Events The Crown sought to establish a national park around Tongariro maunga (mountain). 13 November It lasted for about 40 minutes, emitting steam and smoke to a great height. Tongariro became New Zealand's first national park, when Te Heuheu Tukino IV, the Paramount Chief of local Māori tribe Ngati Tuwharetoa, gifted the sacred peaks of Mount Ruapehu, Mount Tongariro and Mount Ngauruhoe to the people of New Zealand in September 1887. Later the peaks of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe, and parts of Mount Ruapehu, were conveyed to The Crown on 23 September 1887, on condition that a protected area was established there. Legal ownership of the sacred mountain peaks increased significantly from the original 2,640 hectare tuku into a 25,000 hectare land block vested solely in the Crown. This act by the Crown began a process whereby the authority of Ngāti Tuwharetoa over their involvement, guardianship and protection of their taonga (treasured heritage) in the Tongariro National Park has been greatly reduced. Fine weather allowed onlookers to see the plume from some distance away. We have 1 biography, related to Mount Tongariro erupts. 1949, Election of first National government, Home All non-text content is subject to specific conditions. The park has active volcanoes, a diverse range of ecosystems and some remarkable landscapes - each deeply enriched with stories of the hau kāinga and the significance to their people. This site is produced by the History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Biodiversity inventory and monitoring toolbox. Snowcapped Tongariro and his fellow volcanoes, Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe, rise majestically from the central volcanic plateau of New Zealand’s North Island. Te Maari crater, Mt Tongariro (Te Papa, LS.004557)At 12.40 p.m. on 13 November 1896, Te Maari, a crater at the northern end of the Tongariro range, erupted spectacularly. The residents of Otukou, a Māori settlement immediately beneath the crater, also evacuated the area. Sited on a spur 1200 m above sea level, the hotel offered majestic views of Mt Ruapehu and the sweeping plains surrounding it. The park also includes the peaks of Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu, both of which lie to the southwest of Tongariro. The big three mountains in the Park are Mount Ruapehu (9,173 ft / 2,796 m), Mount Ngauruhoe (7,503 ft / 2,287 m), and Mount Tongariro (6,453 ft / 1,967 m). History and Heritage Tongariro National Park is the oldest national park in New Zealand, located in the central North Island. It was set aside (literally "made sacred") in 1887 by Te Heuheu Tukino IV (Horonuku), paramount chief of the Māori Ngati Tuwharetoa iwi and made a national park in order to preserve its natural beauty. In 1894, Tongariro National Park was established - the first for Aotearoa (New Zealand), and fourth in the world. The mountains at the heart of the park have cultural and spiritual significance to Ngāti Tuwharetoa and symbolise the spiritual links between this community and their environment. In 1887, the generosity and foresight of the Ngāti Tuwharetoa people saw the heart of the mountainous area being declared sacrosanct by the Ariki (Chief), Horonuku te Heuheu Tukino IV, enacting a tuku (act of customary lore) of the three volcanic peaks to protect and preserve the mountains for Ngāti Tuwharetoa, other iwi (tribes) and all New Zealanders. An eruption in 1868 had formed the crater, which was named for a Māori woman of high rank who died around that time. Te Maari crater, Mt Tongariro (Te Papa, LS.004557) At 12.40 p.m. on 13 November 1896, Te Maari, a crater at the northern end of the Tongariro range, erupted spectacularly. Tongariro translates to ‘fire carried away’ or ‘seized by the cold south wind’. Mount Tongariro sits in the protected area of Tongariro National Park. The national park is a dual World Heritage Sitefor its outstanding natural and intangible cul… Ngatoroirangi, the eponymous ancestor of Ngāti Tuwharetoa ascended the great mountains of the Central Plateau over 30 generations ago. Mount Tongariro is a steep volcano with a height of 1,978 metres and consists of 12 cones. An eruption in 1868 had formed the crater, which was named for a Māori woman of high rank who died around that time. The natural past of Ruapehu was volcanic and violent, with a landscape marked by mountains, volcanos, peaks, rivers, craters and other natural formations. Perhaps you have a related experience you would like to share? Tell me more... 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Follow the cultural history of Ruapehu, from the early arrival of the Māori people, to the later colonisation by Europeans settlers. Tongariro – fire ‘carried away’ or ‘seized by the cold south wind’. In 1993, Tongariro National Park became the first area to be inscribed on the World Heritage List under the revised criteria describing cultural landscapes - the first in the world to be inscribed with Dual World Heritage classification, and by a country's indigenous people. An eruption in 1868 had formed the crater, which was named for a Māori woman of high rank who died around that time. Meet the NZHistory.net.nz team, Te Maari crater, Mt Tongariro (Te Papa, LS.004557). It was then that he named Tongariro and the many features of the surrounding landscape, declaring this area as home for his descendants. 'S oldest National Park was listed as a UNESCO world Heritage Sites rank who died around that time Park. 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