Pongaroa

Pongaroa is a town in the Tararua District, in the southeast of the North Island of New Zealand, 110 kilometres southwest of Hastings and 200 kilometres northeast of Wellington. The nearest town is Pahiatua, 50 kilometres to the west. Popular Akitio Beach is 30 kilometres to the east. The township straddles Route 52, a road between Masterton and Waipukurau.

Pongaroa
Pongaroa Main Street, looking North
Coordinates: 40°33′S 176°11′E
CountryNew Zealand
RegionManawatū-Whanganui
Territorial authorityTararua District
Postcode
4991

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "tall tree fern" for Pongaroa.[1]

Pongaroa village has a population of about 100, with the surrounding farms bringing the total population to about 300. The area is serviced by Pongaroa School, Pongaroa Cafe and General Store, Pongaroa Hotel, and Pongaroa Farm Centre.[2] Pongaroa is also the location of the New Zealand Centre for Equine Psychology and Behaviour[3] and Wildside Farm environmental education retreat.[4]

Local volunteers have been responsible for the public toilets, the establishment of a freedom campsite, and improvements to the village centre.[5]

Historically, Pongaroa belonged in the northern Wairarapa area. At one time during the early settlement years in the latter half of the 19th century, the township was much larger: people expected that the Masterton-Napier Railway would run through Pongaroa. However, eventually the Wairarapa Line cut through Pahiatua (1897) and thus that township grew, whilst Pongaroa remained a farming community. Pongaroa became an administrative centre of Akitio County, which functioned between 1899 and 1976.[6]

Pāpāuma marae, a marae (tribal meeting ground) of the Rangitāne tribes and its Ngāti Mutuahi, Ngāti Pakapaka and Te Hika a Pāpāuma hapū (sub-tribes), is located in the Pangaoroa area.[7] It includes Te Aroha o Aohanga wharenui (meeting house), also known as Pāpāuma.[8]

Education

Pongaroa School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[9][10] with a roll of 52 as of March 2020.[11]

Notable people
gollark: That's more blueish. Turquoise, maybe.
gollark: The color corrected one looks pretty weird, I guess because it looks like you're not in water.
gollark: I said "[it] seems neat", not "yes I have definitely decided I want to do lots of this and go through a probably somewhat expensive certification/training thing".
gollark: Scuba diving seems neat. I'm doing a "discover scuba diving" thing next month (not sure exactly when, since I had my parents book it and forgot to ask...).
gollark: It looks low enough that mobile networks should still work, although in my experience you're meant to turn off phones for whatever reason.

References
  1. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  2. http://www.pongaroa.school.gen.nz
  3. http://www.herdword.co.nz
  4. http://www.wildsidefarm.co.nz
  5. http://www.pongaroathewaytogo.org.nz
  6. http://archivescentral.org.nz/agencies/topics/show/76757-akitio-county-council
  7. "Te Kāhui Māngai directory". tkm.govt.nz. Te Puni Kōkiri.
  8. "Māori Maps". maorimaps.com. Te Potiki National Trust.
  9. "Official School Website". pongaroa.school.nz.
  10. "Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  11. "Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.
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