Country New Zealand Territorial authority Electorate Wairarapa Local time Wednesday 9:53 AM | Region Manawatu-Wanganui Ward South Tararua Time zone NZST (UTC+12) Area code 06 | |
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Weather 13°C, Wind SE at 35 km/h, 75% Humidity Neighborhoods Nireaha, Newman, Hastwell, Hukanui | ||
Eketahuna is a small rural service town, the most southerly in the Tararua District in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand, but is considered to be in northern Wairarapa. It was called Mellenskov, but was renamed soon after its founding. The 2013 census recorded Eketahuna's population at 441; down from 456 in 2006.
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Map of Eketahuna, New Zealand
The town is located at the foot of the Tararua Ranges which lie to the west. It is 35 kilometres north of Masterton and a similar distance south of Palmerston North. It is situated on State Highway 2 and the eastern bank of the Makakahi River.
Eketahuna is considered by some to be the stereotypical rural New Zealand town, and is occasionally used in conversation to represent "the real New Zealand". New Zealanders colloquially refer to the town of Eketahuna the way other English speakers refer to Timbuktu, i.e., the middle of nowhere, "the sticks", the end of the world. Likewise, Eketahuna is a booming metropolis compared to the mythical town of Waikikamukau (pronounced "Why-kick-a-moo-cow").
The Mount Bruce bird sanctuary is located to the south of the town.
The name of the town, when spoken, sounds like a sentence in Afrikaans which translates to "I have a rooster". This is a source of amusement to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand.
On 20 January 2014, the town was the epicenter of the 2014 Eketahuna earthquake. Measuring 6.2 on the Richter magnitude scale, the quake caused moderate damage all over the southern North Island.