Taihape great little town, boots and all

An afternoon beer with the boys in the gumboot town's Gretna Hotel is John Eagles' favourite time. Photo / Christine Cornege

Many locals came for a brief stay then found they just couldn’t bear to leave

John Eagles has been drinking at the Gretna Hotel for nearly 60 years after moving to Taihape, a place that he'll likely never leave.

The 77-year-old tells the Herald that he left Feilding in 1956 to work as a livestock agent in the Rangitikei town that for the past 30 years has called itself The Gumboot Capital of the World.

"It's just beautiful, everyone says hello to everyone as they walk up the street," says Mr Eagles as he enjoys a quiet afternoon beer with a handful of locals that include timber workers and a farmer.

"I came here as a young man and I've never left."

It's hard to argue with him.

Taihape is dotted with boutique cafes and shops and locals say its many stunning heritage buildings are more likely to be knocked over by bureaucracy than earthquakes.

It's a place with clean air and where the picturesque Hautapu and Mangaweka rivers flow to the south and Mt Ruapehu stands in the north.

So why a town would want to have a gumboot as its icon is anyone's guess but the locals have been keen on the idea since 1985 when the community held its first Gumboot Day event as the then Government slashed agricultural subsidies and the town's once booming railway industry began its decline.

Liz Mortland, of the Taihape Community Development Trust says the community wanted an event that would stop traffic and see outsiders spend money at local stores.

Taihape, like many other small rural towns throughout New Zealand, has struggled, but the annual gumboot event attracts about 3000 people, giving the local economy a much-needed boost.

In 2001 the population was 1803 but last year's census showed that number had dropped to 1509 - a 16 per cent decline.

In recent years the Overlander train stopped collecting or dropping off passengers there and the town has lost its resthome and hospital.

But those who remain there are proud of its community spirit, parochial even.

"It's a wonderful place," says Ms Mortland, who hopes more businesses will consider moving to the town.

"The way things are with ultrafast broadband anyone can set up business here now. The overhead costs here are so much lower and house prices are very affordable. There are some beautiful character homes here."

Later we spot a four-bedroom home in town that costs $130,000.

Among the newcomers to Taihape is Ariana Hansen, whose Lotto shop Spaceys on the town's main street has sold nine first division winners and a $250,000 scratchie winner.

"I came down here for a year from Hamilton to work in my aunty's restaurant - I've now been here for 23 years," says Mrs Hansen, who came second at last year's popular gumboot-throwing competition.

Mrs Hansen threw a gumboot about 24m and will head to the New Zealand Rural Games as part of a North Island team. "They said you've got to hold it in the front and you go like that," she says, showing a discus-like motion - and you just throw it. "I won $100 for coming second. I think the winner got about $300. It was a bit sad because the sponsorship was down."

Back at the Gretna we chat with bartender Karen Witika-Black, who succumbed to the town's charms when she got off a Feilding-bound train in 1979.

Ms Witika-Black, originally from the Waikato, worked in shearing sheds for years around Taihape before settling in to her job at the 109-year-old pub.

"My younger sister came down and she stayed and my dad came down and he stayed too. It used to be a booming little place with the train station and so many more people here. It's changed but it's still a lovely place."

Things you didn't know about Taihape

Photo / Wanganui Chronicle

Icon: Giant corrugated-iron gumboot
Population: 1509
Distance from Auckland: 419km
Famous locals: Fred Dagg came from Taihape, as did Moke Bellis, one of the first All Blacks. Morton Coutts, of Coutts beer, was a local and began the Main Trunk Brewery.
Interesting fact about Taihape: Mr Coutts also set up a wireless link between Taihape and San Francisco in 1924.