Taihape
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Taihape is a small town near the middle of the North Island of New Zealand. Taihape is the butt of many jokes owing to its perceived rural, isolated nature and the perceived back-country nature of its inhabitants.
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Economy
Taihape is at the centre of a large farming community and much of its economic activity is in serving that community.
Geography
It is situated close to the Rangitikei River on State Highway 1 and on the main trunk railway line between Auckland and Wellington. Despite these transport links, it is considered to be isolated by most New Zealanders because there are no towns of a comparable size for a considerable distance.
The road south winds through hill country farmland down onto the Manawatu Plains, some 100km south.
North of Taihape the road and railway must first cross the wide volcanic plateau (with the volcanoes Mount Ruapehu, Mount Ngauruhoe, and Mount Tongariro) and the Rangipo Desert before the road reaches Lake Taupo and the more hospitable country beyond Taupo at the north end of the Lake, while the railway turns briefly westward through Ohakune on its way to the Raurimu Spiral at the north-west edge of the plateau.
There are no transport links west (rugged hill country is in the way) and only one rough road east, over a mountain range to the port city of Napier. Before State Highway 1 and the railway were built the latter road was the main route in or out of what was then an extremely isolated community.
History
Before the arrival of the North Island Main Trunk Railway, the bulk of farming produce (wool) freighted out of Taihape was freighted by horse and bullock cart over the Gentle Annie Road to Napier, from where it was exported.
People
Taihape has a population of around 2,000 people. (It was about 3,500 in the 1960s, but declined in parallel with many rural towns all over the world.)
It has a primary school (motto: Nulla Vestiga Restrorum [never look back]) and a secondary school (motto: step forward together). The secondary school is reputed to be the second smallest in the country.
Fame
For most New Zealanders who are aware of it at all, Taihape is a place through which they may pass on their way north or south, perhaps stopping for a snack or meal. This perception dates back to when the Day Express on the North Island Main Trunk Railway would stop in Taihape for passengers to alight to stretch their legs and queue to grab a snack to eat at the railway cafe.
They may also have heard of Gumboot Day, the Tuesday after Easter, first celebrated on Tuesday 9 April 1985. This was cleverly devised by local business people who realised that they could never rid the town of its rural backwater image, so they would instead capitalise on it. It seems to have worked. How many other towns, of similar size, are known country-wide?
Taihape's second claim to fame is due to it being regarded (along with Eketahuna) as being the archetypical small New Zealand farming town. This reputation was greatly enhanced when entertainer John Clarke used it as a location for his Fred Dagg comedy persona.
Another reason why most New Zealanders have at least heard of Taihape is that it is a separate district in the Met. Service weather forecasts (although sometimes included in the "Central Plateau" region).
External links
- World Gumboot Throwing Championships (http://www.rangitikei.com/operators/gcp/main.html)