Wharanui

{{Use New Zealand English|date=March 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Wharanui | image_skyline = St Oswalds, Wharanui.jpg | image_caption = Small Anglican Church St Oswalds, Wharanui | population_total = | population_as_of = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = New Zealand | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = [[Marlborough District|Marlborough]] | subdivision_type2 = Ward | subdivision_name2 = {{ubl|Wairau-Awatere General Ward|Marlborough Māori Ward}} | seat_type = [[New Zealand electorates|Electorates]] | seat = {{ubl|[[Kaikōura (electorate)|Kaikōura]]|[[Te Tai Tonga]] ([[Māori electorates|Māori]])}} | leader_title = Territorial Authority | leader_name = [[Marlborough District Council]] | leader_title1 = [[Mayor of Marlborough, New Zealand|Marlborough District Mayor]] | leader_name1 = {{NZ officeholder data|Marlborough District Mayor|y}} | leader_title2 = [[Kaikōura (electorate)|Kaikōura MP]] | leader_name2 = {{NZ officeholder data|Kaikōura MP|y}} | leader_title3 = [[Te Tai Tonga|Te Tai Tonga MP]] | leader_name3 = {{NZ officeholder data|Te Tai Tonga MP|y}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 7 | coordinates = {{coord|41|55|27|S|174|5|28|E|region:NZ|display=inline}} }} '''Wharanui''' is a small village located in [[Marlborough Region|Marlborough]] on the east coast of New Zealand's [[South Island]] between [[Ward, New Zealand|Ward]] and [[Kaikōura]]. [[New Zealand State Highway 1|State Highway 1]] and the [[Main North Line, New Zealand|Main North Line]] railway both pass through the village.

For over a decade, Wharanui was the southern [[Terminus station|terminus]] of a railway that ran from [[Picton, New Zealand|Picton]] south through [[Blenheim, New Zealand|Blenheim]]. The railway reached Wharanui by 1915. It was intended to continue the line southwards via [[Kaikōura]] to a line being built north from [[Christchurch]] that had its current terminus in [[Parnassus, New Zealand|Parnassus]], but [[World War I]] stopped construction and Wharanui remained the southern terminus of the isolated Blenheim section. Work south from Wharanui did not recommence until 1928, and delays caused by the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]] meant the line was not completed until 1945. Wharanui railway station is still in use today, primarily as the southern base for [[bank engine]]s used to help heavy trains on the line from Picton.

A small church is located in Wharanui, called [[Oswald of Northumbria|St Oswald]]'s Church. This was damaged in the [[2016 Kaikōura earthquake]]. Earthquake repair was complete by March 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://st-oswalds.weebly.com/repair-update.html|title= Final Push to Reopen Saint Oswald’s Church|publisher=St Oswald's Memorial Trust|date=10 March 2025}}</ref>

==External links== *[http://www.3dphoto.net/world/australia_pacific/south_island/north_coastal_road_church1.html Photo of St Oswald's Church in Wharanui]

[[Category:Populated places in the Marlborough District]]