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Stopped at this town on my way home from Owhango on Sunday. It felt a bit like a ghost town with the only activity at the ‘Coach Caffé’ where travellers passing through stopped for lunch (pictured).
Raetihi, on the Central Plateau in the North Island of New Zealand, was founded in 1893 following the governments purchase of the Waimarino land block in 1887. Initially the only access to Raetihi from the sea at Wanganui was via steamer up to Pipiriki. 1917 saw he first road from Wanganui to Raetihi, also the railway. Raetihi just survived the Great Fire in 1918.
Timber and farming have always been the main business. The Whanganui River was already a main tourist attraction in the early 1900s, drawing 20 000 tourists a year.
The sale of surveyed town lot sections began in 1892 but the settlement was slow because of the difficulty of access - up the Whanganui River by steamer to Pipiriki, then by a dray road. Most of the surrounding land was taken up by small lot farmers under the government policy. As roading and communications improved and areas of bush were cleared, more land was broken up for pasturing and the populations of the township and district increased. Raetihi was created a town district in 1913 and became a borough in 1921.
Raetihi (rae - headland, tihi - summit) literally means prominent summit (as seen from Ohakune).
Today, Raetihi is a town of mainly farming, gardening and forestry, with a population of around 1,000.
Raetihi’s Theatre Royal is said to be the oldest theatre in the Southern Hemisphere.
Raetihi, on the Central Plateau in the North Island of New Zealand, was founded in 1893 following the governments purchase of the Waimarino land block in 1887. Initially the only access to Raetihi from the sea at Wanganui was via steamer up to Pipiriki. 1917 saw he first road from Wanganui to Raetihi, also the railway. Raetihi just survived the Great Fire in 1918.
Timber and farming have always been the main business. The Whanganui River was already a main tourist attraction in the early 1900s, drawing 20 000 tourists a year.
The sale of surveyed town lot sections began in 1892 but the settlement was slow because of the difficulty of access - up the Whanganui River by steamer to Pipiriki, then by a dray road. Most of the surrounding land was taken up by small lot farmers under the government policy. As roading and communications improved and areas of bush were cleared, more land was broken up for pasturing and the populations of the township and district increased. Raetihi was created a town district in 1913 and became a borough in 1921.
Raetihi (rae - headland, tihi - summit) literally means prominent summit (as seen from Ohakune).
Today, Raetihi is a town of mainly farming, gardening and forestry, with a population of around 1,000.
Raetihi’s Theatre Royal is said to be the oldest theatre in the Southern Hemisphere.
