Pahiatua

Pahiatua is a rural service town in the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand with an urban and rural population of over 4,000. It is between Masterton and Woodville on State Highway 2 and the Wairarapa Line railway, 60 km north of Masterton and 30 km east of Palmerston North. It is usually regarded as being in the Northern Wairarapa, but for local government purposes it is in the Tararua District, which encompasses Eketahuna, Pahiatua, Woodville and Dannevirke.

Unusually for a town of its size Pahiatua has retained several amenities that were lost to similar towns around New Zealand in the 1980s and 1990s, in particular banking, postal services, and a cinema. The town is served by three banks, a post office, a supermarket, four schools (3 Primary, 1 Secondary), a volunteer fire brigade, and a public library.

Name
There are conflicting accounts of how the town acquired its name. When translated from Māori, the name Pahiatua means "god's resting place". The explanation accompanying this translation is that a chief fleeing from his enemies was led by his war god to this hill to seek refuge. However, the town's founder, William Wilson McCardle, claims to have given it its name.

Township
The Wellington Land Board decided in December 1880 to offer land in the Pahiatua Block for settlement. This consisted of 12000 acre, of which 3000 acre was offered on a deferred payment basis. Applications for the land closed in February the following year, but there seems to have been little interest at first. Sales of land from the original offer continued over the next few years.

The Pahiatua village was not a settlement initiated by the government, but rather one that had its origin in land speculation. Several subdivisions were established by private landholders including W. W. McCardle, H. Manns, A. W. and Henry Sedcole, and W. Wakeman. It is claimed that the first settlers were John Hall who arrived on 28 February 1881, followed by John Hughes the next day. These men, plus the brothers of Hughes and their families, comprised Pahiatua's population the first summer. Precisely when the town of Pahiatua came into being is not clear as it has not been established when McCardle's first land sale took place. However, by the summer of 1883 he was advertising grassed suburban sections, "improved" acres, and other unimproved lots. In November 1885 he sought to dispose of a large portion of one of his subdivisions at an auction in Napier.

Development of the land quickly produced results, and by August 1883 5000 acre had been cleared, several hundred head of cattle were being grazed, and the population stood at 150. The efforts of the early settlers were sufficient to attract storekeepers and even a hotel.

The government belatedly decided to get involved and agreed to survey a township reserve in December 1882. They later changed their minds and postponed any decision, citing the need to wait for the final determination of the route of the railway. The settlers, also desirous of being close to the railway to improve land values, made strenuous efforts to have the line run through the town, but like their southern counterparts in Greytown, were ultimately unsuccessful. The legacy of this plan can be seen today in the unusual width of Pahiatua's Main Street which was designed to accommodate the railway down the centre. The intended railway reserve became a grassed median after it was decided to build the railway line to the west of the town.

Refugees
On 1 November 1944 838 Polish refugees, of which 733 were children, were sent to a refugee camp about 2 km south of the town. The camp had been used as an internment camp for foreigners at the start of World War II. The settlement was expected to be a temporary measure, but with the rise of communism in eastern Europe after the end of the war, the refugees stayed on at the camp until 1949 at which point they were naturalised. In 2004 the New Zealand Polish community celebrated its 60th anniversary and the 65th anniversary celebrations were held in 2009 at which former Polish president Lech Wałęsa was to have been the guest of honour. Photo of Jubilee committee

In 1951 the camp was used for over 900 refugees from Eastern Europe, see SS Goya.

Hospital
Pahiatua had its own hospital, located on a site at the southern end of the town, since 1902. In November 1997 the hospital, then under the jurisdiction of Palmerston North-based Mid Central Health, was informed that it would soon close as the Health Funding Authority could no longer afford to keep it open. This was despite numerous assurances given to the town from 1992 by successive health authorities that the hospital was in no danger of being closed. The closure date was set at 30 June 1998, by which time the only services offered by the hospital were an x-ray department, maternity, a general ward, and geriatric, palliative, convalescent, and rehabilitation care. However, part of the complex remained open until the last patients could be relocated to a new facility at Waireka Home that was still under construction.

Politics
The residents of Pahiatua were politically active from early on, advocating for their own Roads Board around June 1883. By August 1886 Pahiatua had gained town district status and only two years later, in October 1888, the Pahiatua County Council was established. The town was constituted as a borough on 25 July 1892. The council remained the political master of the town and surrounding area until the local government reforms of 1989 merged the town into the Tararua District Council.

At central government level, Pahiatua was located in the Wairarapa seat until 1881, at which point the electorate was split into Wairarapa North and Wairarapa South (later to become Masterton and Wairarapa respectively in 1887). Part of the Masterton seat was divided off into the new Pahiatua seat in 1896 which remained the political home of Pahiatua until the electorate was amalgamated with the Wairarapa seat in 1996.

Natural disasters
Pahiatua was the location of one of New Zealand's most powerful earthquakes when on 5 March 1934 a magnitude 7.6 quake struck at Horoeka. It was felt as far away as Auckland and Dunedin.



Demographics
Historical population counts show a steady increase in the size of the town throughout most of the 20th century.

, Pahiatua had a resident population of 2,412 residents in 990 dwellings. This was a decrease of 147 people since the previous census. Of these, 1,089 were male and 1,320 were female, while 20.9% were aged 65 or over and 22.1% were aged under 15 years.

The ethnic composition of the population was European, 86.0%; Māori, 21.5%; Pacific Islanders, 1.8%; Asian, 2.4%; Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, 0.3; Other, 2.6%.



Economy
The economy is based on support for sheep and beef farming and the dairy industry with the Fonterra Dairy factory and Tui Brewery both located on the outskirts of the town.

Transportation
An electric tramway system was considered for Pahiatua but never constructed.

Rail transport to Pahiatua was available from 3 May 1897 when the town's railway station opened, marking the completion of the Wairarapa Line as far north as the town. The line was completed through to Pahiatua's northern neighbour, Woodville, several months later on 11 December 1897. Improvements made to the region's road network in the latter half of the 20th century led to a decline in the popularity of rail for public transport. The service was finally withdrawn in 1988 when the last passenger train between Palmerston North and Masterton stopped at Pahiatua on Friday, 29 July.

The town's public transport now consists of a single daily Masterton – Palmerston North and return bus service (with an extra service on Fridays) run by Tranzit Coachlines.

Healthcare
Healthcare in Pahiatua used to be provided via private doctor's clinics and the town's hospital. Following the closure of the hospital in 1998, hospital-level care has been provided at Palmerston North hospital as the town is in the jurisdiction of Mid Central Health.

Also subsequent to the closing of the town's hospital was the establishment of the Pahiatua Medical Centre which now dispenses general practice health care to the town's residents and, via outreach clinics, to residents of Eketahuna and Woodville. It is run by the Tararua PHO (Primary Health Organisation).

The old Pahiatua hospital complex has been refurbished and converted into a private conference and accommodation business called Masters Hall.

Telephone
The area code for Pahiatua is 06 as for telecommunications purposes it is part of the Manawatu-Wairarapa-Hawkes Bay region in the lower North Island. Local numbers generally begin with 376, with the next digit being 0, 6, 7 or 8.

Internet
Broadband internet is available to customers in Pahiatua using Digital Subscriber Line technology. Incumbent telecommunications operator Telecom is planning to upgrade their infrastructure in Pahiatua, which will improve the delivery of broadband internet services, by October 2011.

The Tararua District Council formed an alliance with the telecommunications companies Inspire Net, Inspired Networks, Digital Nation and FX Networks to link the four major towns in its jurisdiction to Palmerston North with a fibre optic cable. The link between Palmerston North and Pahiatua was expected to go live on 31 July 2008. The service is now available to some rural residents and urban customers.

Tararua College is one of 14 schools nationwide set to become the first to benefit from the government's broadband in schools initiative. Funding of $34 million has been allocated for the programme, of which the schools will receive $5 million for upgrades to their information technology equipment.



Television
Free-to-air television broadcasts are available in Pahiatua, including the major national channels offered by TVNZ and Prime from Sky Television. Also available is digital television from both Sky Television (via satellite) and Freeview (either via UHF terrestrial broadcasts or by satellite).

Pahiatua is the home of regional television station Tararua Television. The founders Hart Udy and Jonathan McLean had a vision to broadcast free-to-air family-friendly television programs and the vision came to life. The channel began in a studio at Tararua College in 2004 and officially opened by Martin Matthews CEO of Culture and Heritage. The studio then moved to Pahiatua Christian Fellowship where they produced their first live program, celebrating their first birthday. At that time, TTV was broadcasting to an audience of approximately 5,000 in Pahiatua and Woodville. A local fund-raising effort enabled the station to increase its coverage to Palmerston North, Foxton, Bulls, Marton, Feilding and Ashhurst and a ceremony to mark the occasion was held on 1 May 2008. With the switch off of analogue television services within the Manawatu-Whanganui Region on 29 September 2013 and to ensure business continuity, Tararua Television has secured resource consent and licensing to broadcast on DTV27 via Freeview from its own stand-alone transmission site on Wharite capturing a potential primary audience in excess of 133,000 throughout the Manawatu-Whanganui Region predominantly in the Manawatu, Horowhenua, Rangitikei and Tararua districts. From small beginnings Tararua Television continually strives to succeed and grow within an environment dominated by mainstream television and today is a force to be reckoned with. Locally owned and operated Tararua Television provides an alternative viewing platform of locally produced community-focused and family-safe television programmes from throughout the region that involve the community yet are non-judgmental. Tararua Television is a member of the Regional Broadcasters Association (RTB) and is the only regional television station between Nelson in the south to Hawke's Bay in the East and Central TV Matamata in the North.

Education
There are three primary schools in Pahiatua serving the education needs of students from years 1 to 8. One of these schools, St. Anthony's School, is state-integrated while the other two, Hillcrest School and Pahiatua School, are state schools. Tararua College, which was founded in 1960, is based in Pahiatua and is the main provider of secondary education in the area.

A consultation document proposing the reorganisation of educational facilities in the Tararua District was released by the Bush Education Plan working group in July 2009. Amongst its recommendations was the closure of several schools in the district, such as Hillcrest School, and for their rolls to be merged into other schools such as Pahiatua School. The plan was scrapped a month later when the working group was dissolved after a vitriolic response from local residents and a statement from the Minister of Education that she had no plans to close any schools in the region against the wishes of the local community.

Culture & community
In 1981 Pahiatua celebrated its centennial with a weekend full of historical events, and in 2006 its 125th anniversary with a grand parade of 125 floats, vehicles and horses.

Pahiatua is the home of the Pahiatua Railcar Society, a non-profit railway heritage organisation based at the town's railway station, whose purpose is to preserve and restore to working order railcars formerly in revenue service on New Zealand's railway network. Some of the notable vehicles in their collection include a Standard class railcar (RM31), a Wairarapa class railcar (RM5), and a Twin Set railcar (RM121). The society leases the railway station from KiwiRail and opens their museum to the public once a month.

Fonterra's Pahiatua dairy factory, a manufacturer of milk products and milk powder for local and export markets, is a significant employer in the area. Other major employers include Betacraft and the Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka.

Pahiatua is one of several northern-Wairarapa towns to have experienced an increase in popularity as a place to live as evidenced by a 43% increase in average residential property prices between 2005 and 2008.