Rātana near Whanganui: Village Guide to the Home of the Rātana Church

Last updated October 2026

Rātana, also known as Rātana Pā, is a small village in the Rangitikei District, southeast of Whanganui and between State Highway 3 and the coast. It is near Whanganui, not part of the city.

The settlement grew on the farm of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, founder of the Rātana faith and political movement, and it remains the headquarters of the Rātana Church.

Twin-towered temple buildings and a close cluster of whare give it a character unlike other settlements on this coast. Followers, known as morehu, still gather for the church’s anniversary services, and leading politicians often attend. For visitors, and for people thinking of living here, Rātana is a living religious community first.

Official Locality Facts

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About Rātana

Rātana sits on what was the farm of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, a property known as Waipu. In the 1920s, people who had come for his healing and teaching stayed, and a settlement of followers took shape around the farm.

The Rātana Church was formed in 1925. The village is still the centre of that church, and of a movement that has long mattered in both Māori religious life and national politics.

The defining building is Te Temepara Tapu o Ihoa, the Holy Temple of Jehovah. It was opened on 25 January 1928. Beside it, the church complex includes the Manuao, used as accommodation and as the church head office, and the Whare Māori, which holds crutches and wheelchairs left by people who were healed in the 1920s and 1930s.

A community hub holds church artefacts and stories, an ICT hub and a community radio station. Rangitikei District Council describes the village as one of the most recognisable in the district because of this architecture and the annual gatherings.

The two great days on the church calendar are 25 January, the birthday of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana (born in 1873), and 8 November, the date of his first spiritual vision in 1918. Thousands of morehu converge on the pā for those services.

The January gathering runs for about a week, with the temple service on 25 January as the high point. Members of Parliament commonly visit on 24 January. Outside those periods the village is quiet, residential, and surrounded by highly productive farmland. A tributary of nearby Lake Waipu runs through the pā.

It is a place people live, not a museum. The district spatial plan records about 120 whare, with community support for further papakāinga so people connected to the movement can live at the pā.

The settlement has reticulated drinking water and wastewater. There is no commercial zone, and daily life depends on Whanganui and Marton for secondary schooling, most shopping and many services. Visitors should treat the temple and the streets as part of a working community, especially when services or a hui are underway.

History and Heritage

The movement began in 1918, when Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana described a vision and started a mission of faith healing. Followers came from many iwi. The settlement that grew on his farm became the headquarters, and the church took institutional form in the mid-1920s.

The temple opening in 1928, led by Japanese bishop Juji Nakada, was treated by Rātana as the completion of his spiritual work. A street in the village, Juji Nakada Rise, still carries that name.

The political side of the movement is why the January hui draws national attention. From the 1930s, Rātana-aligned candidates held the Māori seats for long periods, and the annual visit by party leaders became a fixture of the political year.

The pā is not a single-iwi marae settlement in the usual sense. It is the home place of a pan-tribal church, which is why its buildings and gatherings matter well beyond Rangitikei.

There was once a railway station on the Marton to New Plymouth line, opened for goods in 1898. It closed on 7 December 1947, when the Turakina Deviation took the line away from the village. Road access along Rātana Road has been the link to State Highway 3 ever since.

Getting Around

The only road into the village is Rātana Road, which leaves State Highway 3 about 2 kilometres from the houses. That single access is put under pressure when thousands of people arrive for the anniversary services, so ordinary visits are easier outside those weeks.

Rangitikei District Council’s spatial plan records that residents rely on private vehicles and that there is no regular public transport into the settlement. InterCity coaches do stop at the Ratana Turn Off on the highway, which is the practical link for anyone arriving by long-distance bus and being met.

Whanganui is the nearest city for airport, hospital and larger shops, with Marton the nearer district centre to the east.

The council has identified a wish for better public transport toward Whanganui, Marton and Palmerston North, and for a walking and cycling link from the village to the highway junction. Those are aspirations in the spatial plan, not services to count on now.

In bad weather the community response plan notes that flooding, slips or fallen trees can cut the road, so it is worth checking conditions before a winter visit.

Community Facilities

Church buildings do most of the civic work of the village. The Manuao provides accommodation for gatherings, and local facilities also include a gym, an IT hub, a rugby field, public toilets and a playground the community has led the renewal of. There is support locally for a sports hub, but that is a community aim rather than a finished complex.

Te Kura o Ratana, on Kiatere Street, is the village school, teaching Years 1 to 8 in a setting tied to the church. Older students travel to secondary schools in Whanganui or Marton.

Rangitikei District Council runs a transfer station on Rātana Road, open on limited days, and the Rātana Community Board meets in the village, including at the Ture Tangata Office on Ihipera-Koria Street and the ICT hub on Taihauauru Street. There is a cemetery.

Shopping is minimal: the spatial plan notes two shops and no demand, at the time of that plan, for a commercial zone. Cafés and supermarkets are not part of a visit here. People come for the church, for whānau, or to live among morehu, and they go to Whanganui or Marton for the rest.

Where to Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Rātana part of Whanganui?
No. Rātana is a locality in the Rangitikei District, near Whanganui. It is governed by Rangitikei District Council, with its own community board, not by Whanganui District Council.

What is Rātana also called?
It is widely known as Rātana Pā, and Statistics New Zealand has also used the name Ratana Community. The official locality name is Rātana. The pā is the headquarters of the Rātana Church.

How do I get there?
Leave State Highway 3 at the Rātana turn-off and follow Rātana Road for about 2 kilometres. There is one road in. The nearest airport is Whanganui Airport, and long-distance coaches stop at the Ratana Turn Off rather than in the village.

When are the main gatherings?
The largest are 25 January, marking the birth of Tahupōtiki Wiremu Rātana, and 8 November, marking his first vision in 1918. The January observance lasts about a week. Expect heavy traffic on the single access road, and follow directions from church marshals.

Can I visit the temple?
Te Temepara Tapu o Ihoa is a working church at the centre of a living village, not a staffed tourist attraction with published opening hours. Everyday visitors should be respectful of residents and of any service underway. People attending anniversary services should take direction from the church.

Is there a school?
Yes. Te Kura o Ratana on Kiatere Street is a co-educational full primary for Years 1 to 8, linked to the Rātana Church. Secondary schooling is in Whanganui or Marton.

Where do residents shop?
The settlement has two local shops and no commercial zone. Supermarkets, most services and secondary schools are in Whanganui or Marton.

Is there public transport into the village?
No regular bus runs into Rātana. InterCity stops at the Ratana Turn Off on State Highway 3. A private vehicle, or a lift from that stop, is the practical way in.

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Explore Whanganui only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Rātana is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.