Kaihu () is a locality and settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaihu River runs through the Kaihu Valley into the Wairoa River near

Dargaville Dargaville () is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River (Northland), Wairoa River in the Kaipara District of the Northland Region, Northland region. Dargaville is located south ...

, approximately 32 km south east. State Highway 12 runs along the valley and passes through Kaihu settlement.

Aranga Aranga is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain in the A Coruña (province), province of A Coruña with an area of 120.49 km2 (46.52 mi2), population of 2,181 inhabitants ( ...

is about 10 km north west. The

Kaihu Forest Kaihu () is a locality and settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaihu River runs through the Kaihu Valley into the Wairoa River near Dargaville, approximately 32 km south east. State Highway 12 runs along the valley and passes throu ...

is to the east and the Marlborough Forest is to the north. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "eating secretly" for ''Kaihu''. The local hapu are

Te Roroa Te Roroa is a Māori people, Māori iwi from the region between the Kaipara Harbour and the Hokianga Harbour in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. They are part of the Ngāti Whātua confederation of tribes. In the early 19th century ...

of the

Ngāti Whātua Ngāti Whātua is a Māori iwi (tribe) of the lower Northland Peninsula of New Zealand's North Island. It comprises a confederation of four hapū (subtribes) interconnected both by ancestry and by association over time: Te Uri-o-Hau, Te Roroa ...

iwi.

History and culture

Ngāti Awa Ngāti Awa is a Māori iwi (tribe) centred in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand. It is made of 22 hapū (subtribes), with 15,258 people claiming affiliation to the iwi in 2006. The Ngāti Awa people are primarily located in towns ...

originally occupied the area, but were evicted and replaced by Ngāti Whātua around 1640 CE. In 1806 during the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori people, Māori between 1806 and 1845, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an inte ...

, battles were fought between Ngāti Whātua and Ngā Puhi over a pa near Kaihu, and a further raid occurred in 1825.

Joel Samuel Polack Joel Samuel Polack (28 March 1807 – 17 April 1882) was an English-born New Zealand and American businessman and writer. He was one of the first Jewish settlers in New Zealand, arriving in 1831. He is regarded as an authority on pre-colonial Ne ...

may have been the first European to visit Kaihu, in 1832. John Whiteley described Kaihu as "the principal village of Kaipara" in 1834 and recommended it as a suitable place for a mission to be built. Several Europeans tried to purchase land at Kaihu before a deadline on land purchases set for 14 January 1840 by Sir

George Gipps Sir George Gipps (23 December 1790 – 28 February 1847) was the Governor of New South Wales, Governor of the British Colony of New South Wales for eight years, between 1838 and 1846. His governorship oversaw a tumultuous period where the rights ...

. An attempt to purchase 18,000 acres (7300 ha) by James Salter and others in March 1839 was disallowed. Thomas Spencer purchased 400 acres (160 ha) of land in Kaihu in September 1839. Settlement of Kaihu ATLIB 220922

A railway line to service the

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

industry was built from Dargaville along the valley to Kaihu in about 1883, and extended to Donnellys Crossing in 1921 (becoming known as the Donnellys Crossing Section). As the roads improved, the line became uneconomic, and it was closed on 18 July 1959. A town grew up, initially called Opanake, but by the end of the century called Kaihu. In the 1890s, with both the timber and gum-digging trades expanding, and a road built from Dargaville, the population of the town increased from 200 to 500. A sawmill was established in Kaihu about 1898 for kauri and

tōtara ''Podocarpus totara'' (), commonly known as the , is a species of Podocarpus, podocarp tree endemism, endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island, South Island and rarely on Stewart Island, Stewart Island / Rakiura in lowland, ...

, with a capacity of 3 million feet per annum, although this capacity may never have been fully utilised. Two large floods occurred around the turn of the century, one of which destroyed a large part of the mill. The mill closed in 1915, which caused the population of the town to halve. Several

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

are located in the Kaihu area.

Waikaraka Marae Kaihu () is a locality and settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaihu River runs through the Kaihu Valley into the Wairoa River near Dargaville, approximately 32 km south east. State Highway 12 runs along the valley and passes throu ...

and Whakarongo meeting house are affiliated with

Ahikiwi Marae Kaihu () is a locality and settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaihu River runs through the Kaihu Valley into the Wairoa River near Dargaville, approximately 32 km south east. State Highway 12 runs along the valley and passes throu ...

and

Te Aranga Mai o te Whakapono Kaihu () is a locality and settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaihu River runs through the Kaihu Valley into the Wairoa River near Dargaville, approximately 32 km south east. State Highway 12 runs along the valley and passes throu ...

meeting house are affiliated with the

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

Ngāti Hinga Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. Taita Marae and Kia Mahara Koutou meeting house are affiliated with the hapū of

Ngāti Torehina Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

Tama te Uaua Marae Kaihu () is a locality and settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaihu River runs through the Kaihu Valley into the Wairoa River near Dargaville, approximately 32 km south east. State Highway 12 runs along the valley and passes throu ...

and Tama te Uaua meeting house are also a meeting place for local Ngāti Whātua.

Notable people

* William Sage Rapson, chemist

Education

Kaihu Valley School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a decile rating of 2 and a roll of 24. A native school first opened at Kaihu in 1887, but was replaced by a government school in 1897. The current school celebrated its centenary in 2004. Maropiu District High School, to the south of Kaihu, closed in 1973.

References

{{reflist Kaipara District Populated places in the Northland Region