About

He whakamārama

Find out more about Te Ara Wai: Journeys and learn about the next stages of this project.

Whai mōhiotanga anō mō Te Ara Wai me te ako i ngā wāhanga o tēnei kaupapa e haere ake nei.

What is Te Ara Wai: Journeys?

He aha nā a Te Ara Wai: Journeys?

Te Ara Wai: Journeys is a free, self-guided tour of culturally significant sites throughout the Waipā district.

The meaning of Te Ara Wai is complex. ‘Ara’ is to rise, to be awake to our past, and to have our eyes open to the future. ‘Wai’ is representative of the water pathways across much of the Waipā district, and it is also reflective of who we were, who we are and who we will become.

Our region was and continues to be shaped by events that occurred during the New Zealand Land Wars: the British Crown invaded the Waikato in 1863-4, then confiscated 1.2 million acres of Māori land. Our story is of a journey of two peoples through a landscape, ruptured by war, and now undergoing processes of healing and reconciliation. Learn more about the events of 1863-4.

He haerenga utukore a Te Ara Wai: Journeys, ā, māu anō koe hei ārahi i ngā wāhi ā-ahurea nui whakaharahara puta noa i te rohe o Waipā.

Nā Te Ara Wai: Journeys koe i ārahi ki te whare taonga o Te Awamutu me te Kaunihera ā-rohe o Waipā. He matatini te tikanga o te ingoa o Te Ara Wai. Ko te ‘Ara’ ko te ara ake, ko te whakamuri ki te inanahi me te titiro whakamua ki te āpōpō. Ko te ‘Wai’ hei tohu i ngā arawai puta noa i te rohe o Waipā, ā, e whakapūmaharatia ana ko wai tātou i mua, ko wai tātou ināianei, ā, ko wai hoki tātou āpōpō.

I whakairotia, ā, e whakairotia tonutia ana tō tātou rohe e ngā āhuatanga i puta mai ai i ngā Pakanga Whenua o Aotearoa: i whakaeke te Karauna i a Waikato i te tau 1863 ki te tau 1864, me te aha, ka raupatungia ngā whenua Māori 1.2 miriona nei te nui. Mō ngā iwi e rua tā tātou kōrero, e haere tahi nei i te whenua, i raru i te pakanga, ā, e ngana ana ināianei kia ora ake ai, kia mau ai hoki te rongo. Kia nui ake te ako i ngā tūāhutanga o te 1863-64.

Zones

Ngā wāhanga

Visit one of the six Te Ara Wai zones: Rangiaowhia - O‑Rākau, Kakepuku, Karāpiro, Cambridge, Ngā Roto or Pirongia.

Haere ki tētehi o ngā wāhanga e ono ka taea te tūhura mā Te Ara Wai: ko Rangiaowhia ki O-Rākau, ko Kakepuku, ko Karāpiro, ko Kēmureti, ko Ngā Roto, ko Pirongia hoki.

ExploreTūhuratia

Mobile Tour

Te tāpoi ā-waea

Using your mobile phone, take a tour of the unique landscape of Waipā past and present. With rich audiovisual stories from local experts. Use the mobile tour on location in Waipā, or from home.

I a koe e whakamahi ana i tō waea pūkoro, tāpoitia te horanuku ahurei o Waipā, o mua, o nāia nei hoki, mā ngā pūrākau ataata-rongo kounga nei, nā ngā pūkenga o te hau kāinga.

Take the tourMahia atu te tāpoi ā-waea

The Museum

Te Whare Taonga

Visit Te Awamutu Museum to experience more of the Waipā region’s fascinating stories. Free entry, koha welcome.

Haere ki Te Whare Taonga o Te Awamutu kia whai wheako ai i ngā kōrero whakamīharo o Waipā. He utu kore, he koha. 

Visit the MuseumPeka atu ki Te Whare Taonga

What's Next?

He aha e haere ake nei?

This website and mobile tour are the first phase of Te Ara Wai – the new Museum for Waipā. It will be a multifaceted project with exciting developments to come.

Ko tēnei pae tukutuku me tēnei haerenga waea pūkoro te wāhanga tuatahi o Te Ara Wai. He kaupapa mata tini tēnei, arā anō hoki ōna whanaketanga papai kei te haere mai.

We are buillding a new Museum, Te Ara Wai. It will offer our community and visitors fresh and startling exhibitions, illuminating the myriad of histories and identities of the people of Waipā. These will be presented within cutting edge, interactive spaces.

The Museum will be located on the old Bunnings site corner of Arawata and Scout Lane. The building will allow for exhibition spaces, interactive zones, spaces to house and display our precious taonga (artefacts), and educational programmes.

The Te Ara Wai Museum project is currently on pause as part of the Waipā District Council’s Enhanced Annual Plan and will now be considered as part of the 2025-34 Long Term Plan.

E hanga ana mātou i tētehi whare taonga hou, ko Te Ara Wai. Ka whāngai i te hapori me ngā manuhiri i ngā whakaaturanga pūhou, whakahihiri hoki, e whakamārama ana i ngā hītorea tuatini nei, me ngā tuakiritanga o ngā momo iwi o Waipā. Ka whakaatungia ēnei mā ngā taiwhanga ā-whakaaro whakamua, pāhekoheko anō hoki.

Ka tū te whare taonga ki te taha o te Wharepukapuka o Te Awamutu. Ka whakahoutia ngā tiriti tata nei, ki te waihanga i tētehi wāhi tuwhera, haumaru hoki ki ngā kaiwaewae. Ka nui ake te whare i tēnā o Te Whare Taonga o Te Awamutu o nāianei, e āhei ai ētehi wāhi whakaaturanga, ētehi wāhi whakawhitiwhiti, me ētehi wāhi ki te manaaki me te whakaatu i ngā taonga, he pokapū rangahau, he pokapū mō ngā hōtaka mātauranga, te i-SITE o Te Awamutu, me tētehi wāhi hei huihuinga mō te hapori.