Kaiapoi
Encyclopedia
Kaiapoi is a town in the Canterbury
region of the South Island
of New Zealand
, located close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River
, and approximately 17 kilometres north of Christchurch
.
Kaiapoi is located in the Waimakariri District. In the 2006 census, the population of the town was 10,200, with a further 1,700 residents in the surrounding district. This represents a growth rate of 11% over the previous five years.
Kaiapoi suffered extensive damages in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake
, rendering many homes uninhabitable and businesses inoperable.
(fortified village) which was built just north of the site of the current town around the year 1700 by the Ngāi Tahu
chief Turakautahi. Eventually to become the largest fortified village in the South Island
it lay on the site of a stronghold of an earlier tribe, Waitaha
whose history and traditions Ngāi Tahu eventually adopted.
Tūrākautahi was the second son of Tūāhuriri, consequently Ngāi Tūāhuriri is the name of the hapu
(subtribe) of this area.
In selecting the pā site, Tūrākautahi determined that kai (food/resources) would need to be poi (swung in) from other places hence the name Kaiapoi which it is said can be translated as a metaphor for "economics".
All manner of resources were transported along the waterways of the Rakahuri and Taerutu on their way to or from Kaiapoi, Pounamu from the Arahura
river, Titi
(muttonbird) from the islands around Stewart Island / Rakiura or Tūhua
(obsidian
) from Mayor Island / Tuhua and other resources all indicative of a sophisticated trading network between North and South Island tribes.
and his Ngāti Toa
allies in 1832. The first attack made against Ngāi Tahu was at Kaikōura during 1827–28. Ngāi Tahu records state that the Ngāti Kurī
people of Kaikōura
came down to the beach to welcome their kinsmen, the hapu of Tū-te-pākihi-rangi of Ngāti Kahungunu
, whom they were expecting as visitors. Instead, they found the fleet of canoes belonging to Ngāti Toa who, armed with muskets, attacked and killed them. Te Rauparaha and his tribes then visited Ngāi Tahu of Kaiapoi to trade muskets for pounamu. The Kaiapoi people soon learned of the attacks on their kin at Kaikōura and a Ngāpuhi
warrior staying with Ngāi Tahu at Kaiapoi pā overheard the Ngāti Toa leader planning how they would attack the following morning. Already angered by the desecration of his recently dead aunts grave Te Maiharanui (Tama-i-hara-nui) ordered a retaliatory attack the following day, killing the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs, including Te Pēhi Kupe
. The only prominent Ngāti Toa leader not slain was Te Rauparaha. Te Rauparaha returned to Kapiti Island
to plan his revenge. In early November 1830, he persuaded Captain John Stewart of the brig Elizabeth to hide him and his warriors on board. They then visited the Ngāi Tahu people of Akaroa under the ruse of trading for flax. Captain Stewart persuaded Te Maiharanui to board the brig and be taken below deck, where Te Rauparaha and his men took the chief, his wife and his daughter prisoner. Te Rauparaha's men then surged ashore to sack Te Maiharanui’s settlement, Takapuneke. The brig returned to Kapiti with Te Maiharanui and his family held captive.
It is said that rather than see his daughter enslaved, Te Maiharanui strangled her and threw her overboard. Te Rauparaha then gave Te Maiharanui to the wife of the Ngāti Toa chief Te Pehi, who killed Te Maiharanui by slow torture. His wife suffered the same fate.
Te Rauparaha then mounted a major expedition against Kaiapoi Ngāi Tahu in the summer of 1831–32. Ngāi Tahu, lacking muskets to repel the armed Ngāti Toa, took a defensive strategy and hoped that Ngāti Toa would not be able to penetrate the wooden palisades surrounding the pā. The ensuing siege lasted for three months. However, during a skirmish between the two tribes, a shelter caught fire. Fanned by the nor’wester, the palisades quickly ignited, allowing Ngāti Toa warriors to enter the village, capture its leaders and kill the people. Ngāti Toa then attacked the Banks Peninsula
tribes, taking the principal fort at Ōnawe, in Akaroa
Harbour.
, a tributary of the Waimakariri River
that flows through the center of the town. This was originally the main arm of the Waimakariri River, but extensive flooding led to a diversion so the majority of the water travelled down the South arm of the Waimakariri.
Kaiapoi was well known for the woollen mill run by the Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company, and many woollen items produced at the mill can still be found throughout the world.
A freezing works (meat processing plant) was also a major employer in the town, and once this and the woollen mill had closed there was some economic turmoil in the town, and concern over its future. It however has survived and prospered, and although there is some local industry, a large percentage of the population works in the neighbouring city of Christchurch. One optimistic politician
of the 1800s had even predicted that Kaiapoi would outsize its neighbour Christchurch
. In some counts of the latter city's population, Kaiapoi is included as a suburb of Christchurch but most people from the area would maintain that it is a town in its own right.
, the National Scout headquarters, and the Cure Rowing Club.
Kaiapoi is represented by both Rugby codes, the Kaiapoi Rugby Club whose home ground is at Kaiapoi Park, the former All Black prop John Ashworth once played for the Kaiapoi club.
The Kaiapoi Rugby League Club which become the Kaiapoi Bulldogs and is now the Northern Bulldogs play in the Canterbury Rugby League
local competition. Their home ground is at Murphy Park on the banks of the Kaiapoi River. The former New Zealand Rugby League
prop John Greengrass once played for the Kaiapoi Rugby League Club and another former New Zealand Rugby League
, half Bob Irvine is a former Kaiapoi coach.
Kaiapoi Bulldogs finally won their first Premiership title in 2007, the club's Jubilee
50th season.
Kaiapoi also boasts the furniture makers Blakeley's (of Kaiapoi), Blackwell's Department Store (demolished after sustaining damage in the September 2010 earthquake), a band rotunda, which has been moved from its former location on the south bank of the river, opposite the Kaiapoi Workingman's Club (where Sir Howard Morrison once performed), to the park opposite, by the red brick Kaiapoi Kindergarten. There is also the Doll's Hospital, Kaiapoi Borough, Kaiapoi North, and Kaiapoi High schools, the berth of the MV Tuhoe, which is more than one hundred years old, and the fact that former Prime Minister Norman Eric Kirk was the mayor
of Kaiapoi.
Children used to be born here at the Kaiapoi Home, in Cass Street, opposite the public swimming pool. The oldest church in Canterbury, known as St. Bartholomew's, is here, as well as one large white wooden house, right round the corner from it, in Sewell Street, which used to be the Presbyterian Manse
.
, which is a motorway at this point, passes by the west of the town. For many years, State Highway 1 ran through the town along the main street
, but the Northern Motorway
was built to replace it some years ago. The Main North Line railway runs through Kaiapoi, and the town once served as the junction for the Eyreton Branch, which provided rail access to communities west of Kaiapoi such as West Eyreton
(though it ran to the north of Eyreton
itself). This branch line
opened in 1875 and closed fully by April 1965.
The river used to have a port before the construction of the Waimakariri River bridge, and was an important point for the transport of goods to and from Christchurch. Bucking the trend of river ports dying off in the middle of the 20th century, the port actually reopened for a decade between 1958 and 1967, to allow smaller ships to bypass the congested Lyttelton
wharves.
At one stage, a walnut
tree on one resident's property was so large, it was used to act as a landmark for pilots approaching Christchurch International Airport
to get their bearings, before being cut down by the owner and his sons.
Canterbury, New Zealand
The New Zealand region of Canterbury is mainly composed of the Canterbury Plains and the surrounding mountains. Its main city, Christchurch, hosts the main office of the Christchurch City Council, the Canterbury Regional Council - called Environment Canterbury - and the University of Canterbury.-...
region of the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, located close to the mouth of the Waimakariri River
Waimakariri River
The Waimakariri River is the largest of the North Canterbury rivers, in the South Island of New Zealand. It flows for 151 kilometres in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean....
, and approximately 17 kilometres north of Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
.
Kaiapoi is located in the Waimakariri District. In the 2006 census, the population of the town was 10,200, with a further 1,700 residents in the surrounding district. This represents a growth rate of 11% over the previous five years.
Kaiapoi suffered extensive damages in the 2010 Canterbury earthquake
2010 Canterbury earthquake
The 2010 Canterbury earthquake was a 7.1 magnitude earthquake, which struck the South Island of New Zealand at 4:35 am on local time ....
, rendering many homes uninhabitable and businesses inoperable.
History
Kaiapoi takes its name from the Māori pāPa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
(fortified village) which was built just north of the site of the current town around the year 1700 by the Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu
Ngāi Tahu, or Kāi Tahu, is the principal Māori iwi of the southern region of New Zealand, with the tribal authority, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, being based in Christchurch and Invercargill. The iwi combines three groups, Kāi Tahu itself, and Waitaha and Kāti Mamoe who lived in the South Island prior...
chief Turakautahi. Eventually to become the largest fortified village in the South Island
South Island
The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
it lay on the site of a stronghold of an earlier tribe, Waitaha
Waitaha
Waitaha is an early historical Māori iwi . Inhabitants of the South Island of New Zealand, they were largely absorbed via marriage and conquest first by the Kāti Mamoe and then Ngāi Tahu from the 16th century onward....
whose history and traditions Ngāi Tahu eventually adopted.
Tūrākautahi was the second son of Tūāhuriri, consequently Ngāi Tūāhuriri is the name of the hapu
Hapu
A hapū is sometimes described as "the basic political unit within Maori society".A named division of a Māori iwi , membership is determined by genealogical descent; a hapū is made up of a number of whānau groups. Generally hapū range in size from 150-200 although there is no upper limit...
(subtribe) of this area.
In selecting the pā site, Tūrākautahi determined that kai (food/resources) would need to be poi (swung in) from other places hence the name Kaiapoi which it is said can be translated as a metaphor for "economics".
All manner of resources were transported along the waterways of the Rakahuri and Taerutu on their way to or from Kaiapoi, Pounamu from the Arahura
Arahura
This is about the Maori canoe. For the ferry operating on the Interisland Line, see Arahura .Arahura, in Māori mythology , is a divine canoe which was made of pounamu...
river, Titi
Titi
The titis, or titi monkeys, are the New World monkeys of the genus Callicebus. They are the only extant members of the Callicebinae subfamily, which also contains the extinct genera Xenothrix, Antillothrix, Paralouatta, Carlocebus, Homunculus, Lagonimico and possibly also Tremacebus.Titis live in...
(muttonbird) from the islands around Stewart Island / Rakiura or Tūhua
Tuhua
Tuhua can mean:*Various rural dialects and languages in China, such as Shaozhou Tuhua or Naxi language *Mayor Island / Tuhua in New Zealand-External links:*...
(obsidian
Obsidian
Obsidian is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed as an extrusive igneous rock.It is produced when felsic lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimum crystal growth...
) from Mayor Island / Tuhua and other resources all indicative of a sophisticated trading network between North and South Island tribes.
Conflict with Te Rauparaha
The pā is often mistakenly called Kaiapohia, which is actually an insult to local Ngāi Tūāhuriri whose ancestors died in the pā after they were besieged by Te RauparahaTe Rauparaha
Te Rauparaha was a Māori rangatira and war leader of the Ngāti Toa tribe who took a leading part in the Musket Wars. He was influential in the original sale of conquered Rangitane land to the New Zealand Company and was a participant in the Wairau Incident in Marlborough...
and his Ngāti Toa
Ngati Toa
Ngāti Toa , an iwi , traces its descent from the eponymous ancestor Toarangatira. The Ngāti Toa region extends from Miria-te-kakara at Rangitikei to Wellington, and across Cook Strait to Wairau and Nelson....
allies in 1832. The first attack made against Ngāi Tahu was at Kaikōura during 1827–28. Ngāi Tahu records state that the Ngāti Kurī
Ngati Kuri
Ngāti Kurī is a Māori iwi from Northland, New Zealand.Ngāti Kurī trace their ancestry to Pōhurihanga, the captain of the waka Kurahaupō. Kurī means dog in Māori.-External links:*...
people of Kaikōura
Kaikoura
Kaikoura is a town on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 1 180 km north of Christchurch.Kaikoura became the first local authority to reach the Green Globe tourism certification standard....
came down to the beach to welcome their kinsmen, the hapu of Tū-te-pākihi-rangi of Ngāti Kahungunu
Ngati Kahungunu
Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke’s Bay and Tararua and Wairārapa regions....
, whom they were expecting as visitors. Instead, they found the fleet of canoes belonging to Ngāti Toa who, armed with muskets, attacked and killed them. Te Rauparaha and his tribes then visited Ngāi Tahu of Kaiapoi to trade muskets for pounamu. The Kaiapoi people soon learned of the attacks on their kin at Kaikōura and a Ngāpuhi
Ngapuhi
Ngāpuhi is a Māori iwi located in the Northland region of New Zealand, and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands and Whāngārei.Ngāpuhi has the largest affiliation of any New Zealand iwi, with 122,214 people registered , and formed from 150 hapu, with 55 marae.-Foundations:The founding...
warrior staying with Ngāi Tahu at Kaiapoi pā overheard the Ngāti Toa leader planning how they would attack the following morning. Already angered by the desecration of his recently dead aunts grave Te Maiharanui (Tama-i-hara-nui) ordered a retaliatory attack the following day, killing the leading Ngāti Toa chiefs, including Te Pēhi Kupe
Te Pēhi Kupe
Te Pēhi Kupe was a Māori rangatira and war leader of Ngāti Toa and the uncle of Te Rauparaha. He took a leading part in what became known as the Musket Wars....
. The only prominent Ngāti Toa leader not slain was Te Rauparaha. Te Rauparaha returned to Kapiti Island
Kapiti Island
-External links:* , Department of Conservation* * , Nature Coast Enterprise *...
to plan his revenge. In early November 1830, he persuaded Captain John Stewart of the brig Elizabeth to hide him and his warriors on board. They then visited the Ngāi Tahu people of Akaroa under the ruse of trading for flax. Captain Stewart persuaded Te Maiharanui to board the brig and be taken below deck, where Te Rauparaha and his men took the chief, his wife and his daughter prisoner. Te Rauparaha's men then surged ashore to sack Te Maiharanui’s settlement, Takapuneke. The brig returned to Kapiti with Te Maiharanui and his family held captive.
It is said that rather than see his daughter enslaved, Te Maiharanui strangled her and threw her overboard. Te Rauparaha then gave Te Maiharanui to the wife of the Ngāti Toa chief Te Pehi, who killed Te Maiharanui by slow torture. His wife suffered the same fate.
Te Rauparaha then mounted a major expedition against Kaiapoi Ngāi Tahu in the summer of 1831–32. Ngāi Tahu, lacking muskets to repel the armed Ngāti Toa, took a defensive strategy and hoped that Ngāti Toa would not be able to penetrate the wooden palisades surrounding the pā. The ensuing siege lasted for three months. However, during a skirmish between the two tribes, a shelter caught fire. Fanned by the nor’wester, the palisades quickly ignited, allowing Ngāti Toa warriors to enter the village, capture its leaders and kill the people. Ngāti Toa then attacked the Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula
Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves...
tribes, taking the principal fort at Ōnawe, in Akaroa
Akaroa
Akaroa is a village on Banks Peninsula in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand, situated within a harbour of the same name—the name Akaroa is Kāi Tahu Māori for 'Long Harbour'.- Overview :...
Harbour.
Commerce
Kaiapoi is also known as the 'River Town' after the Kaiapoi RiverKaiapoi River
The Kaiapoi River is a minor river of north Canterbury, in New Zealand's South Island. Originally called the Cam River, it is a tributary of the Waimakariri River, which it joins at the larger river's estuary....
, a tributary of the Waimakariri River
Waimakariri River
The Waimakariri River is the largest of the North Canterbury rivers, in the South Island of New Zealand. It flows for 151 kilometres in a generally southeastward direction from the Southern Alps across the Canterbury Plains to the Pacific Ocean....
that flows through the center of the town. This was originally the main arm of the Waimakariri River, but extensive flooding led to a diversion so the majority of the water travelled down the South arm of the Waimakariri.
Kaiapoi was well known for the woollen mill run by the Kaiapoi Woollen Manufacturing Company, and many woollen items produced at the mill can still be found throughout the world.
A freezing works (meat processing plant) was also a major employer in the town, and once this and the woollen mill had closed there was some economic turmoil in the town, and concern over its future. It however has survived and prospered, and although there is some local industry, a large percentage of the population works in the neighbouring city of Christchurch. One optimistic politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
of the 1800s had even predicted that Kaiapoi would outsize its neighbour Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
. In some counts of the latter city's population, Kaiapoi is included as a suburb of Christchurch but most people from the area would maintain that it is a town in its own right.
Recreation
Kaiapoi has many facilities and parks for sport and recreation. On the town border is the famous Woodford Glen SpeedwayDirt track racing in New Zealand
Speedway is a popular type of motorsport that takes place on oval tracks in New Zealand. A number of tracks throughout the country provide regular racing programs and sanctioned racing series...
, the National Scout headquarters, and the Cure Rowing Club.
Kaiapoi is represented by both Rugby codes, the Kaiapoi Rugby Club whose home ground is at Kaiapoi Park, the former All Black prop John Ashworth once played for the Kaiapoi club.
The Kaiapoi Rugby League Club which become the Kaiapoi Bulldogs and is now the Northern Bulldogs play in the Canterbury Rugby League
Canterbury Rugby League
Canterbury Rugby League is the regional body that administers rugby league in Canterbury, New Zealand. CRL manages local competitions from senior level down to age group competitions. Canterbury Rugby League also manages the Canterbury rugby league team which represents the region in New Zealand...
local competition. Their home ground is at Murphy Park on the banks of the Kaiapoi River. The former New Zealand Rugby League
New Zealand Rugby League
The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....
prop John Greengrass once played for the Kaiapoi Rugby League Club and another former New Zealand Rugby League
New Zealand Rugby League
The New Zealand Rugby League is the governing body for the sport of rugby league football in New Zealand. The NZRL was founded on the 25 April 1910 in preparation for a tour of Great Britain that same year....
, half Bob Irvine is a former Kaiapoi coach.
Kaiapoi Bulldogs finally won their first Premiership title in 2007, the club's Jubilee
Golden Jubilee
A Golden Jubilee is a celebration held to mark a 50th anniversary.- In Thailand :King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest-reigning monarch, celebrated his Golden Jubilee on 9 June 1996.- In the Commonwealth Realms :...
50th season.
Kaiapoi also boasts the furniture makers Blakeley's (of Kaiapoi), Blackwell's Department Store (demolished after sustaining damage in the September 2010 earthquake), a band rotunda, which has been moved from its former location on the south bank of the river, opposite the Kaiapoi Workingman's Club (where Sir Howard Morrison once performed), to the park opposite, by the red brick Kaiapoi Kindergarten. There is also the Doll's Hospital, Kaiapoi Borough, Kaiapoi North, and Kaiapoi High schools, the berth of the MV Tuhoe, which is more than one hundred years old, and the fact that former Prime Minister Norman Eric Kirk was the mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Kaiapoi.
Children used to be born here at the Kaiapoi Home, in Cass Street, opposite the public swimming pool. The oldest church in Canterbury, known as St. Bartholomew's, is here, as well as one large white wooden house, right round the corner from it, in Sewell Street, which used to be the Presbyterian Manse
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...
.
Transport
State Highway 1State Highway 1 (New Zealand)
State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...
, which is a motorway at this point, passes by the west of the town. For many years, State Highway 1 ran through the town along the main street
Main Street
Main Street is the metonym for a generic street name of the primary retail street of a village, town, or small city in many parts of the world...
, but the Northern Motorway
Christchurch Northern Motorway
The Christchurch Northern Motorway is a major arterial road north of Christchurch, New Zealand, linking the northern Christchurch suburb of Belfast with the more densely populated areas of the Waimakariri District around Kaiapoi and Woodend, a distance of...
was built to replace it some years ago. The Main North Line railway runs through Kaiapoi, and the town once served as the junction for the Eyreton Branch, which provided rail access to communities west of Kaiapoi such as West Eyreton
West Eyreton
West Eyreton is a small rural village in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located west of Kaiapoi and northwest of Eyreton and is named after Edward John Eyre, a 19th century lieutenant governor of the South Island...
(though it ran to the north of Eyreton
Eyreton
Eyreton, originally known as Eyretown, is a small village in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is named after Edward John Eyre, who at one time was the lieutenant governor of the South Island...
itself). This branch line
Branch line
A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...
opened in 1875 and closed fully by April 1965.
The river used to have a port before the construction of the Waimakariri River bridge, and was an important point for the transport of goods to and from Christchurch. Bucking the trend of river ports dying off in the middle of the 20th century, the port actually reopened for a decade between 1958 and 1967, to allow smaller ships to bypass the congested Lyttelton
Lyttelton, New Zealand
Lyttelton is a port town on the north shore of Lyttelton Harbour close to Banks Peninsula, a suburb of Christchurch on the eastern coast of the South Island of New Zealand....
wharves.
At one stage, a walnut
Walnut
Juglans is a plant genus of the family Juglandaceae, the seeds of which are known as walnuts. They are deciduous trees, 10–40 meters tall , with pinnate leaves 200–900 millimetres long , with 5–25 leaflets; the shoots have chambered pith, a character shared with the wingnuts , but not the hickories...
tree on one resident's property was so large, it was used to act as a landmark for pilots approaching Christchurch International Airport
Christchurch International Airport
-Facts & figures:As the gateway for Christchurch and the South Island, Christchurch International Airport is New Zealand’s second largest airport.5,908,077 passengers travelled in and out of Christchurch International Airport from 1 July 2008 to 30 June 2009...
to get their bearings, before being cut down by the owner and his sons.