Travel Guide Waimate

Before the arrival of Europeans, the village of Te Waimatemate was located on the edge of the immense Totara forest. In Maori, Te Waimatemate means "slowly leaking water". Michael Studholme, who was the first European to settle on the site in 1854, had excellent contacts with Maori. This allowed him to buy land to Chief Te Huruhuru and quickly become the owner of an area of over 40 500 hectares he ran with his brother.In 1864, Waimate had only 300 inhabitants, but the installation of the first mills attracted a large number of workers to the 1878 disaster when the forest burned for eight consecutive days. The entire operation was destroyed: the forest, of course, but also the 5 sawmills, 70 houses of the European village and the Maori village. After this disaster, and despite all the efforts made, the activity never regained its original level. The city's economic activity is currently based mainly on dairy production, cattle farming and horticulture. Like most cities in the country, she also lives in tourism through the activities she proposes (hunting, fishing, hiking…).