The Maori Legend of Volcanic Fire

When Te Arawa canoe landed on the coast at Maketu after a long sea voyage from Hawaiki, among those on board was Ngatoro-i-rang, a tohunga (priest) of extraordinary power. Ngatoro set off to explore the new country. He journeyed to Taupo and claimed the land.

Ngatoro then headed south, to the mountains at the far end of the lake. In order to assert his claim over the land, Ngatoro began to climb Mount Ngauruhoe. But he found a rival: Hape, a leader of one of the early peoples already living in the country was also looking to claim land and he attempted the climb as well. Ngatoro spoke to his gods who summoned up a snowstorm. Hape was destroyed but when Ngatoro reached the summit he and his slave were numb with cold. So Ngatoro called upon his sisters back in Hawaiki and asked for fire. The sisters heard him and came at once. Their fire still burns on the crater of Mt Ngauruhoe and in many other places they passed on the way, where thermal and volcanic activity exists today.

The Maori Legend of Tongariro National Park

Long ago, seven mountains stood close together around Lake Taupo. All were male except for the beautiful Pihanga. One night the men fought fiercely for her favours. There were violent eruptions, smoke and fire as the land trembled under the violent battle. In the morning Pihanga stood by the victor, Tongariro. Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu stood a respectable distance behind but Tauhara-unable to completely leave his love, sat smoldering at the northern end of the lake. Further north Putauaki slumped tired and defeated while Taranaki fled south along the Wanganui River to the shores of the Tasman Sea.

The Volcanic Origins of Lake Taupo

In 186 AD a series of nine volcanic eruptions culminated in the most violent eruption history has recorded. In a few short minutes 30 square km of poisonous ash, rocks, lava and pumice were emitted at speed of up to 900 km/hr, to a height of 50 km. Such was the extent of the volcanic fallout, even the ancient Romans and Chinese are reported to have experienced darkened skies. The debris was deposited some 30,000 square km wide to a depth of tens of metres thick in some places. The whole of the North Island was coated in a thick, toxic ash, which destroyed entire forests. Lake Taupo was formed in the crater left by the eruption and remains volcanically active (something you'll notice as you swim through pockets of much warmer water, heated by thermal activity in lake's depths). Today, at 359 m above sea level, the lake measures 616 square km and is 159 m at its deepest.

Early Maori Settlement

The legendary Nagtoroirangi led his people to Lake Taupo 700 years ago and Ngati Tuwharetoa became the dominant tribe of the area. Although the major volcanic eruptions were long over before the tribe arrived, they were left with a legacy of poor, ashy, soil. The winters were harsh and the lake proved to be a poor source of food. Remarkably, considering the Ngati Tuwharetoa's harsh subsistence on bush birds, plants and roots, they remained unconquered throughout a prolonged and violent history of intertribal warfare. Major pas (settlements) were situated at the southern, more fertile end of the lake at Pukawa, Te Rapa, Waitahnui and Motutere.

Peace was shattered during the Maori Wars, when in 1869, rebel leader, Te Kooti, approached the Ngati Tuwharetoa for help. Pursued by an advance guard of the Armed Constabulary scouting Taupo for a potential new HQ, Te Kooti and his men ambushed the soldiers at Opepe killing all but four. The graves of the 18 slain men can be seen at Opepe Graves walk. Te Kooti escaped capture, maintaining a lower profile in the King Country until he was pardoned in 1883.

Early European Settlement

Typically missionaries were among the first to have contact with Ngati Tuwharetoa, building churches and converting the Maori to Christianity. After an initial flurry of converts, the Maori became suspicious during the Maori Wars, believing the missionaries were plotting to destroy Maori ways and take tribal lands away.

Taupo as it stands today was founded in 1869 as an Armed Constabulary post, the Domain marking the site of the redoubt. Following an initial survey, the Government bought the land on which the town now stands. AC Baths marks the site of the original hot baths used by soldiers of the redoubt.

Taupo resisted development for the next fifty years or so. The roads were appalling and the township didn't even have an electricity supply until the early 1950s. Attempts to farm the land failed miserably due to a cobalt deficiency in the soil, which rendered it incapable of supporting livestock. It took masses of money and labour to clear and fertilise the land, and farming wasn't really possible until the 1950s.

The 1950s proved to be a boom time for Taupo. Farming flourished on the now lush pasture and the region's potential for forestry was finally realised. A geothermal power station was built, followed by numerous hydro-electric schemes. The first pine plantations matured in the 1960s creating a lucrative timber-processing industry. Improved roads and accommodation saw Taupo boom from a 700-strong sleepy outpost to the prosperous tourist Mecca it is today. Energy developments, forestry, farming and tourism remain the economic mainstays of Taupo today.