Papatawa is a rural community in the Tararua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located six kilometres north-east of Woodville, on both sides of State Highway 2.[1]
The area has no shops, and locals use Palmerston North, Pahiatua and Dannevirke as service centres.[2]
European settlement of the area began in 1878,[3] when an area of forest called the Victoria Block was cleared and subdivided into 36 farming sections.[4]
The Manga-atua School house opened in the area 1887, with a roll of the 18 pupils increasing to 22 within the first day. The school changed its name to Papatawa School in 1905, and it eventually gained an extra classroom.
In 1910 John A. Millar, the Minister of Railways in the Ward Ministry, denied a request for a railway loading bank at Papatawa, citing a lack of funds.[5]
By the 1930s, the area had a dairy factory, a railway station, a county council yard, and a team of horses in stables. The area was connected by gravel roads, two rail lines and a shunting line. Cheese from the dairy factory was transported to the railway station by horse and cart, and most locals took the train to Woodville to do shopping.
During the Great Depression, workers built a tennis court at the school and turned the school to face the sun. A pool was installed in the 1960s.
The 4.5 kilometre Papatawa stretch of State Highway 2 has been the site of several fatal crashes.[6] [7]
Between 2010 and 2014, the NZ Transport Agency realigned and straightened the 4.5 kilometre stretch of State Highway 2, with a new intersection, rail crossing, over-bridge, passing lane and stream diversion.[8] The $11 million project aimed to reduce crashes and separate local traffic from the 700 trucks that were using the road between Tararua and Hawke's Bay each day.[9]
Papatawa School was a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students. The school opened in 1887 and operated through to August 2023 when it closed due to falling roll numbers. Children in the area now attend school in Woodville.[10]