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Pūkawa / Pūkawa Bay is a bay and a small township on the southern shores of Lake Taupo in New Zealand. It is off State Highway 41 between Turangi and Taumarunui. It is home of the Ngati Manunui hapu of Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the newly opened Manunui-a-Ruakapanga marae, which was opened on 18 November 2006. The opening ceremony was attended by Tuheitia Paki, the Māori King.
History
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero was formally selected as king by a conference of chiefs of the Māori tribes held at Pūkawa in April 1857 and was crowned during elaborate ceremonies held at his marae in Ngāruawāhia in April 1858.
In 1906 Ngāti Tūwharetoa and the Tongariro Timber Company struck an agreement for the construction of a 40-mile railway line from Kakahi (on the main trunk line) to Pūkawa. This line was never completed.
