Mataroa is a settlement in the

Rangitikei District The Rangitikei District is a territorial authority district located primarily in the Manawatū-Whanganui region in the North Island of New Zealand, although a small part, the town of Ngamatea (13.63% by land area), lies in the Hawke's Bay Reg ...

and

Manawatū-Whanganui Manawatū-Whanganui (; spelled Manawatu-Wanganui prior to 2019) is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, whose main population centres are the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Manawat ...

region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

. The area was already settled by the Māori iwi

Ngāti Rangi Ngāti Rangi or Ngāti Rangituhia is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. Contemporary settlement is mainly around Waiouru, Ohakune, and the Upper Whanganui River in the central North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika- ...

by the time

William Colenso William Colenso (17 November 1811 – 10 February 1899) FRS was a Cornish Christian missionary to New Zealand, and also a printer, botanist, explorer and politician. He attended the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and later wrote an accou ...

made the first recorded European visit in 1845. Railway surveyors cut a rough track through the district in 1884, and wool farmers began clearing the area in the following decades. The Mataroa Tunnel was dug through the area in the early 1900s. The Main Trunk railway line was laid through it in 1906 and it began to carry trains in 1907. Paengaroa_MRD_03

The Paengaroa Scenic Reserve is located in Mataroa. It includes a carpark, picnicking area, and ten minute walking track. There were two fatal crashes in Mataroa in 2019.

Education

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

References

External links

1905 photo of the site of Mataroa
Rangitikei District Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui {{ManawatuWanganui-geo-stub