Raglan is a small beachside town located 48 km west of Hamilton, New Zealand on State Highway 23. The population was 2,637 at the 2006 New Zealand Census.[1]
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The Raglan area has been inhabited for at least 800 years and was originally known by Māori as Whangaroa “the long pursuit”. To avoid confusion with another place of the same name, Whaingaroa was later adopted to avoid confusion. The current name of Raglan was adopted in 1858 in honour of Fitzroy Somerset, 1st Lord Raglan, who was the commander of British forces in the Crimean War at the time.
The first Europeans to settle in the area were the Rev James and Mary Wallis who were Wesleyan Missionaries that local Māori embraced and welcomed in 1835.[2] European settlement including large scale conversion of land to pasture commenced in earnest almost 20 years after the mission in the mid 1850’s after a large sale of land by Chief Wiremu Neera Te Awaitaia.
The local Raglan economy was supported initially by flax and timber exports, these were followed by farming and dairy which are still the mainstays of the area. Tourism and the arts are also significant contributors to the current economy. Raglan and District Museum contains historic artefacts and archives from the region. A new museum building was built in 2011.
The town was the scene for very public civil disobedience campaigns in the 1970s. During World War II the New Zealand Government took local ancestral land from indigenous Māori owners to construct a military airfield. When no longer required for defence purposes, part of the land, a 62-acre (250,000 m2) block, was not returned to the owners but became the public Raglan golf course.
There was widespread protest and attempts to reoccupy the land, and in 1978 20 Māori protesters were arrested on the ninth hole of the golf course. The land was eventually returned to the owners to become a focus for local job-training and employment programs, as well as for the Māori sovereignty movement.
Raglan is associated with Whaingaroa Harbour (also known as Raglan Harbour) on the west coast of the Waikato region in New Zealand's North Island. The harbour runs 12 km inland from the entrance, for the most part is less than 2 km wide, and is the northernmost of three large inlets in the Waikato coast.
Southwest of the township stands the extinct volcano of Mt Karioi. According to Māori legend the Karioi was a jilted Māori Princess who, upon discovering that love was lost, lay down and rests until this day.
The area is also home to the popular tourist destination, Bridal Veil Falls, which is located 20 kilometres southeast of the township.
Raglan is best known for its surf. Eight kilometres from the Raglan township is a series of surf breaks including Indicators, Whale Bay, Manu Bay, Vortex Bay. Manu Bay was featured in the 1966 movie The Endless Summer and in the 2010 movie Last Paradise.
Indicators is a left hand point break that breaks for up to 600m, from 2 to 10 feet+ (Hawaiian scale). It is a long-walled, fast wave with occasional barrels, particularly on the low tide. It picks up a lot of swell and is very consistent. On big days the wave can link up with the next break called Whale Bay.
Whale Bay is a left hand point break that breaks up to 200m in length, from about 2 to 8 feet+. It has two sections, an inside hollow section up to about 4 feet that breaks very close to the rocks, and an outside, slower section from 4 feet up. It has been rumoured by locals to link up with the next break further down-Manu Point-but only on very large swells, making a potential ride of up to 2 km from the top of Indicators, which locals say has only been achieved once.
Manu Point is a left hand point break which works from 2 to 10 feet+, breaking over 300m. It has alternate hollow and wall sections, occasional barrels, and is usually about 2/3 the size of Indicators.
Vortex Bay is a soft peak east of the boat ramp that sometimes breaks on low tide when the swell is too large for the main three points.
There is also a beach break further down from Manu Point. Ruapuke is another beach break well to the west around the point.
Raglan has hosted a world championship surfing event at Ruapuke beach and is home to a learn-to-surf school.
Visual artists hold regular exhibitions at the Raglan Old School Art Centre. Fabric artists show their creations in the biennial ArtoWear competition. There is also a Raglan Arts Trail Guide with an Open Studio Weekend in late January. For Matariki there are displays of Māori art. Local art is on display in the Show Off Gallery, Kanuka Design, Matapihi Gallery, local cafes and the Raglan Old School Arts Centre. The Arts Centre is in a 19th century heritage building, the former Raglan School.
There is a regular market on the second Sunday of every month at the Raglan Old School Arts Centre in Stewart Street. This Raglan Creative Market specialises in local crafts, food and art.
There's a live music scene in Raglan. The International Soundsplash Eco Reggae Festival ran yearly in summer on the Wainui Reserve, between 2001 and 2008, and attracted some of the biggest names in roots, reggae and dub, as well as local acts.
The main venue in Raglan for live music is the Yot Club, a regular stop for NZ musician's on national tours. There is also live music at the Orca Restaurant and Bar, the Harbourview Hotel, the Raglan Club and Vinnies Cafe.
The Musicians' Club have open-mic nights at the Orca Restaurant and Bar on the last Thursday of each month.
The New Zealand reggae bands Cornerstone Roots and Zionhill were formed in Raglan.
Musician Anna Coddington grew up in Raglan.
The Australian a cappella folk singer/songwriter Samantha Star lived in Raglan.
Recycling in Raglan is managed by a non-profit organization called Xtreme Waste. Xtreme Waste's stated goal is to create a waste management system for the Raglan/Whaingaroa community in which none of the waste is stored in landfills. The organization was founded in 2000, after Raglan's landfill closed and the town decided to find an alternative to transporting its waste elsewhere. Xtreme Waste has recycled an increasing volume and percentage of waste every year, and as of 2010, it diverts nearly three-quarters of the town's waste from reaching the landfill.[3] It operates a recycling center, which is open to the public[4] and offers group tours.[5]
Actor Antonio Te Maioha, who lives in Raglan, has publicly spoken about his own involvement and Raglan's leadership in recycling. He mentioned that Raglan is one of the few towns in New Zealand with recycling bins in the main street, and describes how people he knew became involved in recycling because of Xtreme Waste's programs.[6]