Wānaka

Wānaka (ˈwaːnaka) is a popular ski and summer resort town in the Otago region of the South Island of New Zealand. At the southern end of Lake Wānaka, it is at the start of the Clutha River/Mata-Au and is the gateway to Mount Aspiring National Park. Wānaka is primarily a resort town with both summer and winter seasons. Its economy is based on the many outdoor opportunities this offers. Historically, Māori visited the Wānaka area to hunt and fish in summer, or on their way to seek pounamu (greenstone) on the West Coast. Ngāi Tahu abandoned their seasonal camps after a raid by a North Island war party in 1836. The current town was founded as Pembroke during the gold rush of the 19th century, and renamed to Wanaka in 1940. Along with the rest of the Queenstown-Lakes District, Wānaka is growing rapidly, with the population increasing by 50% between 2005 and 2015. Wānaka is the South Island dialect pronunciation of wānanga, which means 'sacred knowledge or a place of learning'. The New Zealand Gazetteer cites the meaning as "the lore of the tohunga or priest". While the name could also be a variation of Ō-Anake or Ō-Anaka, a proper name, Ngāi Tahu's atlas Ka Huru Manu dismisses this variation as a simple spelling mistake. A Kāti Māmoe settlement at the site of modern Wānaka was Para karehu or Parakārehu. Take Kārara was a Kai Tahu kāinga nohoanga (settlement) at the southern end of Lake Wānaka, including Ruby Island. The town was named Wanaka when it was first surveyed in 1863, but renamed Pembroke within a month of the surveyor returning his books to Dunedin. Pembroke was the family name of the Hon Sydney Herbert, a UK Cabinet Minister and member of the Canterbury Association. The town's name reverted to Wanaka on 1 September 1940 to reduce confusion between the names of the town and the lake. The official name of the lake was updated from Lake Wanaka to Lake Wānaka in 2019, and the town to Wānaka in 2021. A Kāti Māmoe settlement at the site of modern Wānaka was named Para karehu. The area was invaded by the Ngāi Tahu in the early 18th century.