Tënui, also spelled Tinui and formerly spelled Tenui, is a small village approximately 40 kilometres from Masterton, in the Wairarapa, New Zealand. The name comes from the MÃÂori words , cabbage tree, and , many.
Tënui, along with many New Zealand towns, held its first ANZAC Day commemoration on 25 April 1916. Tinui falsely claims to have been the first locality to have an ANZAC ceremony. For example in Invercargill. Southland Times 26 April 1916. âÂÂThe first anniversary of the historic landing of the Australasians on the Gallipoli Peninsula was celebrated in perfect weather and fully 5,000 people assembled in the afternoon at the rotunda to honour the occasion. The parade of returned soldiers, territorials and cadets was an imposing spectacle over 590 moving off the show ground for the march to the rotunda. The parade was headed by the 8th Regimental Rand, while the Southland Pipe Band, who are attached to the National Reserve, were also in attendance.âÂÂ. On 25 April 1916, the local vicar led an expedition to place a large cross to commemorate the dead on Tënui Taipo, a 360 m (1200 ft) high promontory behind the village. The original wooden cross was replaced by a metal one in 1965 and is a Category I Heritage New Zealand historic place. In 2006, the 90th anniversary was commemorated with a 21-gun salute fired by soldiers from Waiouru Army Camp. In 2009, the Air Force began promoting Tënui as an alternative to travelling to Gallipoli. Veterans' Affairs Minister Judith Collins said of the promotion: "I would be delighted to see Tënui become a place where people come to pay their respects and remember those who have fallen."
The Church of the Good Shepherd opened in 1902. The church has been moved from its original site, restored and ownership transferred from the Anglican Church to the Tënui and Castlepoint Community Trust.
Tënui has been flooded often, as it is situated on the river flats next to the confluence of the Whareama River and the Tënui River. The first recorded flood was in 1858, when water covered the river flats. In 1936, floods caused thousands of sheep to drown and floodwaters reached a depth of 450 mm inside the Tënui Hotel. The 1991 floods devastated the village when 200 mm of rain fell over a 24-hour period, and the river flooded again in July 1992.
The Tënui Hotel was relocated to Greytown in 2008 where it became a private residence.
Tënui is part of the Whareama statistical area.
Tënui School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students from the Mangapakeha, Tënui, Annedale, Tënui Valley, Whakataki, Castlepoint, and Mataikona areas. It has a roll of as of .