Waihi Village

Waihi Village, also known as Little Waihi, is a small Māori community of around 25 households[1] on the southwestern shores of Lake Taupō seven kilometres northwest of Tūrangi, New Zealand. It has been the site of three major landslides, in 1910, 1846 and around 1780, which killed over 200 people in total.[2] The landslides flowed down the Waimatai Stream from their source above the village in the Hipaua Steaming Cliffs geothermal area.[3]

The village's Catholic Church of Saint Werenfried featured on a 40 cent Christmas stamp in 2002.[4]

The village was evacuated on 29 June 2009 after a series of small earthquakes, which led to fears of a landslide.[5] Residents were allowed to return on 2 July 2009.[6]

Waihi Village is part of the Lake Taupo Bays statistical area.[7][8]

Whare whakairo

The official opening of Tāpeka, the whare whakairo, was held on 18 April 1959. The opening was presided over by Ngāti Tūwharetoa paramount chief, Hepi Hoani Te Heuheu Tūkino. Guests included cabinet minister Eruera Tirikatene and the Prime Minister, Walter Nash. Tāpeka was built to replace a previous whare whakairo of the same name that was reportedly unstable during earthquakes. The building project took eight years to complete and involved fundraising, volunteer labour, gala days, functions and a government subsidy.[9]

The carvings for the former Tāpeka were presented to St Peters College, Northland for their recreation hall in 1955. All the carvings in Tāpeka (1959) were newly carved. The carving project was welcomed by Princess Te Puea to Tūrangawaewae Marae and was supervised by her nephew Tamatai Wanakore Hērangi. However, due to his ill health, the project was moved to the Rotorua School of Arts and Crafts and continued by Tuhaka Kapua and Hōne Taiapa. The carving project was eventually taken to Waihi by Taiapa.[9]

References

  1. ^ "Improving Rural Māori Communities through New Energy Technologies". NIWA Science : Research & Consultancy : Research Programmes. NIWA - National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research, New Zealand. Archived from the original on 15 October 2008. In 2001 NIWA was granted funding from the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology [...] The programme is called the NEETs project (from New and Emerging Energy Technologies) and is being undertaken over a two-year period from 2002–04 with two communities - Ngati Turumakina at Waihi (Taupo) and Te Roroa at Waipoua (Northland). The Waihi Village has 25 dwellings and community buildings and has access to grid-supplied electricity.
  2. ^ "Event in History: 7 May 1846: Waihi Landslide" (PDF). GeoNet News: exploring the GeoNet project. No. 2. Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences Ltd (GNS). February 2003. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2008.
  3. ^ Cooper, Lamorna (June 2002). "Hipaua Steaming Cliffs and Little Waihi Landslide" (PDF). Tephra. Vol. 19: Earth Movements. Ministry of Civil Defence & Emergency Management. pp. 42–47. ISSN 0112-1359. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 July 2004.
  4. ^ CommArts Design, Wellington, New Zealand (4 September 2002 – 3 September 2003). "Christmas 2002 : Awe-inspiring Churches of New Zealand : Saint Werenfried, Waihi Village, Tokaanu (40c)". Stamps Historical Issues. New Zealand Post. Archived from the original on 22 May 2010.
  5. ^ Hakiwai, Lawrence (29 June 2009). "Residents in the small settlement of Waihi Village, at southern end of Lake Taupo, have voluntarily left their homes amidst landslip fears: Small settlement near Taupo evacuated". Newstalk ZB. IRN. Factiva IRNNWS0020090629e56t000xd.
  6. ^ "STATE OF EMERGENCY IN WAIHI VILLAGE LIFTED". New Zealand Press Association. 2 July 2009. NZPA WGT ljm rq nb. Factiva NZPA000020090702e572000bv. Syndicated by: "Waihi Village residents allowed to return to their homes". The New Zealand Herald. 2 July 2009.
  7. ^ "Statistical Area 2 - 2025" (Map). Geographic Boundary Viewer. Stats NZ Geospatial Team.
  8. ^ Statistical Area 2 2025 (Map). Stats NZ Geographic Data Service. 2 December 2024 – 7 August 2025. SA22025_V1_00: 187900. Layer ID 120978, File Identifier c285293c-297d-4523-1157-2ead91de838f. (Note: to see this information, enter "Waihi Village, WK, New Zealand" into the search bar, select the value from the dropdown, click on the pin (you might need to move the map around a little to see it), and look at the Spatial Query window.)
  9. ^ a b Warren, Geraldine (20 June 2017 – 9 March 2021). "Front-page news: A mystery hui". Auckland War Memorial Museum - Tāmaki Paenga Hira. Retrieved 26 June 2021.

38°56′49.2″S 175°44′38.86″E / 38.947000°S 175.7441278°E / -38.947000; 175.7441278


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