Ātene, Whanganui River, c. 1890. Photo by Wrigglesworth and Binns.

Ātene is a former village located 35 kilometres (22 mi) up the Whanganui River from Whanganui. Originally called Warepakoko,[1] then Kakata,[2] it was renamed by the missionary Richard Taylor in the 19th century as a Māori transliteration of Athens. It was the home of the hapū Ngāti Hineoneone of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi.[3] A small meeting house called Te Rangi-i-heke-iho, restored by carver Bill Ranginui,[4] is all that remains.[5]

The hill next to Ātene, Puketapu, was once on a peninsula almost completely surrounded by a meander of the Whanganui River; centuries ago the river broke through the neck of the peninsula, connecting the two bends and cutting off the meander.[6] In the 1960s, a hydroelectric dam was proposed at Ātene, because the meander could have been reinstated while the dam was being constructed.[7] A hydroelectric dam would have flooded the river as far back as Taumarunui, and the project was abandoned.[8] While investigating the possibility of a dam, the Ministry of Works built a road in 1959 along the ridgeline overlooking Puketapu. The road is now an 18 km walking track, the Ātene Skyline Track.[9]

References

  1. ↑ Walton, A. (1994). "Settlement Patterns in the Whanganui River Valley, 1839–1864" (PDF). New Zealand Journal of Archaeology. 16: 123–168.
  2. ↑ Best, Elsdon (1 January 1900). "Te Awa Nui a Rua (The Whanganui River)". New Zealand Illustrated Magazine. 1 (4): 51.
  3. ↑ Beaglehole, Diana (20 March 2014). "Whanganui places: River Settlements". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Marae on the Whanganui River". Whanganui River Maori Trust Board. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  5. ↑ "Ātene (Kakata)". Māori Maps. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Atene Skyline Track: Whanganui National Park, Whanganui region". New Zealand Department of Conservation. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  7. ↑ Super Sites for Education in Wanganui. Atene Tracks: Whanganui National Park (PDF). New Zealand: Department of Conservation. p. 6.
  8. ↑ "Atene Viewpoint Walk & Atene Skyline Track - Lonely Planet". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Ātene Skyline Track and Viewpoint Walk. Whanganui: New Zealand Department of Conservation. October 2013.


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