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, north of Masterton and 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 four banks, a post office, a supermarket, four schools (3 Primary, 1 Secondary), a volunteer fire brigade, and a public library.NameThere 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.HistoryTownshipThe 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.
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