Tongariro National Park
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How it came to be
For Māori the volcanoes Tongariro, Ngauruhoe and Ruapehu have cultural and religious significance, and some regard them as ancestors. Ngāti Tūwharetoa oral history tells that their ancestor Ngātoro-i-rangi climbed the volcanoes about 30 generations ago, named features including Tongariro, and claimed the area for his descendants.
On 23 September 1887 the Ngāti Tūwharetoa chief Te Heuheu Tūkino IV, Horonuku, conveyed the peaks of Tongariro and Ngauruhoe and part of Ruapehu to the Crown on condition that a protected area be created. The gift of about 2,640 hectares was too small for a park, so more land was acquired. Parliament passed the Tongariro National Park Act in October 1894, and the purchases were complete by 1907. It is the oldest national park in New Zealand.
The 95-bedroom Chateau Tongariro opened in 1929 and closed in 2023 because of earthquake risk. The park was inscribed for its natural values in 1990, and in 1993 it became the first property inscribed under the revised criteria for cultural landscapes. It now covers 795.96 square kilometres.
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