The Taniwha of Meremere
When a New Zealand highway was planned through a swamp, local Māori warned it would disturb a one-eyed guardian. The road was moved.
What was reported
In Māori tradition, taniwha are powerful beings that live in rivers, lakes and the sea. Some are guardians of a tribe or a place; others are dangerous. They are often described as giant reptiles, sharks or eels.
In 2002, the local Ngāti Naho people told the transport authority that a planned stretch of State Highway 1 at Meremere would disturb the home of Karu Tahi, a one-eyed taniwha, in a swamp beside the Waikato River. The road was redesigned to avoid the swamp.
Explanations offered
The taniwha is a figure of Māori belief. The redesign also had practical value: in 2004, the Waikato River flooded the swamp, which would have threatened the original route. Some engineers have since pointed to the case as an example of local knowledge about the land.
- When
- Told for generations; road changed in 2002
- Where
- Meremere, Waikato, New Zealand
- Witnesses
- Ngāti Naho; road engineers
- Status
- Legend
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.