Māhoenui Explained

Māhoenui
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name: New Zealand
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Waikato region
Subdivision Type2:Territorial authority
Subdivision Name2:Waitomo District
Subdivision Type3:Ward
Subdivision Name4:Rural
Seat Type:Electorate
Seat:Taranaki-King Country
Total Type:Territorial
Settlement Type:Village
Utc Offset Dst:+13
Coordinates:-38.5767°N 174.8436°W
Timezone Dst:NZDT
Pushpin Label Position:bottom
Utc Offset:+12
Timezone:NZST
Population Total:78
Population As Of:2018 census

Māhoenui is a small community in the western North Island of New Zealand, on the Awakino River, near Piopio and Te Kūiti.

History

The Croall family lived on the Awakino River in the 1920s and 1930s, eventually having to leave the land as uneconomic to survive by traditional farming methods. Charles Croall, sr., relocated to Hamilton, setting up a construction business (Croall Construction) to build houses en-masse for the government. These subdivisions became known as 'State house areas' and were typically inhabited by lower socio-economic communities. Large numbers of those houses have been sold to private buyers, both individually and in bulk.

Lewis Robert Ridling (commonly known as Bob) and his wife Margaret Marina Ridling née Jackson along with their 5 sons and 3 daughters cleared the land by hand of scrub and bush in this area. The Ridlings worked their Māhoenui farm from the 1920s onward after Bob Ridling won the land in a returned veterans ballot after returning wounded from Gallipoli, Turkey from World War I. Many ex servicemen simply walked off the land due to the difficulty of turning it into viable farm land. The Moss's were also well known in the area as Mr Moss was the local school teacher in the 1930s.

Māhoenui is in meshblocks 1016005, 1016101-2, and 1016203-4, which had a population of 78 people in the 2018 census.

Education

Until 2005, Māhoenui had a small primary school, with a roll of six children in 2004. In 2005, the school closed down due to lack of students, with the property now privately owned.

Geography

Māhoenui is located in the King Country approx inland from the west coast of the North Island, the topography is hilly to mountainous, with small alluvial areas near the streams and river.

Economics

The primary activity is sheep farming, with beef and dairy farming to a lesser degree.

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