Bus tour will showcase Waipa district
Discovering the history of Waipa has become as easy as jumping on a bus.
Council is offering two free Waipa Discovery Tours in early November to help locals understand the district’s history and its wider place in the history of the country.
A growing interest in the history of Waipa and its role in the New Zealand Land Wars of the 1860s has prompted council to offer the tours.
The bus tours will highlight battles that occurred in Waipa, including the Waiari and ra¯kau battles and the Hingakaka intertribal battle.
‘‘Waipa has a very rich history and we have important stories to be told,’’ Waipa District Council heritage manager Tony Roxburgh said.
‘‘We have some very significant battles that took place in Waipa like Hingakaka, Ma¯takitaki and Taumatawiwi and later the land war battles of Orakau.
‘‘As a council, we have legal obligations to conserve and manage our heritage and offering some one-off bus tours is one way to do that.’’
Requests for education around the district’s history filter in ad hoc via the district’s museums and schools, Roxburgh said.
‘‘This is one way we can invest in our heritage, as we’re obliged to do, and at the same time help