Himatangi Town History

We talked with our tutors today and expanded our idea to include not only an entrance way but also point of interest around town to tie the experience of Himatangi together. These points, whatever form they take, could tell people about the history of the area and the people who live there.

Here are some of the facts I found through researching Himatangi:

• Originally settled by the Rangitane people
• Matangi, the Maori chief who fished up and killed a taniwha
• Middens - piles of discarded shellfish shells left by the Maori who travelled to the coast seasonally to fish.
• The changing shoreline over time
• Driving on the beach
• Largest dunes in New Zealand
• Man-built stream (now deemed a 'proper' natural stream)
• Lots of driftwood
• Lots of whitebaiting when in season
• At one point, the dunes were so big they threatened houses, so the army had to come in to move a lot of the sand away.
• 14/16 of the streets have Maori names of significance (there's also Barling Street, names after Srgt Barling who owned the first store in Himatangi.)