Horopito is a locality in the

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 ...

of New Zealand. It lies on State Highway 4 between the village of

National Park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

and the town of

Raetihi Raetihi, a small town in the centre of New Zealand's North Island, is located at the junction of New Zealand state highway network, State Highways 4 and 49 in the Manawatū-Whanganui region. It lies in a valley between Tongariro National Park, ...

. In the early days Horopito was a bustling sawmilling town. It had a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

(1907-1986), school, two hotels, a bank, a strip club, post office and numerous houses. In 1907 a former Liberal MP, Kennedy Macdonald, had the impression that Hamilton, Horopito, Waiouru, Marton, and Palmerston North would be the chief places along the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

line and was advertised as, "The future mercantile and industrial centre between Auckland and Wellington". In the 1920/30s Horopito fell into decline, as people left for better work opportunities. Today nothing remains of most of the buildings. The hub of Horopito is the car wrecker business Horopito Motors, which has been the scene of several movies, including '' Smash Palace'' and '' Goodbye Pork Pie''. Since 2014, the Cold Kiwi Motorcycle Rally has been held at Horopito., www.coldkiwi.co.nz

References

External links

Visit Ruapehu - Smash Palace, Horopito MotorsHoropito Motors (archived site)
Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui {{ManawatuWanganui-geo-stub