Rawene is a delightful town which once had a vital role in the Hokianga community as a halfway point between the harbour entrance and the inner harbour.
Rawene gets its name from the setting sun, with spectacular sunsets seen from the town. Rawene is on the Hokianga Harbour and was an important gathering place for Nga Puhi and Te Rarawa (Maori tribes of Northland) in earlier times.
The peninsula was settled as Herd’s Point by Captain Herd from 1827 after he had purchased land from Rangitira, Muriwai and Tawhai (Maori chiefs).
In the days of sailing ships, Rawene was of great importance, being half way up Hokianga Harbour. It could be reached on the incoming tide from the Harbour entrance, the Heads, and ships waited for the next tide before continuing to Rangiahua with cargo. Rawene has been home to three public houses (pubs) and even a skating rink.
Rawene is the third oldest place of European settlement in the country, and has the third oldest post office. At one time there was a pigeon post service to Kohukohu and the signal station and the Heads.
The official plans for Rawene were drawn up overseas on the assumption that the town was level, which it certainly is not. Because of this, there are many ‘paper’ roads. Nimmon, Marmon and other streets were supposed to be continuous, but this was not possible because of the terrain. Most of these streets were named after early Pakeha settlers.
There is a vehicular ferry at Rawene that travels regularly during the day between the town and the Narrows, on the northern side of the harbour, near Kohukohu. The original ferry was a pontoon lashed to a launch which carried one car at a time.
Rawene gets its name from the setting sun, with spectacular sunsets seen from the town. Rawene is on the Hokianga Harbour and was an important gathering place for Nga Puhi and Te Rarawa (Maori tribes of Northland) in earlier times.
The peninsula was settled as Herd’s Point by Captain Herd from 1827 after he had purchased land from Rangitira, Muriwai and Tawhai (Maori chiefs).
In the days of sailing ships, Rawene was of great importance, being half way up Hokianga Harbour. It could be reached on the incoming tide from the Harbour entrance, the Heads, and ships waited for the next tide before continuing to Rangiahua with cargo. Rawene has been home to three public houses (pubs) and even a skating rink.
Rawene is the third oldest place of European settlement in the country, and has the third oldest post office. At one time there was a pigeon post service to Kohukohu and the signal station and the Heads.
The official plans for Rawene were drawn up overseas on the assumption that the town was level, which it certainly is not. Because of this, there are many ‘paper’ roads. Nimmon, Marmon and other streets were supposed to be continuous, but this was not possible because of the terrain. Most of these streets were named after early Pakeha settlers.
There is a vehicular ferry at Rawene that travels regularly during the day between the town and the Narrows, on the northern side of the harbour, near Kohukohu. The original ferry was a pontoon lashed to a launch which carried one car at a time.
Rawene car ferry - Credit: Blue Orb
3.25 Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."