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Story: Canoeing and rafting

Exploring the Waikato River

Video file

Members of the New Zealand Canoe Association, formed in 1950, encounter the spectacular Whakaheke rapids on the Waikato River while exploring in rubber dinghies in 1957. During the late 1940s and the 1950s, surplus air force inflatable dinghies were used in waters that were inaccessible for canoes.

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Archives New Zealand – Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Reference: New Zealand Mirror 16. National Film Unit, 1957

Permission of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga must be obtained before any re-use of this material.

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How to cite this page

Nancy Swarbrick, Canoeing and rafting – Canoe clubs and competitions, 1920s–1960s, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/13081/exploring-the-waikato-river (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Nancy Swarbrick, published 2 March 2009, updated 18 July 2016.