Pohangina

Pohangina is a small rural community in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand, just north of Ashhurst.

Pohangina Methodist Church c.1907 (Dec.2011)

Pohangina is located along the foot of the Ruahine Range, and is primarily farming land. Farming varies from sheep and cattle to crops of maize and 'chow'. The farmland was originally ancient native forest.[1][2] Rimu and northern rātā grew above 1000 feet, with kamahi, kaikawaka and pink pine growing at higher and steeper slopes, leatherwood scrub growing at higher altitudes, and wild tussocks growing at the summits of the range.[3]

The area still includes many conservation areas, including the Totara Reserve camping ground, the Pohangina River, Pohangina Wetlands reserve, and Pohangina Base, a former DOC field centre in the Ruahine Forest Park.[4][5][6]

Pohangina includes a village, with several historical buildings,[7] including a small chapel and at community hall built in 1933.[8] The area is a fishing spot for brown trout and rainbow trout.[9]

Pohangina translates as "ulcerated night", possibly suggesting the valley had been a place of bloodshed between the local Rangitāne Māori people and their enemies. However, the name is a corruption of the proper form, "Pou hangina",[10][11] so is likely to reference posts or supports, metaphoric or physical.

Education

Awahou School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[12][13] with a roll of 28 as of March 2020.[14]

References
  1. Knight, Catherine (2014). Ravaged Beauty: An Environmental History of the Manawatu. Auckland: Dunmore Press. ISBN 978-1-927212-13-4.
  2. Knight, Catherine. "Totara Reserve: A Window into Manawatu’s Environmental History", The Manawatu Journal of History, 4, 2008: 50–58.
  3. "Pohangina". romst.co.nz. Rangitāne O Manawatū Settlement Trust.
  4. "Totara Reserve Regional Park". Horizons Regional Council. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  5. "Totara Reserve". Central Economic Development Agency, Palmerston North City & Manawatu. Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  6. "Pohangina Base, Pohangina Valley area and Ruahine Forest Park in the Manawatu/Whanganu". Department of Conservation (New Zealand). Retrieved 1 June 2018.
  7. "Pohangina Valley New Zealand". pohangina.org.
  8. "Pohangina Hall". mdc.govt.nz. Manawatu District Council.
  9. "Pohangina River". nzfishing.com. NZFishing.com.
  10. Davis, Te Aue; O'Regan, Tipene; Wilson, John (1990). Ngā tohu pūmahara : ngā pou taunaha o Aotearoa = The survey pegs of the past : understanding Māori place names (PDF). [Auckland]: The Board. p. 12. ISBN 0-477-01462-3. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  11. Fletcher, Henry James. "Index of Māori Names". The University of Waikato. Retrieved 23 October 2020.
  12. "Awahou School Official School Website". awahou.school.nz.
  13. "Awahou School Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  14. "Awahou School Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.

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