Manutuke: Māori Cultural Heritage and Wine Experience

Manutuke offers two distinctive highlights for trip planning: Māori cultural heritage at Manutūkē Marae and a winery tour with wine tastings. The local themes are clearly distinct: the wharenui Te Poho o Rukupō represents the heritage at the marae, while the Maori Battalion Hall has its own history as a dining hall and memorial venue. Advance booking is required for the tour at Wrights Vineyard and Winery.

Winery Tour by Prior Arrangement

Wrights Vineyard and Winery offers a tour of the winery and vineyards from its cellar door in Manutuke. The tour includes tastings from tanks and barrels. As advance booking is required, plan this activity ahead of time. The winery and café are located in the Manutuke Appellation – Coastal Vineyard. The tour and the named appellation are two distinct points of interest for trip planning: the tour as a specific experience, and the appellation as the name of the area where the winery and café are located.

Cultural Heritage at Manutūkē Marae

The wharenui Te Poho o Rukupō at Manutūkē Marae is one of the oldest meeting houses in Tāranga. It was extensively restored in the 1980s under the direction of Cliff Whiting. Another building with its own history is Te Poho o Hinehou. Shortly before the First World War, this wharenui was moved to Manutuke Marae and converted into a dining hall.

Maori Battalion Hall and Memorial History

During or immediately after the Second World War, the building was renamed Maori Battalion Hall and became the focal point for Rongowhakaata’s Anzac Day commemorations. The building’s former use as a dining hall and its later role in the commemorations therefore stand as distinct chapters in the same history.

Three rolls of honour are displayed in Maori Battalion Hall. The First World War roll, “Rarangi Onga Hoia Maori O Te Ropu O Turanga”, records 13 Māori soldiers from the Gisborne area who died in service and 89 soldiers who served. The Second World War roll, “Te Rarangi Ingoa Hoia Te Ropu O Manutuke”, names nine soldiers from the Manutuke area who died in service, as well as 48 soldiers who served. The entries relate to different wartime periods; the areas named should be distinguished as Gisborne and Manutuke.

Gisborne District: Regional Nature and Activity Highlights

The wider destination of Gisborne District offers additional, distinct route and nature highlights. The Rere Falls Trail is a 103-kilometre ride that takes one to three days, has a difficulty rating of 3, and connects with the Motu Trails. Check trail conditions before setting out. For a much shorter outing, there is a marked, wheelchair-accessible loop walk in Gray's Bush Scenic Reserve, which is listed as taking 15 to 20 minutes. Check trail conditions and accessibility again before visiting.

Gray's Bush preserves the only remaining example in the Gisborne Plains of the nationally rare Kahikatea-Puriri forest type. The reserve provides habitat for kererū; the rare North Island kākā visits seasonally. These nature highlights belong to the wider Gisborne District and complement Manutuke’s marae history and wine experience without being features of the town itself.

For the wider travel overview: Gisborne.