Above is Tongariro River Motel located on River Road in late 1950’s.
The recent proposal for another tourist town on the central plateau – to rebrand ‘National Park’ to ‘Waimarino’ – was controversial. TRM previously investigated a similar exercise to enhance the image of Turangi to improve the destination attractions for tourists. Today we look at a more simple street renaming exercise to identify, recover and acknowledge some lost local history.
SWMBO was reminded this week with another booking from an old Turangi identity who had been away for some time – in Australia. He had grown up in Turangi and knew exactly where TRM was, as when he was young it was the only motel in Turangi – on River Road.
Above is the original local shop on “River Road” which is now Units 1 & 2 in Tongariro River Motel.
Prospective guests have often referred to TRM’s address as River Road. Prior to the development of the new town of Turangi, west of SH1, it was known as River Road. “Taupahi” was originally the name for the small fishing settlement along the Tongariro River but was changed when the Ministry of Works renamed everything in the new town in the 1960’s. Back then the town was located in Ruapehu County and then ‘moved’ to Taupo County. It might also be an appropriate time for the Toe-Paw Council to acknowledge the suburb of Taupahi on the eastern side of SH1, distinct from Turangi. What do you think?
As the Taupo District Council and NZ Geographic Board consultants seem intent on reclaiming the original historic names everywhere else, this latest proposed recommended change – to revert Taupahi Road back to River Road – should be considered. If their genuine intentions are to accurately record lost history then logically River Road and the quaint fishing village suburb of Taupahi – as a separate identity from Turangi – should be reinstated. The NZGB secretariat is part of Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) and provides the board with administrative and research assistance and advice.
i.e. Below is a real estate firm’s advertisement on an old map with their “River Road” address in Turangi!
On most occasions where names have been changed recently, the European or English version has been changed to concocted or historic Maori names. So for nearby residents who are predominantly of English or of European extraction, it would be refreshing to see a reversal of recent trends from Maori to English instead.
Ten years after changing Link Road to Piri Road at the entrance to TRM, the street naming confusion still continues.
For more on name changing to create NZ’s most outstanding visionary tourist promotional idea, go to: https://www.tongarirorivermotel.co.nz/rebranding…/
Traffic congestion during rush hour on River Road in Turangi.