Nouvelle-Zelande. Le Pont de Wanganui.

Title

Nouvelle-Zelande. Le Pont de Wanganui.

Beautifully hand-colored general view of the town of Whanganui with bridge over the Whanganui River.Whanganui is one of the oldest towns in New Zealand and is located on the west coast of the North Island, on the Whanganui River of the same name - the third longest river in the country.

ca. 1872

Artist

Anonymus

Historical Description

The area around the Whanganui River has been inhabited for centuries by Māori tribes, particularly the Whanganui iwi. The river is considered an ancestral line and spiritually alive – in Māori tradition, it is seen as a person with its own rights. From the 1840s onward, British settlers began to arrive in the region. In 1840, an official land purchase was negotiated with the Māori – though often under questionable conditions. In 1841, a European settlement was established called Petre, which was later renamed Wanganui. In the 1860s, during the New Zealand Wars, conflicts broke out between Māori and British forces – including in Whanganui. In 2001, the original Māori name Whanganui was officially restored. In 2017, the Whanganui River became the first river in the world to be granted the legal status of a person – in recognition of its spiritual and cultural importance to the Māori.