Welcome to Turakina. Rangitikei. New Zealand.
S 40° 02.780 E 175° 13.155
60G E 348094 N 5565581
Turakina is a small village in the western Rangitikei district with a Maori name and yet it has distinct Scottish feel to it. The welcome sign combines Maori and Scottish traditions, cleverly joining Maori designs with a Scottish tartan pattern.
Waymark Code: WMC6V5
Location: North Island, New Zealand
Date Posted: 08/01/2011
Views: 6
Nau mai Ki. . . . Failtre gu . . . . WELCOME.
Turakina is an old Maori settlement in the western Rangitikei district with a distinct Scottish feel to it. The original inhabitants of the area were the descendants of the Kahui Rere and the Kahui Maunga, later naming themselves Nga Wairiki. However after the migration of Ngati Apa from the Bay of Plenty toward Rotoaira then south to the Rangitikei river, they found themselves slowly being taken over by generations of intermarriage with the latter tribe. Scottish settlers arrived in the area in the 19th century, and still live there to the present day. Many Maori families intermarried with the Scottish also.
The first European settlers arrived from Scotland by ships from 1840's and walked up the beach from Wellington following the land purchase from the Ngati Apa people in May 1849, negotiated by Sir Donald McLean.
Early business and industries included a saddler, baker, black smith, milliner, tailor, grocer and butcher, lawyer, brick kiln, dairy factory, racecourse, flourmill, thriving flax industry, orchard and sale yards. There was an illicit whisky distillery, 4 hotels including Ben Nevis [re-built after 2 fires], the Railway [re-built once after fire], the Family, and the Shamrock (burnt down in 1876). The 1st N.Z. health camp was established in 1919 on the Lethbridge farm. The courthouse and jail (which is still standing shifted down the beach road in the 1940s to make room for tennis courts), 2 railway stations and the Annual Highland Games established in 1864.
Today Turakina has many heritage buildings dating from the 1850's and is surrounded by fertile agricultural land. It still proudly shows its Scottish heritage and holds a Highland Games festival annually.
Visit Instructions:
Please give the date and brief account of your visit - something more than, "Drove past this today." You are encouraged to add a new photo, but this is not mandatory. If you can add any further information about the sign or community, that would be appreciated.