Bulls, New Zealand

Bulls is a small town near Palmerston North on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is in a fertile farming area in the Rangitikei District at the junction of State Highways 1 and 3 about 135 kilometres (84 mi) north of Wellington. According to a June 2019 Statistics New Zealand estimate, Bulls has a population of 1,850 inhabitants.[1]

Bulls
Minor urban area
Bulls Town Hall
Bulls
Coordinates: 40°10′S 175°23′E
CountryNew Zealand
RegionManawatū-Whanganui
Territorial authorityRangitikei District
Government
 • MayorAndy Watson
 • MPIan McKelvie
Population
 (June 2019)[1]
 • Total1,850
Postcode(s)
4818

Recent marketing makes puns with the name, for example, "New Zealand gets its milk from Bulls" or the sign for the local police station "Const-a-bull".

Etymology
Wooden bull in Bulls

There are two recorded Māori toponyms for the area - Te Ara Taumaihi and Ō-hine-puhiawe. The origins of Te Ara Taumaihi have yet to be explicitly explored. Ō-hine-puhiawe, a land block where Parewahawaha marae is situated, acts as a synecdoche to refer to the current town area. The modern town name is named after James Bull who owned the first general store there. The town was originally called Bull Town, but this was changed to Clifton and then renamed back to Bulls at the urging of Sir William Fox.[2]

History and culture

The eastern end of the State Highway 1 bridge over the Rangitikei River south-east of the town collapsed suddenly in 1973 while being crossed by a bus. No-one was killed and the collapsed part was rebuilt.

The former Lake Alice Psychiatric hospital is 7 km (4 mi) north of Bulls, the hospital closed in 1999. Lake Alice was a large contributor to the Bulls and Marton economy.

The local Parewahawaha Marae is a traditional meeting ground for the Ngāti Raukawa hapū of Ngāti Parewahawaha.[3][4] It is on land known as Ohinepuhiawe.

The marae features the Parewahawaha meeting house, a whare tupana opened on the 15 April 1967 by Maori Queen Te Atairangikaahu. At the time it was opened, Te Rangi Pumamao was the rangatira at Parewahawaha. He had finished construction of the house, as previous builders had died.[5]

Government and politics

Local government
Main article: Rangitikei District Council

As part of the Rangitikei District, the current Mayor of Rangitikei since 2013 is Andy Watson.[6]

Bulls is the main town in the Southern ward of the Rangitikei District Council, which elects three of the eleven district councillors. The three councillors of the Southern ward are Brian Carter, Jane Dunn and Waru Panapa.[7] The mayor and councillors are all due for re-election in October 2022.[8]

National government

Bulls, like the rest of the Rangitikei District, is located in the general electorate of Rangitīkei and the Māori electorate of Te Tai Hauāuru.[9] Rangitīkei is a safe National Party seat since the 1938 election except for 1978–1984 when it was held by Bruce Beetham of the Social Credit Party. Since 2011 it is held by Ian McKelvie.[10]

Te Tai Hauāuru is a more unstable seat, having been held by three different parties since 1996, i.e. New Zealand First, the Māori Party and the Labour Party.[11] Since 2014 it is held by Adrian Rurawhe of the Labour Party.[12]

Military presence

Many Air Force personnel from RNZAF Base Ohakea live in Bulls. In recent years several defence houses have been sold to civilian buyers which has seen a steady decline of servicemen from the area, but a moderate presence remains nonetheless.

In 2017 it was announced that the Republic of Singapore Air Force is looking at establishing a permanent F-15 fighter jet training base at Ohakea with an estimated presence of 500 Singaporean personnel. Ohakea and surrounding areas such as Bulls and Feilding would see a significant increase in military families and personnel to the area. In December 2018 it was announced that this would no longer go ahead.[13]

In 2018 the incumbent government announced the purchase of four Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft for maritime surveillance. This announcement came with the news that the current New Zealand Defence Force unit responsible for maritime surveillance, No. 5 Squadron RNZAF, would be required to move to RNZAF Base Ohakea. This move would see a further increase in the number of service personnel living in the area. RNZAF is expected to take delivery of these aircraft in 2023.[14]

Education

Bulls has two co-educational state primary schools for Year 1-8 students.

Bulls School was established in 1867 and is the oldest school in Rangitkei;[15][16] it has a roll of 152 as of March 2020.[17]

Clifton School, which opened more recently on the southern end of the township,[18][19] has a roll of 179.[20]

Sister city

The town's sister city is Cowes, England.[21]

Notable people
gollark: The predictor can presumably just perfectly simulate the other agent.
gollark: * peptides/amino acids probably
gollark: It also carries things like proteins used for self-repair and building new things.
gollark: This is silly. The body is much more messy and complicated than human machines with actual design. Blood carries lots of "data" too in the form of hormones and immune system hardware.
gollark: Tiger Lake goes up to 96EUs, if I IIRC.

References
  1. "Subnational Population Estimates: At 30 June 2019". Statistics New Zealand. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
  2. Reed, A. W. (2002). The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names. Auckland: Reed Books. ISBN 0-7900-0761-4.
  3. "Te Kāhui Māngai directory". tkm.govt.nz. Te Puni Kōkiri.
  4. "Māori Maps". maorimaps.com. Te Potiki National Trust.
  5. "Extract from Te Ao Hou magazine about the opening of Parewahawaha Marae". Te Ao Hou. National Library of New Zealand.
  6. Wallis, Anna (14 October 2013). "Watson wins Rangitikei chain". Wanganui Chronicle – nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  7. "Councillors". Rangitikei District Council.
  8. "Local Electoral Act 2001". Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  9. "Find my Electorate". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  10. "Rangitīkei Electorate Profile". New Zealand Parliament. 30 September 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  11. "Te Tai Hauāuru Electorate Profile". New Zealand Parliament. 30 September 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  12. "Rurawhe, Adrian". New Zealand Parliament. 4 December 2015. Retrieved 18 May 2016.
  13. "Singapore F-15 base scrapped for Ohakea". Newsroom. 2018-12-21. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  14. "New Zealand to buy four P-8A Poseidon Maritime Patrol Aircraft". The Beehive. Retrieved 2019-11-27.
  15. "Bulls School Official School Website". bulls.school.nz.
  16. "Bulls School Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  17. "Bulls School Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.
  18. "Clifton School Official School Website". cliftonschool.co.nz.
  19. "Clifton School Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  20. "Clifton School Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.
  21. Easther, Elisabeth (13 December 2013). "Kia ora: Bulls". The New Zealand Herald.

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