Kaitieke or Kaitīeke is a rural community, located south of

Taumarunui Taumarunui is a small town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on an alluvial plain set within rugged terrain on the upper reaches of the Whanganui River, 65 km south of Te Kūiti and 55 km west of T� ...

and west of

Raurimu Raurimu is a settlement in Ruapehu District, New Zealand. passes through it, and the North Island Main Trunk railway line runs to the east. The Raurimu Spiral, which allows the railway to climb 139 metres, is described as an engineering maste ...

, in the

Ruapehu District Ruapehu District is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. It has an area of 6,734 square kilometers and the district's population in was . Features The district is landloc ...

and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. The area's name translates as ''to eat'' (''kai'') ''the saddleback bird'' (''

tieke The saddlebacks or tīeke (Māori) are two species of New Zealand birds of the family Callaeidae. Both are glossy black with a chestnut saddle. Their taxonomic family is also known as that of the (New Zealand) "wattlebirds" and includes the tw ...

'').

History

The area's steep rugged hills and valleys were once covered in thick native forest. However, with the arrival of European settlers in the early 1900s, most local forests were felled for farming between 1908 and 1915. Kaitīeke School opened in 1910, and some small sawmills operated in the area during the 1920s. The

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

had a devastating impact on the community in November 1918, killing about 23% of the local Māori population. Painter Edward (Ted) Lattey farmed south of the settlement in the 1920s, before leaving the King Country to become a professional painter. He became known for his paintings of native forests, including King Country scenes. During

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and again during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, many farmers abandoned the land. By the mid-1930s about half the land cleared for farming had reverted to fern and scrub, and high rainfall caused soils to leach and lose their fertility. It was not until the introduction of aerial fertiliser topdressing after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

that farming conditions began to improve. The Kaitieke War Memorial was installed in January 1923, commemorating the 23 local men who died in

. A further inscription was made after

for the six local men who died in that war. The Kaitieke and Retaruke Valley sports contest took place annually during Easter Weekend from 1917 until 2017, before ending because of a dwindling local population. The final event, in April 2017, featured period costumes.

Education

Kaitieke School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

References

{{coord, -39.100827, 175.272985, region:NZ_type:city(200), display=title Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui Ruapehu District