Wanganui

Wanganui is the name of a town and of a district.

The town lies on the South Taranaki Bight at the mouth of New Zealand's longest navigable river, the Wanganui or Whanganui River. In the early part of the 20th century it was the fifth-largest city in the country, but its rate of growth was unable to keep it in that position.

In the 1989 reorganisation of local government, the city was merged with adjoining rural areas to become Wanganui District. The urban area has about 39,000 people, with an additional 4,500 in the rural areas in localities such as Whangaehu, Fordell, Mangamahu, Kakatahi, Brunswick, Koriniti, Ranana, Jerusalem, Kai Iwi, and Maxwell.

The athletic track at Cook's Gardens saw a world mile record set by Peter Snell on 27 January 1962.

In 1995, Moutua Gardens near the riverbank became a centre of a controversial occupation involving Ken Mair.