The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway.

Like several New Zealand urban areas, it was officially designated a city until an administrative reorganisation in 1989, and is now run by Whanganui District Council.

In the local dialect, Māori pronounce the wh in Whanganui as [ˀw], a voiced labial–velar approximant combined with a glottal stop,[7] but to non-locals the name sounds like "Wanganui" and is hard to reproduce.

[8] During a three-month consultation period, the Wanganui District Council was asked for its views and advised the Board that it opposed the change.

The pā named Pūtiki (a contraction of Pūtikiwharanui) was and is home to the Ngāti Tupoho hapū of the iwi Te Āti Haunui-a-Pāpārangi.

[26] It took its name from the legendary explorer Tamatea Pōkai Whenua, who sent a servant ashore to find flax for tying up his topknot (pūtiki).

[28] The first European traders arrived in 1831, followed in 1840 by missionaries Octavius Hadfield and Henry Williams who collected signatures for the Treaty of Waitangi.

It was not until the town had been established for eight years that agreements were finally reached between the colonials and local tribes, and some resentment continued (and still filters through to the present day).

[36] Perhaps Wanganui's biggest scandal happened in 1920, when Mayor Charles Mackay shot and wounded a young poet, Walter D'Arcy Cresswell, who had been blackmailing him over his homosexuality.

Mackay served seven years in prison and his name was erased from the town's civic monuments, while Cresswell (himself homosexual) was praised as a "wholesome-minded young man".

In 1995, Moutoa Gardens in Wanganui, known to local Māori as Pakaitore, were occupied for 79 days in a mainly peaceful protest by the Whanganui iwi over land claims.

In 2012, the Federated Farmers Whanganui president, Brian Doughty, said the district's temperate climate meant any type of farming was viable.

[49][50][51][52] Pacific Helmets is another example of award-winning niche manufacturing in the district, winning a Silver Pin at the Best Design Awards in October 2015.

It is the second-largest river in the North Island, the longest navigable waterway in the country, and runs for 290 km (180 mi) from the heights of Mount Tongariro to Wanganui's coast and the Tasman Sea.

Whanganui hapū (sub-tribes) were renowned for their canoeing skills and maintained extensive networks of weirs and fishing traps along the River.

[57] Today the river and its surrounds are used for a number of recreational activities, including kayaking, jet boating, tramping, cycling and camping.

The Whanganui District is also home to other settlements with small populations, including Kaitoke, Upokongaro, Kai Iwi/Mowhanau, Aberfeldy, Westmere, Pākaraka, Marybank, Okoia and Fordell.

[60] The Whanganui Regional Museum collection has been growing since the first items were displayed in Samuel Henry Drew's shop window in Victoria Avenue.

[70] These gardens are located 8 km (5.0 mi) northwest from Whanganui and are set on 25 ha (62 acres) in a relatively frost-free environment.

[71][72] They were founded in 1966 by Stanley and Blanche Bason[73] who gave their farm to the city council for the purpose of creating a botanical reserve.

[71] Bushy Park is a lowland rainforest remnant of approximately 100 ha (250 acres) located 8 km (5.0 mi) from Kai Iwi, north of Whanganui.

On 10 August 1966, a combined Wanganui and King Country team beat the British and Irish Lions 12 points to 6 at Spriggens Park.

In 2008, the Wanganui representative rugby team, under the captaincy of David Gower, won the NZRFU's Heartland Championship (Meads Cup) by defeating Mid Canterbury 27–12 in the final.

The rugby squad, including coach and management, was accorded the honour of 'Freedom of the City' by the Whanganui District Council – the first time the award had been given to any sporting team.

The 2009 representative team repeated this feat by regaining the Meads Cup – again defeating Mid Canterbury in the final by 34 points to 13 (after trailing nil-13 at halftime).

Unlike 2008, the 2009 did lose games (to Wellington, Wairarapa Bush and Mid Canterbury) but came good at the business end of the season.

On 27 January 1962, a world record time of 3 minutes 54.4 seconds for running the mile was set by Peter Snell on the grass track at the gardens.

Initially, the production of the Wanganui Chronicle was held back by a lack of equipment, meaning the first issue, dated 18 September 1856, was produced on a makeshift press, made by staff and pupils at the local industrial school.

[106] Television coverage reached Whanganui in 1963, after the Wharite Peak transmitter near Palmerston North was commissioned to relay Wellington's WNTV1 channel.

[107] Due to terrain blocking the Wharite signal to parts of the city, coverage was supplemented by a translator at Mount Jowett in Aramoho.