Moutoa Gardens in Whanganui is a relatively modest public reserve on Taupo Quay by the river, immediately to the east of Pukenamu Queens Park. Somewhat unusual in NZ, it has a prominent monument celebrating victories by colonial Europeans and Māori allies over various rebel groups around the region.
The larger bronze cast monument commemorating Pūtiki chief Te Keepa Te Rangihiwinui (‘Major Kemp’) comes complete with detailed battle descriptions of four of his battles. The smaller monument commemorates allied Māori who died in the battle of Moutoa Island on the Whanganui River in 1864, which purportedly saved the colonial town from a rebel attack. This statue was the first war memorial in Aotearoa NZ (1865) and is subject to continuing local debate regarding its presence and message.
The Gardens were the centre of a major Māori land rights protest in the mid-1990s, during which the statue of colonial prime minister John Balance was beheaded. Now, just the base survives. One of the outcomes of the protest was the renaming of Wanganui to Whanganui (both are still accepted). In addition, the pre-colonial heritage of the site as Pākaitore Pā has now been recognised.
On a lighter note, there are several beautiful mature pōhutukawa trees around the park and a lovely statue of a girl and her younger brother.
