Ko Whāingaroa (e mōhiotia ana hoki ko Raglan) he tāone takutai whai hītori i te rohe o Waikato, e rongonui ana mō ngā ngaru.
Te Hītori o Mua o te Māori me te Noho a te Pākehā
- I mua noa atu i te taenga mai o te Pākehā, i noho te Māori i ngā taha o te tauranga e kīia nei ko Whāingaroa. Ko te tikanga o tēnei ingoa, “te wāhi o te whai roa”, “te kokoru roa” rānei. E maumahara ana te ingoa ki te haerenga me te taenga mai o te waka Tainui i mua i te tau 1858.
- I te tau 1854, ka tīmata te noho a te Pākehā i te wā i tīmata ai te kāwanatanga ki te hoko whenua i taua rohe.
- I te tau 1858, ka tapaina anō te tāone ko Raglan hei whakanui i a Fitzroy Somerset, te “Lord Raglan” tuatahi, te kaiārahi hōia o Peretānia i te Pakanga o Crimea. I ngaro tōna ringa matau i te Pakanga o Waterloo i te tau 1815. Mai i taua wā, e kīia ana tēnei tāone takutai ko Raglan.
E rongonui ana a Raglan mō te eke ngaru me ōna takutai onepū pango i ahu mai i te puia.
I ngā wā o mua, he kaiahuwhenua, he kaimahi noa hoki tōku whānau. I tēnei rā, kei reira tonu e noho ana tōku whaea me taku teina. I hokona e tōku whaea tētahi toa pukapuka me tētahi whare i te wā e noho ana ahau ki tāwāhi i ngā tau kua hipa. Kei te tipu haere tonu a Whāingaroa hei wāhi mō te hunga kua reti i te mahi, mō ngā pakihi o te rohe, me ngā mahi toi.
Whāingaroa, also known as Rakarana or Raglan, is a historic coastal town in the Waikato Region famous for its surf.
Early Māori History and European Settlement
- Long before Europeans arrived, Māori lived around the harbour known as Whāingaroa, which means “the place of the long pursuit” or “long inlet.” The name remembers the journey and arrival of the Tainui waka (canoe) before 1858.
- In 1854, European settlement began when the government started buying land in the area.
- In 1858, the town was renamed Raglan to honour Fitzroy Somerset, 1st Lord Raglan, the British commander during the Crimean War. He lost his right arm at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. Since then, this coastal town has been called Raglan.
Raglan is well known for surfing and its volcanic black-sand beaches.
In the past, my family worked as farmers and labourers. Today, my mother and youngest brother still live there. My mother bought a bookshop and a home while I was overseas many years ago. Whāingaroa continues to grow as a place for retirees, local businesses, and the arts.
