23-684: The Manawatū Gorge ( Māori : Te Āpiti ) is a steep-sided gorge formed by the Manawatū River in the North Island of New Zealand . At 6 km (3.7 mi) long, the Manawatū Gorge divides the Ruahine and Tararua Ranges , linking the Manawatū and Tararua Districts. It lies to the northeast of Palmerston North . Its western end is near the small town of Ashhurst and its eastern end
46-641: A dawn ceremony on 11 April 2014. The artwork on the sculpture features hammerhead shark patterns and depicts elements of the story of Whatonga's sea voyage, as well as emblems of all of the Manawatu Gorge biodiversity project stakeholders. Up to date information on all walking and biking tracks is available on the Te Āpiti website . 40°19′06″S 175°47′53″E / 40.3184°S 175.7980°E / -40.3184; 175.7980 Manawat%C5%AB River Too Many Requests If you report this error to
69-685: Is close to the town of Woodville . As one of the few links between the eastern and western North Island, the gorge is an important transport link, with the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line passing through the gorge, as well as State Highway 3 ; the road has been closed since 2017. Recreationally, the gorge is part of the Manawatū Gorge Scenic Reserve, with various walking tracks through the surrounding native bush. Like many important geographic features in New Zealand,
92-460: Is located just a few kilometres out of Woodville on the north side of the gorge. In 2011 the gorge was closed after several massive landslips. It did not reopen until August 2012, and parts of the highway were still limited to one lane. In October 2012 it was temporarily closed so contractors could destroy large rocks that posed a threat to traffic. Restoration was completed in November 2012. SH3
115-445: Is mainly used by goods trains; there are currently no scheduled passenger rail services through the gorge. Occasional railway excursions, typically with steam trains, also make use of the scenic Manawatu Gorge Railway line with its two tunnels and several small bridges. The Old Gorge Cemetery lies on the north side of the Manawatu Gorge. Public access is available, but the cemetery was closed many years ago to further burials. The road
138-529: Is the Māori name for the gorge, which is usually translated to mean 'the narrowing', or 'the narrow passage'. The gorge was also sometimes given the name Te Au-rere-a-te-tonga . The Manawatu Gorge is significant because, unlike most gorges, the Manawatu River is a water gap , that is it runs directly through the surrounding ranges from one side to the other. This was caused by the ranges moving upwards at
161-632: The National-led coalition government following the 2023 New Zealand general election . In December 2023, the New Zealand Minister of Transport Simeon Brown ordered that the agency was to give primacy to its English name. In mid-December 2023, Transport Minister Brown ordered the NZTA to halt halt funding and work on various local council projects to promote cycling, walking and public transportation. Notable projects affected by
184-600: The Government's transportation policy change included the " Let's Get Wellington Moving " programme. On 11 March 2024, Simon Bridges was appointed a member and chairperson of the NZTA board for a three-year term. On 15 May, RNZ reported that NZTA had paid consultant PwC to design two new vehicle-spotting technologies at a cost of NZ$ 130 million only to abandon the project after the technologies were found not to work. On 16 May 2024, NZTA confirmed that it would slash over 120 jobs as part of government cutbacks. 109 of
207-485: The Manawatu Gorge Track, runs parallel to the gorge on the south side through native bush . The walking track passes several lookout points, one of which is above the site of the 2015 landslide, aptly called the "Big Slip Lookout". The majority of the track leads through native bush, with the lookouts offering views overlooking the gorge and towards the Te Āpiti Wind Farm continuing on the hills north of
230-504: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.237 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 209917030 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 07:44:29 GMT NZ Transport Agency NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi ( NZTA ) is a New Zealand Crown entity tasked with promoting safe and functional transport by land, including
253-663: The affected roles came from the former Clean Car Discount , Climate Emergency Response Fund, and Let's Get Wellington Moving projects, which had been cancelled by the National-led coalition government. In early May 2024, NZTA also announced it would cut another 12 roles from its Customer and Services and Digital teams to meet the Government's 7.5% cost cutting target. NZTA stores registration , licensing and warrant of fitness details for any road-registered vehicle within New Zealand, including cars, motorbikes, trailers, trucks and earthmoving or agricultural machinery. Any member of
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#1732779868803276-521: The agency had been "going through a massive change process", with its compliance work in the issuing of vehicle Warrant of Fitnesses under review. Mark Ratcliffe, former head of telco Chorus , was appointed interim chief executive. Nicole Rosie, former CE of WorkSafe New Zealand , replaced him as chief executive mid-February 2020. On 26 April 2019, chairman Michael Stiassny announced his resignation. On 11 June 2019, Brian Roche commenced his second term as chairman of NZTA; Roche had previously been
299-469: The creation and exploration of Manawatū Gorge is an embedded part of traditional Māori history. According to tradition, the first Māori to discover the gorge was Whātonga, an explorer from the Kurahaupō canoe, who found the gorge in about the 12th century. Europeans began to traverse the Manawatū Gorge around the 1840s; in 1842 Bishop George Augustus Selwyn and Chief Justice William Martin passed through
322-567: The gorge to reach the Wairarapa. The Manawatū Gorge takes its name from the river which cuts through it, the Manawatū River. The river's name, which means 'heart standing still', is derived from the words manawa , meaning heart, and tū , meaning coming to a halt. This comes from traditional Māori history, in which it is said that Haunui-a-nanaia uttered the phrase when he caught sight of the river in his search for his wife Wairaka. Te Āpiti
345-565: The gorge. Also along the track, in the midst of native bush, stands the 6 metres (20 ft) tall metal sculpture of Whatonga , one of three recognised Māori chiefs on board the Kurahaupo Waka , which journeyed across the ocean to New Zealand. The statue was funded by the Manawatu Gorge Biodiversity stakeholder group and is made of steel. It was lowered to its location in the bush by helicopter, and blessed at
368-572: The inaugural chairman from 2008. In August 2019, Waka Kotahi changed the order of its name to emphasize its Māori language name "Waka Kotahi." The logo was also changed to reflect this change of order. Kane Patena was appointed the first Director of Land Transport for Waka Kotahi from 1 April 2021. In early November 2023, Waka Kotahi suspended its NZ$ 305 million Transport Choices Programme where local councils would receive funding to encourage walking, cycling and public transportation. Waka Kotahi suspended this programme amidst coalition talks to form
391-558: The responsibility for driver and vehicle licensing, and administering the New Zealand state highway network . Waka Kotahi means 'one vessel' and is intended to convey the concept of "travelling together as one". The agency was established on 1 August 2008 by the Land Transport Management Amendment Act 2008 , merging Transit New Zealand with Land Transport New Zealand . NZTA's board
414-593: The road. Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency decided to close the Gorge route permanently. The authority investigated long-term options to bypass or replace the gorge route, with their final list having four options. The chosen new route option, delayed from December 2017 and announced in March 2018, will be above the Gorge, but below the Saddle Road, and will bypass Ashurst. A 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) tramping track ,
437-537: The same time as the gorge was eroded by the river, instead of the more usual erosion of an already existing range. The Manawatu River is the only river in New Zealand that starts its journey in the Tararua District on one side of the main divide, and finishes it on the other side near Foxton in the Tasman Sea. The road through the Manawatu Gorge, State Highway 3 , is on the south side of the river, and
460-419: The south, and SH5 between Taupo and Napier 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of the Manawatu Gorge. The road through the Manawatu Gorge had a history of sometimes being closed by slips , especially following inclement weather. A single track rail connection was established on the northern side of the gorge; it was completed in 1891 and is now part of the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line . The rail connection
483-530: Was blocked again for one month by further slips after severe weather on 9 April 2015. In April 2017, the Manawatu Gorge was closed again due to a large slip. Contractors were pulled out of clearing the slip in July 2017 due to ongoing geological movement in the hill, closing the road indefinitely. A further slip in July 2017 at the Ashhurst end of the Manawatu Gorge left an additional 10,000 cubic metres of rock on
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#1732779868803506-532: Was completed in 1872. It was the primary link between the two sides of the lower North Island, before being abandoned in 2017 due to the number of slips. Other than Saddle Road and the Pahiatua Track, both narrow winding local roads a few kilometers north and south of the Manawatu Gorge, the gorge was the only east-west road connection between the Akatarawa Valley , 100 kilometres (62 mi) to
529-668: Was criticised by the National Party -led opposition in July 2008 as being "stacked" with political appointees of the Labour Party -led government. A National Party-led government was formed after 2008 New Zealand general election , and a number of board members were reappointed or replaced. In January 2019, three members of the board of directors resigned, about six weeks after the resignation of chief executive Fergus Gammie. They were Adrienne Young-Cooper, Chris Ellis and Fran Wilde . Minister of Transport Phil Twyford said
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