- Te Urewera
Te Urewera, often known as "The Ureweras", is an area of the central
North Island ofNew Zealand . Located in rough, sparsely populated hill country to the northeast ofLake Taupo , it is the spiritual home of theTuhoe , one of the most independent-minded and prominentMāori iwi .The heart of Te Urewera is located close to
Lake Waikaremoana , and much of the land is contained withinTe Urewera National Park . Other than the park, the main industry in the district is forestry, centred on the settlement ofMurupara . The area is fairly isolated as well as being sparsely populated, with only one major arterial road, the inland route from Napier toRotorua crossing it.The region's name is unusual, and has an intriguing (if painful) origin. Te Urewera means "The burnt penis", and is named for the tale of a Māori chief who died after rolling over in his sleep while lying too close to a camp fire.cite book | author=David Withers, with Paul Campbell | title=Tales from the Ruakituri Valley | year= 2007 | id=ISBN 9780473120955 | publisher= ]
Because of its isolation and dense forest, Te Urewera remained largely untouched by British colonists until the early 20th century; in the 1870s and 1880s it was still in effect under Maori control. As with the
King Country at the time, Te Urewera was an area fewPākehā were prepared to risk entering.cite book | author=Michael King | title=The Penguin History of New Zealand | year= 2003 | id=ISBN 0-14-301867-1 | publisher= Penguin Books ]References
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