Pahiatua () is a rural service town in the south-eastern North Island of New Zealand with a population of . It is between Masterton and Woodville on State Highway 2 and along the Wairarapa Line railway, north of Masterton and 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 Eketāhuna, Pahiatua, Woodvillle, Dannevirke, Norsewood and the far east of the Manawatū-Whanganui region.
History and culture
19th century
The Wellington Land Board decided in December 1880 to offer land in the Pahiatua Block for settlement. This consisted of , of which 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, had been cleared, several hundred heads 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.
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.
Naming of the town
The town was named by its founder, William Wilson McCardle. Pahiatua was already the name of the wider Pahiatua Block. When translated from Māori, Pahiatua can mean "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.
20th century
Historical population counts show a steady increase in the size of the town throughout most of the 20th century. Population 1886 1896 1906 1926 1945 1961 1975 Pahiatua 473 1158 1370 1477 1749 2578 2630
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. The 1934 Pahiatua earthquake was felt as far away as Auckland and Dunedin.
On 1 November 1944, 838 Polish refugees, of which 733 were children, were sent to a refugee camp about south of the town. The camp had been used as an internment camp for foreigners at the start of World War II. The camp even had a Polish elementary school (until 1949) and a Polish gymnasium (until 1946). The settlement was expected to be a temporary measure, but with the occupation of Central Europe, including Poland, by the Soviet Union and its subsequent imposition of communist regimes after the end of the war, the refugees stayed on at the camp until 1949 at which point they were naturalised.
In 1951, the camp was used for over 900 refugees from Central and Eastern Europe.
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. The local museum opened a new exhibit in 2017 to tell the story of the refugees' experience in New Zealand.
21st century
The estimated population of Pahiatua reached 2,760 in 1996, 2,660 in 2001, 2,547 in 2006, 2,403 in 2013, and 2,682 in 2018.
Average residential property prices increased 43% between 2005 and 2008.
Geography
Pahiatua covers an area of 3.86 km², all of it land.
Climate
Amenities
Marae
Pahiatua Marae, featuring Te Kohanga Whakawhaiti meeting house, is a traditional meeting place for Rangitāne and its Ngāti Hāmua and Te Kapuārangi sub-tribes. It includes Te Kohanga Whakawhaiti wharenui (meeting house).
Museums
Pahiatua & Districts Museum opened in 1977.
Pahiatua Railcar Society has been operating since 1991.
Demographics Stats NZ describes Pahiatua as a small urban area, which covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Pahiatua had a population of 2,838 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 156 people (5.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 435 people (18.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,353 males, 1,479 females, and 6 people of other genders in 1,098 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 39.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 624 people (22.0%) aged under 15 years, 447 (15.8%) aged 15 to 29, 1,179 (41.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 591 (20.8%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 86.9% European (Pākehā); 27.2% Māori; 3.3% Pasifika; 2.9% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.3%, Māori by 4.1%, Samoan by 0.5%, and other languages by 4.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.4% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.0, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 35.0% Christian, 0.2% Hindu, 0.7% Islam, 2.2% Māori religious beliefs, 0.1% Buddhist, 0.6% New Age, and 0.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 52.0%, and 8.8% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 267 (12.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,284 (58.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 666 (30.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $31,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 132 people (6.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 960 (43.4%) full-time, 267 (12.1%) part-time, and 60 (2.7%) unemployed.
Economy
The economy is based on support for sheep and beef farming and the dairy industry, with the Fonterra Dairy factory in Mangamutu and Tui Brewery in Mangatainoka, both located just outside the town. Other major employers include Betacraft and Sweet Foods, located in the town itself.
In 2018, 16.9% of the workforce worked in manufacturing, 5.8% worked in construction, 5.0% worked in hospitality, 3.4% worked in transport, 7.9% worked in education, and 9.8% worked in healthcare.
Government
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.
The settlement is now part of Tararua District (led by mayor ), the Wairarapa electorate (represented by ) and Ikaroa-Rāwhiti electorate (represented by ).
Transportation
As of 2018, among those who commute to work, 71.0% drove a car, 4.7% rode in a car, 2.9% use a bike, and 2.9% walk or run. No one commuted by public transport.
The town's public transport now consists of a single trip from Tuesday to Friday and on Sunday Masterton – Palmerston North and return bus service (with an extra service on Fridays) run by Tranzit Coachlines.
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.
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.
Healthcare
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.
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, after 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).