Ongarue () is a rural community in the

Ruapehu District Ruapehu District is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. It has an area of 6,734 square kilometers and the district's population in was . Features The district is landloc ...

and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It is located south of

Te Kūiti Te Kūiti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of New Zealand State Highway 3, State Highways 3 and New Zealand State Highway 30, 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk rail ...

and

Waimiha Waimiha is a rural community in the Ruapehu District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located south of Te Kūiti and Benneydale, and north of Taumarunui and Ongarue. History Māori have lived in Waimiha fo ...

, and north of

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

. It is in

meshblock Mesh blocks or meshblocks are a small geographic unit used in the census of several countries. New Zealand New Zealand's countrywide meshblock framework was first set up in 1976, although the term dates back to at least the 1916 census. The m ...

1041902, which had a population of 54 in 2013. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "place of shaking" (i.e. an earthquake) for ''Ōngarue''. Ongarue is on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. The

Ongarue railway station Ongarue railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ...

operated from 1901 to 1975. On 6 July 1923, south of the township, an express train hit a landslide; the resulting

Ongarue railway disaster The Ongarue railway disaster occurred on 6 July 1923 near the small settlement of Ongarue, near Taumarunui, North Island, New Zealand, when an overnight express ran into a landslip. Of the 200 passengers on board, 17 died and 28 were injured. ...

killed 17 people, at the time the worst loss of life on New Zealand's railway. It remains the country's third-worst railway disaster. The village formerly had an Ellis and Burnand

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

. From 1922 to 1958, the Ellis and Burnand Tramway, an extensive

bush tramway A bush tram and line-side log hauler owned by the Tamaki Sawmill Co., Raurimu. Photographed by Albert Percy Godber circa 1917. In New Zealand railway terminology, a bush tramway is an industrial tramway, most commonly used for logging. They ...

, served this mill and connected with the Main Trunk railway.John Yonge (ed.), ''New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas'', 4th ed. (Exeter: Quail Map Company, 1993

965 Year 965 ( CMLXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Emperor Nikephoros II conquers the fortress cities of Tarsus and Mopsuestia. The Muslim resid ...

, map 8b. Much of the tramway's alignment is now the Timber Trail cycleway; Ongarue is at the lower end of the route.

Marae

The area has two local

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

: * Te Kōura Marae and Te Karohirohi meeting house is affiliated with the

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on th ...

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

of Pahere, and with Te Āwhitu. * Te Rongaroa Marae and Ko Uehaeroa meeting house are affiliated with the

hapū of Raerae and Rōrā.

Education

Ongarue School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

References

Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui Ruapehu District {{ManawatuWanganui-geo-stub