The Māori settlement of Operiki was one of the larger on the Whanganui River, with a population of about 200. In 1848 the village was abandoned and a new one built in better agricultural land nearby at Otukopiri,[2] renamed Koriniti by the missionaryRichard Taylor, a Māoritransliteration of Corinth.[3]
Across the river from Koriniti, and reachable only by boat or cable car, is the Flying Fox lodge.[4]
Marae
The local marae (Māori meeting place) is known as Koriniti Marae or Otukopiri Marae.[1] It has three wharenui (meeting houses):[5] Hikurangi Wharerata; the original whare Te Waiherehere, restored by Hõri Pukehika in 1921;[6] and Poutama, moved across the river from Karatia (Galatia) in 1967.[3]
Ōperika pā, the original home of Ngāti Pamoana, is nearby.[3]
In the 19th century Māori at Koriniti raised £400 to build a flour mill, which was completed in 1854, the same year as the Kawana flour mill near Matahiwi.[7]: 108
In October 2020, the Government committed $287,183 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae, creating 19 jobs.[8]
^Church, Ian (30 October 2012). "Pukehika, Hori". The Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
^Young, David (1998). Woven by Water (2004 ed.). Wellington: Huia Publishers. ISBN0-908975-59-7.
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