki in the 1860’s, then Wairaki and finally Ruahine. It was one of the natural clearings in the 1879 Otamakapua settlement blocks - a Government-led scheme to open up the hill country covered with bush in the northern Manawatu Manawatū. Read more....
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The original bielskis of rangiwahiaThis is the story of Martin and Mary Bielski, why they fled from Prussia as a young married couple, their journey to New Zealand, and their pioneering life in the Manawatu. It is written by their great-granddaughter, Fay Bagnato, née Bielski, one of Steve Bielski's sisters. Read more ........
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