Eketāhuna
Eketāhuna is a small rural settlement, in the south of the Tararua District and the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.
Eketāhuna | |
|---|---|
Eketāhuna Kiwi | |
| Coordinates: 40.647°S 175.704°E | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Manawatū-Whanganui |
| Territorial authority | Tararua District |
| Ward |
|
| Community | Eketāhuna Community |
| Electorates |
|
| Government | |
| • Territorial Authority | Tararua District Council |
| • Regional council | Horizons Regional Council |
| • Tararua Mayor | Tracey Collis |
| • Wairarapa MP | Mike Butterick |
| • Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP | Cushla Tangaere-Manuel |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4.18 km2 (1.61 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2023) | |
| • Total | 540 |
| • Density | 130/km2 (330/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
| Postcode | 4900 |
| Area code(s) | 06 |
The town is located at eastern foot of the Tararua Ranges, 35 kilometres north of Masterton and a similar distance south of Palmerston North. It is situated on State Highway 2, on the eastern bank of the Mākākahi River.
Eketāhuna has become synonymous with stereotypes of remote rural New Zealand towns, with New Zealanders colloquially referring to the town in the same way other English speakers refer to Timbuktu.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "land on the sandbank" for Eketāhuna. The name sounds like the Afrikaans sentence "I have a chicken" (Afrikaans: Ek het 'n hoender), making it amusing to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand.