Kaikohe

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Kaikohe is the central service area for the Far North District of New Zealand, about 260 km from Auckland, situated on State Highway 12 at 35°27′S 173°49′E. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region.

The 2004 census revealed the population of Kaikohe to be just over 4000 people, but it is the thriving shopping and service centre for an extensive farming district with a catchment of 28,000 people.

Originally a Māori village called Opango, Kaikohe is recognised as being the very heart of the culture of the great Ngapuhi iwi. In the early 19th century a rival Māori tribe raided the village and fugitives subsisted among the Kohekohe (a native tree) groves on Tokareireia (Kaikohe Hill). After the incident, the village became known as Kaikohekohe (kai meaning food) but was later shortened to Kaikohe.

The warrior chief Hone Heke settled in Kaikohe after fighting ceased, and died there in 1850. His nephew Hone Heke, MP for Northern Māori, also lived in Kaikohe. In April 1911, a monument to him was unveiled on Kaikohe Hill by Sir Tui Carroll, acting Prime Minister. A park in the town is dedicated to Rawiri Taiwhanga who has a very strong claim to being New Zealand's first commercial dairy farmer. He milked a herd of cows and sold butter in 1834. Also in the town is a Pioneer Village, a 19th century Northland community recreated with all its colourful atmosphere, history and detail.

Kaikohe was linked to the rail network with the arrival of a railway being built from Otiria to Kaitaia which opened to Kaikohe on 1 May 1914. The line continued north to Okaihau, opening on 29 October 1923 and eventually reached Rangiahua, although the section between Okaihau and Rangiahua was never handed over to the New Zealand Railways for operation. The line between Okaihau and Rangiahua was operated for a short time by the Public Works Department before being closed and dismantled during World War II.

Although Kaikohe has become established as the service centre of the Far North, it failed to generate much rail traffic in the early years of the line. During the first ten months of existence, just 1,500 tons of inbound freight was carried, with roughly half that carried outbound; the decline continued to the point that in 1918 Kaikohe lost its stationmaster. Minimal services were offered, and although losses increased up to 1930, fortunes had somewhat improved by 1940, and by 1950 there was sufficient traffic to justify six trains each way a week. Two carried solely freight, while four were mixed trains, also carrying passengers. Full complements of staff were employed at Kaikohe and Okaihau, where a locomotive depot was located.

When railcars were introduced on services north of Auckland in November 1956, they ran all the way to Okaihau. Previously, a carriage train known as the Northland Express had run from Auckland to Opua with connections to Okaihau via the mixed trains, but with the change of the northern terminus to Okaihau, the branch increased in importance. This proved to be short-lived; in July 1967 the very popular railcar service was withdrawn due to mechanical problems plaguing the railcars. Passengers had to use the mixed trains, with significantly older rolling stock on a slower schedule, and demand slipped. The branch closed to passengers on 21 June 1976.

In 1977, a relaxation of road transport laws led to a decline in freight traffic on the line and forestry proposals that would have required a railway service failed to eventuate. Scheduled trains were cancelled on 12 August 1983, and for a little over four years the line was shunted when required. The branch closed on 1 November 1987.

Kaikohe has a strategic position in the centre of the province, giving access of some of New Zealand's finest scenic attractions. Within a 50 km radius are the famous Bay of Islands and the Waipoua, Puketi and Omahuta kauri forests. Also not far away are the Whangaroa and Hokianga harbours, the Waiomio limestone caves, many beautiful beaches and secluded bays, and the historic town of Kerikeri.

The town is situated on the slopes of a volcanic hill and surrounded by many former pā sites. The countryside is mainly undulating plain with volcanic soils, but on the western edge of town, Kaikohe Hill rises 300 m above sea level, allowing views of the imposing sand dunes on the Hokianga Harbour and farmlands to the east and south toward Mount Hikurangi (625 m).

To the north of the Putahi volcanic ridge is Lake Omapere, five km in length, but only two to three metres deep. Around five kilometers to the east is the small village of Ngawha Springs - the site where hot water springs emerge to the surface from the Ngawha geothermal field. The new Northland prison is situated nearby.

Former New Zealand Prime Minister David Lange was once a resident of Kaikohe. Former New Zealand First Member of Parliament and brother of Winston Peters, Jim Peters, is a current resident.

[1] KAIKOHE "The Hub of the North"