Levin is the largest town and seat of the Horowhenua District, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located east of Lake Horowhenua, around 95 km north of Wellington and 50 km southwest of Palmerston North.
Tokomaru Bay is a small beachside community on the remote East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is 91 km north of Gisborne, on State Highway 35, and close to Mount Hikurangi. The district was originally known as Toka-a-Namu, which refers to the abundance of sandflies. Over the years the name was altered to Tokomaru Bay.
Horowhenua District is a territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kāpiti, it stretches from slightly north of the town of Ōtaki in the south to just south of Himatangi in the north, and from the coast to the top of the Tararua Range. It is in the Manawatū-Whanganui local government region. The name Horowhenua is Māori for landslide.
Various Māori traditions recount how their ancestors set out from their homeland in waka hourua, large twin-hulled ocean-going canoes (waka). Some of these traditions name a homeland called Hawaiki.
In Māori tradition, Tokomaru was one of the great ocean-going canoes that were used in the migrations that settled New Zealand. It was commanded by Manaia. His brother-in-law had originally owned the canoe. When Manaia's wife was raped by a group of men, he slew them, including the chief Tupenu. Killing his brother-in-law, he took the Tokomaru and set sail with his family for New Zealand. Landing at Whangaparaoa, they finally settled at Taranaki. Te Āti Awa, Ngāti Mutunga, Ngāti Tama iwi trace their ancestry back to Tokomaru.
The Horowhenua-Kapiti Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in the Horowhenua and Kāpiti 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.
The Ngati Porou East Coast Rugby Football Union (NPEC) is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located on the East Coast of the North Island, based in Ruatoria. It is the smallest Union in New Zealand in the sense of player numbers and population base. Due to the high number of players from the Ngati Porou iwi, the team is often referred to as Ngati Porou East Coast.
Tokomaru is a small town in the district of Horowhenua, in the southwestern North Island of New Zealand. It is located 18 kilometres southwest of Palmerston North, and a similar distance northeast of Shannon. The Tokomaru railway station on the North Island Main Trunk was open from 1885 to 1982.
Te Aitanga-a-Hauiti is a Māori iwi (tribe) on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. Its rohe covers the area from Tawhiti-a-Paoa Tokomaru Bay to Te Toka-a-Taiau Gisborne on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand.
Horowhenua was a New Zealand parliamentary electorate, from 1978 to 1996.
Horowhenua Chronicle is a regional newspaper for the Horowhenua district, encompassing Foxton, Shannon, Tokomaru and Levin. It is owned by NZME and is delivered free to every home in the Horowhenua region on Fridays.
East Cape is a former New Zealand Parliamentary electorate, from 1978 to 1993.
The Mangahauini River is a river of the Gisborne Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally south from its origins southwest of Te Puia Springs, reaching the Pacific Ocean close to the settlement of Tokomaru Bay.
Waipiro Bay is a small coastal settlement in the Gisborne District on the East Coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The name also refers to the bay that the settlement is built on. It was named Waipiro by Chief Paoa, which translates literally to "putrid water", referring to the area's sulphuric properties. It is in the Waiapu ward, along with nearby towns Te Puia Springs, Tokomaru Bay, and Ruatoria. It is located 15 km (9 mi) south of Ruatoria, 77 km (48 mi) north-east of Gisborne, and 41 km (25 mi) south-west of the East Cape Lighthouse, the easternmost point of mainland New Zealand. By road, it is 103 km (64 mi) from Gisborne, and 231 km (144 mi) from Ōpōtiki. Waipiro Bay is governed by the Gisborne District Council, and is in the East Coast electorate.
Waiapu County was a county governed by the Waiapu County Council on the North Island of New Zealand from 1890 until the council was merged with other councils to form Gisborne District Council in 1989.
Tokomaru railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk. It served Tokomaru in Horowhenua District the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand.
Te Tau Ihu Māori are a group of Māori iwi in the upper South Island of New Zealand. It includes Ngāti Kuia, Rangitāne, Ngāti Tūmatakōkiri and Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Rārua and Ngāti Toa, and Ngāti Tama and Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui.
The Makerua Swamp is an area of the Opiki District of the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. In the early 20th century it was the location of flax mills that operated on the banks of the Manawatū River. Flax fibre from New Zealand flax or harekeke, was an important produce of New Zealand. The swamp covered about 5,800 ha.
The 1961 Queen's Birthday Honours in New Zealand, celebrating the official birthday of Elizabeth II, were appointments made by the Queen on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. They were announced on 10 June 1961.
