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A panoramic view of Wanganui, New Zealand, from the top of the War Memorial Tower on Durie Hill. In the center is Wanganui City Bridge.
Small grocery shop (colloquially called a dairy in New Zealand) on the corner of Glasgow Street, in Whanganui. 2015
Hydroplanes on the Whanganui River
Photo by Georgwille
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OceaniaNew ZealandManawatu-Wanganui

Whanganui

Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand · Oceania

About Whanganui

Whanganui sits on the route: 35 minutes from Marton, 55km from Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon.

Whanganui is in Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand, with about 49,000 people. You drive on the left here. The nearest town is Marton, about 32 km away.

Whanganui, also spelt Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whanganui is the 19th most-populous urban area in New Zealand and the second-most-populous

Read more in Manawatū-Whanganui, with a population of 42,800 as of June 2025. Whanganui is the ancestral home of Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi and other Whanganui Māori tribes. The New Zealand Company began to settle the area in 1840, establishing its second settlement after Wellington. In the early years, most European settlers came via Wellington. Whanganui greatly expanded in the 1870s, and freezing works, woollen mills, phosphate works and wool stores were established in the town. Today, much of Whanganui's economy relates directly to the fertile and prosperous farming hinterland. Like several New Zealand urban areas, it was officially designated a city until an administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by Whanganui District Council. In 2021 it was added to the Design Cities (UNESCO), becoming the only city of design to be located in New Zealand.

Read more on Wikipedia

Where to Stay in Whanganui

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is there to see near Whanganui?

Within an hour or so of Whanganui: Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon (55 km).

Are there any good drives near Whanganui?

The nearest famous roads are Forgotten World Highway, Desert Road and Surf Highway 45.

Where is Whanganui?

Whanganui is in Manawatu-Wanganui, New Zealand, about 32 km from Marton.

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Quick Information

Population
49,200
Continent
Oceania
Country
New Zealand
Region
Manawatu-Wanganui
Timezone
Pacific/Auckland
Coordinates
-39.9333, 175.0500

Emergency & Services

Essential numbers in New Zealand

Police
111
Ambulance
111
Fire
111
Non-emergency police
105
Driving side
left

Many rural bridges are single-lane. Give way as signed.

Full driving guide for New Zealand

Tags

OceaniaNew ZealandManawatu-WanganuiTown

Worth the detour from Whanganui

1 notable place within an hour's drive.

racetrack

Manfeild: Circuit Chris Amon

A New Zealand circuit near Feilding renamed for Formula One driver Chris Amon, running since 1973 and a fixture of the Toyota Racing Series that launched several F1 careers.

55 km · about 65 min drive

Nearby Destinations

Other places to explore near Whanganui.

Palmerston North

🇳🇿 New Zealand

67 km awayPop. 90,500

Waikanae

🇳🇿 New Zealand

106 km awayPop. 13,600

Paraparaumu

🇳🇿 New Zealand

109 km awayPop. 29,900

Raumati Beach

🇳🇿 New Zealand

109 km awayPop. 5,390

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Data sources:GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)•Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA)•Mapbox•Photography: George Lawrence