Pahiatua is a rural service town in the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand with a population of 2,810. It is between Masterton and Woodville on State Highway 2 and along the Wairarapa Line railway, 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of Masterton and 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Palmerston North. It is usually regarded as being in the Northern Wairarapa. For local government purposes, since 1989 it has been in the Tararua District, which encompasses Eketahuna, Pahiatua, Woodvillle, Dannevirke, Norsewood and the far east of the Manawatū-Whanganui region.
The Wairarapa, a geographical region of New Zealand, lies in the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay Region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest. It is named after its largest lake, Lake Wairarapa.
The Tararua District is a district near the south-east corner of New Zealand's North Island that is administered by the Tararua District Council. It has a population of 19,050, and an area of 4,364.65 km². The Tararua District Council was created by the amalgamation of the Dannevirke Borough, Eketahuna County Council, Pahiatua Borough Council, Pahiatua County Council and Woodville District Council in the 1989 local government reforms.
Woodville, previously known as The Junction, is a small town in the southern North Island of New Zealand, 75 km north of Masterton and 25 km east of Palmerston North. The 2013 census showed that 1401 people reside in Woodville.
The Manawatu Rugby Football Union (MRU) is the governing body of the sport of rugby union in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.
The NZR RM class Standard railcars were a class of railcar operated by the New Zealand Railways Department (NZR) in the North Island of New Zealand. Officially classified as RM like all other railcar classes in New Zealand, they acquired the designation of "Standard" to differentiate them from other railcar classes. They were introduced in 1938 and withdrawn in 1972.
The National Provincial Championship, often simply called the NPC, was an annual promotion and relegation rugby union competition in men's domestic New Zealand rugby. First played during the 1976 season, it was the highest level of competition in New Zealand until Super Rugby launched in 1996. It was organised by New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and ceased following the 2005 season.
The Wairarapa-Bush Rugby Football Union is the body that regulates rugby union in Masterton, New Zealand. It was formed in 1971 with the amalgamation of the Wairapapa and Bush Unions.
The Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Horowhenua and Kapiti Coast districts in the Manawatū-Whanganui and Wellington regions. The union was established in 1893 as the Horowhenua Rugby Football Union and was changed to its current name of Horowhenua-Kapiti in 1997, in order to reflect the full extent of the union's districts.
Wairarapa is a New Zealand parliamentary electorate. It was first created in 1858 and existed until 1881. It was recreated in 1887 and has since existed continuously. In the early years, the electorate was for a time represented by two members. Wairarapa has been held by Kieran McAnulty since the 2020 election.
Sir Ethelbert Alfred Ransom was a New Zealand politician of the Liberal Party, then its successor the United Party, and from 1936, the National Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1928 to 1935 in the United Government, and was acting Prime Minister in 1930 and in 1935.
The Seventy Mile Bush was a heavily forested area of New Zealand extending from Wairarapa to Central Hawkes Bay and out to that coast. It was cleared and settled by Scandinavians, assisted immigrants in the 1870s. On arrival they walked from the surrounding coastal settlements to cut down the forest and clear the land for farming. The land was not as described to them. Without funds for a return passage they were obliged to remain.
The Rugby League Cup is a New Zealand rugby league trophy that is contested between districts on a challenge basis. The trophy used to be known as the Northern Union Challenge Cup.
State Highway 52 is a former state highway now reclassified Route 52. It runs from Waipukurau, to Masterton in the Wairarapa through Porangahau on the east coast and the Weber and Pongaroa hill country in the Tararua District on the lower eastern side of the North Island.
Thomas George Corkill was a New Zealand rugby union player who represented the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks in 1925. His position of choice was preferably a halfback however he was used throughout the backline both provincially and internationally.
Two 1942 Wairarapa earthquakes shook the lower North Island of New Zealand; on 24 June and 2 August. They were large and shallow with epicentres close together east of Masterton in the Wairarapa region. The June earthquake was sometimes referred to as the Masterton earthquake but both caused damage over a wide area, from Dannevirke and Eketahuna over to Whanganui and down to Otaki and Wellington. There was one death in Wellington, on 24 June.
John (Jack) Patrick Kirwan was a rugby union and rugby league player. He represented the Hawke's Bay province and Auckland in rugby union before switching to rugby league in 1924. He was selected for the New Zealand team in 1925 becoming Kiwi number 174 in the process. His grandson was also named John Kirwan and he went on to become a famous All Black in the 1980s and 90s before also switching to rugby league.
Clifford Allan Martin Satherley was a rugby league player who represented New Zealand in three test matches against Australia in 1935. In the process he became the 232nd player to represent New Zealand. Satherley also played for the North Island representative side along with Auckland. He played his club rugby league for Richmond Rovers and Mount Albert United. He also played representative rugby union for Auckland, Hawke's Bay, Bay of Plenty, and Waikato. His rugby union clubs were Manukau Rovers, Ponsonby, Marist Brothers Old Boys, Papamoa (BOP), Frankton Railway (Hamilton), and Technical Old Boys (Hamilton). He also played representative matches for the Te Puke and Hamilton sub-union representative sides.
Captain Walter "Wattie" Pukauae Barclay,MM, QSM, was a New Zealand rugby union player, sports administrator and military officer. He captained the New Zealand Māori Rugby Team and holds the record for the highest number of tries scored for the team with 40 career tries.
