Kaiwhaiki
Kaiwhaiki
New Zealand settlement
Kaiwhaiki is a settlement 18 kilometres (11 mi) upriver from Whanganui, New Zealand.
Kaiwhaiki in the 1840s was a small pā of a two to three dozen people.[1] In Ronaldson's 1847 survey, the inhabitants were noted as being of the hapū Ngāti Rongomaitawhiri.[2][1] In 1852 Kaiwhaiki became the first settlement on the Whanganui River to host a Catholic mission.[3] By the early 1860s, it was described as a "large pa" and its population were mostly Kingites, opposed to the colonial government.[1]
Kaiwhaiki is the home of the Ngā Paerangi hapū of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi;[3] their unique twin-gabled wharenui Te Kiritahi was built in 1912.[4][5] It was the birthplace of composer and choirmaster Morvin Simon, who led the nationally known Kaiwhaiki-based kapa haka group Te Matapihi.
A quarry near Kaiwhaiki supplied the shellrock used to build the Durie Hill war memorial tower in Whanganui.[3]