Whanganui | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Coat of arms | |
| Nickname: The River City | |
| Motto(s): Sans Dieu Rien, English: Without God Nothing[1] | |
.svg)  Whanganui | |
| Coordinates: 39°55′57″S 175°03′07″E / 39.93250°S 175.05194°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Manawatū-Whanganui |
| Territorial authority | Whanganui District Council |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Andrew Tripe |
| • Deputy Mayor | Helen Craig |
| Area | |
• Territorial | 2,373.26 km2 (916.32 sq mi) |
| • Urban | 41.05 km2 (15.85 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2024)[3] | |
• Territorial | 48,600 |
| • Density | 20/km2 (53/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 42,500 |
| • Urban density | 1,000/km2 (2,700/sq mi) |
| Postcode(s) | 4500, 4501 |
| Area code | 06 |
| Website | Whanganui.govt.nz |
Whanganui (/ˈhwɒŋənuːi/ ;[4] Māori: [ˀwaŋanui]), also spelt Wanganui,[5] is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is the 19th most-populous urban area in New Zealand and the second-most-populous in Manawatū-Whanganui, with a population of 42,500 as of June 2024.[3]
Whanganui is the ancestral home of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi and other Whanganui Māori tribes. The New Zealand Company began to settle the area in 1840, establishing its second settlement after Wellington. In the early years, most European settlers came via Wellington. Whanganui greatly expanded in the 1870s, and freezing works, woollen mills, phosphate works and wool stores were established in the town. Today, much of Whanganui's economy relates directly to the fertile and prosperous farming hinterland.
Like several New Zealand urban areas, it was officially designated a city until an administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by Whanganui District Council.
- ^ https://www.whanganui.govt.nz/Your-Council/About-Whanganui-District-Council/Our-History#section-2 Whanganui District Council, 'Our Coat of Arms'
- ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ a b "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ "Residents free to choose city's spelling". TVNZ. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
- ^ "Notice of the Determination of the Minister for Land Information on Assigning Alternative Geographic Names". Land Information New Zealand. 13 December 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2013.