Whanganui National Park official opening

Waimarino Bulletin, Volume 4, Issue 32, 27 January 1987, Page 1

Whanganui National Park official opening

The small township of Pipiriki will open its arms to around 500 visitors expected to attend next week's ceremonial opening of the Whanganui National Park by Governor General Sir Paul Reeves. Sir Paul and the official party will arrive at the Paraweka marae in Pipiriki at 1 1 ,30am on 7 February to receive a ceremonial welcome. A commemorative plaque will be unveiled by Sir Paul at the Colonial House in a ceremony starting at 12.30pm. The ceremony is tipped to be one of the greatest occasions ever to be held in Pipiriki as it heralds the opening of the first national park in 23 years. But while it is New Zealand's newest national park, it is probably its oldest in terms of human habitation and economic importance. The Park is on both sides of the Wanganui River, and was home, highway and principal food source for the local Maori people for centuries, The warm lowland forest teemed with birds, the river was alive with eels and water birds, while the estuary, the sea and the shore provided the people with the all important kaimoana — an abundance of sea food for tribal occasions. Promontories and small level areas along the river bank provided secure sites for pa and kainga, while the river itself was the only feasible travel route through the rugged, heavily-forested region. The arrival of European settlers brought considerable economic change but did not alter the dominant role of the river as a highway — the connecting link between the settlements, both Maori and Pakeha, along the bank. The river drops only 150 metres between Taumarunui and the sea and, despite the numerous rapids in the upper reaches, shallow-draft steamers soon provided transport for the increasing amounts of goods and passengers that had to be moved up and down the river. Tourism Potential The river's potential for tourism was realised early. In 1891 a River Trust was established to protect the scenically spectacular river banks on which the tourist industry depended, and to promote the river boat services for both tourist and settler. Scenic reserves from the river's edge to the skyline

were established along both banks of the river and ultimately extended into the forested hinterland. The Wanganui people were among the first in the country to realise the economic importance of scenery as the basis of a tourist industry. The river boat trip became so popular that by 1905 as many as 12,000 annual visitors were recorded at Pipiriki House. But clearing and settlement were proceeding apace as well. Between 1881 and 1913 large parcels of land in the region were acquired by the Crown for settlement or as scenic reserves. Of the 74,230 hectares of Crown land, scenic reserves and State forest that now make up the park, about 6,600 hectares (8.9 percent) have been modified by pioneering attempts at farming. By 1942 attempts at farming some of the less accessible valleys adjoining the Wanganui River had been abandoned, the settlers driven out by unsuitable land and difficulties of access. The depression of the Continued on page 4

Whanganui National Park

1930s and wartime difficulties provided the finishing touch. Most of the land reverted to the Crown. These areas of formerly farmed land are now rapidly regenerating, predominantly with manuka and tree fern, but the larger forest trees will return in time. Uneconomic When the national park proposal was being assessed by the Department of Lands and Survey for the National Parks and Reserves Authority, the productive potential of the land was studied witfi some care and it was found that the soil and erosion of the steep slopes would make any development for pastoral farming uneconomic. The Forest Service also said that the rugged terrain and the remoteness of the area of the state forest land in the park would preclude economic exploitation for production forestry. The dominant values of the area seen by the National Parks and Reserves Authority, and by the Wanganui City Council, are its importance as a wildlife habitat and its potential for tourism. The Whanganui National Park is the largest tract ot lowland native forest on

steep slopes remaining in the North lsland, and the isolated middle reaches of the river are particularly rich in bird life. The abundance of berryproducing trees and shrubs provide food for many native birds, including bellbirds, the New Zealand pigeon, the tui and the yellow crowned parakeet. There are also large numbers of water birds such as the paradise shelduck, the grey duck, the black shag and the area blue duck, of whio. Brown kiwis are present throughout the park while fantails, grey warblers, silvereyes, tits and robins are common. The tourist potential for the area is believed to be immense. Apart from the increasingly popular jet-boat rides through the magnificent scenery in the middle reaches of the river, there is tramping in the rugged hills of the interior, and the chance for a more reflective holiday, walking among the relics of the district's history. Maori Earthworks There are Maori habitation sites with extensive earthworks, the historically significant niu poles, and altogether there are 147 noted archaeological sites, mostly along the river edges. Relics of European settlements include the original river boat landings with their protective groins, and the heavy ring bolts set into the rock jetties where the narrow river steamers were moored.

The celebrated "Bridge to Nowhere" is a short walk up the Mangapurua Valley from one of these landings. This valley was first settled towards the end of the First World War as part of a scheme to put returned servicemen on the land, but the settlement was a disaster from the beginning. Transport problems and unstable soil combined to ruin the settlers' hopes. Once the roots from the burnt-off bush had rotted away, the soil started to wash down the steep hillsides. Every winter the roads which had been cut laboriously through the soft papa rock along the banks of the Mangapurua Stream, would slide into the water, cutting the settlers off from the outside world and each other for weeks at a time. A walking track up the

Continued from front page Mangapurua Valley enables visitors to see the "Bridge to Nowhere" and the abandoned farmsteads, which are now marked only by tottering stock yards, the inevitable pine trees and stillfruitful orchards. The Hon Roro Wetere, Minister of Lands, believes that the new national park has much to offer both the New Zealand holiday maker and the international tourist. "Apart from the incomparable scenery of the river itself, there is tramping in the adjoining forests, fishing, canoeing and many other outdoor activities." "In addition the river has a rich heritage of cultural and historical interest stemming from several hundred years of often turbulent human occupation," he says.