A recent blog mentioned the 20 January 2014 provincial holiday earthquake, which was centred near Eketahuna. Although this town is not a major centre, its location has always drawn attention – “the middle of nowhere.”
Eketahuna Hotel in Main Road Eketahuna (GPS: 40º38’37’’ S , 175º42’13’’ E)
Eketahuna is a small rural service town, the most southerly in the Tararua District in the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North island, but is considered to be in northern Wairarapa. It was originally called Mellenskov, but was renamed soon after its founding.
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 SH2 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". The 2013 census recorded Eketahuna's population at 441; down from 456 in 2006.
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 name of the town, when spoken, sounds like a sentence in Afrikaans (“Ek het ‘n hoender”) which translates to "I have a rooster". This is a source of amusement to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand.
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