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In the south-east of the North Island, Wairarapa stretches from the Tararua Range to the east coast and the south coast. Its northern border reaches from the Manawatū Gorge to Cape Turnagain.
Towns
Masterton is the main town. Other towns include Greytown, Featherston, Martinborough, Pahīatua and Eketāhuna.
Landscape
Wairarapa has three main landscapes:
- the western mountains of the Rimutaka and Tararua ranges, which are covered in forest
- the central lowlands, created from gravels carried by rivers over the last million years
- the hilly eastern uplands.
Wairarapa is prone to earthquakes. New Zealand’s largest recorded earthquake occurred on the Wairarapa fault in 1855 and had a magnitude of 8.2.
Māori history
Archaeological sites show that Māori settled around Palliser Bay in the 14th century. Later, the Rangitāne and Ngāti Kahungunu tribes moved into the region, and still live there today. The two tribes lived peacefully, and often intermarried. They fought off other invading tribes.
European arrivals
Europeans arrived in the Wairarapa in the 1840s. They began farming land leased from Māori, and founded the towns of Greytown and Masterton.
In the 1870s, settlers from Scandinavia and other places came to clear the dense forests of the Forty Mile Bush, in northern Wairarapa. They farmed the cleared land and built towns.
Māori and Pākehā
During the New Zealand wars of the 19th century, there was no fighting in the Wairarapa – relations between Māori and Pākehā remained good. Still, by the end of the wars, Māori had sold most of their land and couldn’t afford to buy any back. Many Māori found farm work or, much later, moved to the towns.
Economy
Wairarapa once made most of its money from sheep, beef cattle and dairy farming. Farming is still important today, but so are other industries, including forestry, fishing and horticulture.
In the late 1970s, grapes were first grown near Martinborough to make wine. Since then, many wineries have been set up. Tourism has also become popular. Many visitors come from Wellington.
Wairarapa people today
Since the 1980s, some businesses have closed, and people have moved away. But others have moved there from Wellington to enjoy a quieter lifestyle.