Tokoroa

Story

Tokoroa is the fifth-largest town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand and largest settlement in the South Waikato District. Located 30 km southwest of Rotorua, close to the foot of the Mamaku Ranges, it is midway between Taupo and Hamilton on State Highway One. Its 2006 census population was 13,600, a significant decline from the 2001 figure of 14,950. Other notable South Waikato towns and settlements are Putaruru, Tirau and Arapuni.HistoryEarly historyIt is traditionally recorded that one of the great fighting chiefs of the Ngati Kahupungapunga, Tokoroa by name, was slain by Ngati Raukawa during the siege of Pōhaturoa, a volcanic plug adjacent to Atiamuri, 27 km south of Tokoroa on the main Taupo highway. It is possible that some early surveyor applied the name Tokoroa as a tribute to the old chief's memory. The name Tokoroa first appeared on the early maps of the 1860s, although this was for an area 50 km north east of today's Tokoroa.Foundations, Growth & DeclineTokoroa is one of the most recent towns in New Zealand history. The township was established (circa) 1917 by the Matarawa Land Company as a potential farming area; although a few families had already settled in the area after 1910, and a school with 9 pupils was founded in 1915 (later to become Tokoroa East School). The land was found to be too poor for raising cattle or sheep due to its predominant pumice soils. However, agricultural science showed the land could actually be made to successfully support dairy cattle. The soil had serious deficiencies causing livestock to suffer from what became known as "bush sickness" (later found to be cobalt deficiency). In the 1930s, the deficiency was addressed, and subsequently, cattle farming then became profitable.