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Story: Volcanic Plateau region

The Waikato River at Taupō, 1880s

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The Waikato River at Taupō, 1880s

In the 1880s Tapuaeharuru, or Taupō, was little more than a scattering of houses on an open plain. The pou (post) in the foreground is adjacent to the Māori settlement of Nukuhau, across the Waikato River, which at this point begins its journey from Lake Taupō to the sea. In the middle distance is the Lake Hotel – a successor still occupies the same location on Tongariro Street. Tauhara mountain is in the distance.

Using this item

Alexander Turnbull Library, Burton Brothers Collection

Reference: PA1-o-088-11

by Burton Brothers

Permission of the Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa, must be obtained before any re-use of this image.

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How to cite this page

Malcolm McKinnon, Volcanic Plateau region – War and peace – the 19th century, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/15153/the-waikato-river-at-taupo-1880s (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Malcolm McKinnon, published 2 March 2009, updated 1 May 2015.