Mackaytown is a settlement in the

Hauraki District Hauraki District is a territorial authority within the Hauraki region of New Zealand. The seat of the council is at Paeroa. The area covered by the district extends from the southwest coast of the Firth of Thames southeast towards Te Aroha, alth ...

and

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

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-largest ...

, located at the north-western end of the

Karangahake Gorge The Karangahake Gorge lies between the Coromandel and Kaimai ranges, at the southern end of the Coromandel Peninsula in New Zealand's North Island. A sharply winding canyon, it was formed by the Ohinemuri River. State Highway 2 passes throug ...

just south of

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 kilo ...

. It is named after local Government administrator and politician James Mackay. The settlement consists of eight roads branching off State Highway 2. It is bordered by Turner's Hill, Doherty's Creek,

Ohinemuri River The Ohinemuri River is located in the northern half of New Zealand's North Island, at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula. The river's source is north-east of the town of Waihi, close to the shore of the Bay of Plenty, but flows west rather ...

, and the sacred Tapu Ariki burial grounds on Te Moananui's Hill.

History

Pre-European history

The Ohinemuri River is within the ''

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ''rohe'' to describe the territory or boundaries of ''iwi'' (tribes), although some divide their rohe into several ''takiwā''. The areas shown on the map (right) are indicative only, and some iwi ...

'' (traditional tribal area) of

Ngāti Hako Ngāti Hako is a Māori iwi of New Zealand. The people of Ngati Hako are acknowledged as the earliest settlers in the Hauraki region. Although Ngati Hako endured long periods of conflict with the Marutūāhu peoples, they were never completely o ...

and Ngāti Tara Tokanui. Ohinemuri is a Māori word, meaning "the girl left behind", referring to a legend about a chief's daughter who was detained by a

taniwha In Māori mythology, taniwha () are large supernatural beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers (giant waves). They may be considered highly respected ...

at Turner's Hill. Early Māori settlers travelled the area extensively, mostly by

waka Waka may refer to: Culture and language * Waka (canoe), a Polynesian word for canoe; especially, canoes of the Māori of New Zealand ** Waka ama, a Polynesian outrigger canoe ** Waka hourua, a Polynesian ocean-going canoe ** Waka taua, a Māori w ...

, but also by crossing the forest and stream fords on foot. Missionary

Samuel Marsden Samuel Marsden (25 June 1765 – 12 May 1838) was an English-born priest of the Church of England in Australia and a prominent member of the Church Missionary Society, believed to have introduced Christianity to New Zealand. Marsden was a prom ...

was across the river, when passing through the area on his way from

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

Tauranga Tauranga () is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty region and the fifth most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of , or roughly 3% of the national population. It was settled by Māori late in the 13th century, colonised by ...

in 1820.

European settlement

Europeans began settling the area for gold-mining in the middle of the 19th century. They reached

by boat, and followed the river on foot. The hilly country made it difficult for horses to haul heavy machinery to the mines. The new town was named after local administrator James Mackay, who was involved in establishing the township during his time as Thames Goldfield Warden in 1867 and 1868. The nearby Turner's Hill was named after early settler James Turner, who built a thatched cottage on the hill. The town became an important stop for travellers. A post office opened in 1975 and a school opened in 1976. The area was surveyed between 1877 and 1887, allowing roads to be built further into the gorge. The Mackaytown school house burned some time after 1885, and a new school was established in the main Karangahape settlement in 1889.

Modern history

In 1898, the Mackaytown Hotel was replaced with a newer, larger hotel. It had eight bedrooms, three sitting rooms, a commercial room, a dining room for sixty guests, and a stable for 15 horses. By 1900, 50 people were living in Mackaytown and property prices were rising. The township had a suburban atmosphere, and a

calcium tungstate Scheelite is a calcium tungstate mineral with the chemical formula Ca W O4. It is an important ore of tungsten (wolfram). Scheelite is originally named after Swedish chemist K. Scheele (1742-1786). Well-formed crystals are sought by collectors ...

mine. The town continued to accommodate passing travellers well into the 20th century. Photographs of the settlement, held by the

National Library of New Zealand The National Library of New Zealand ( mi, Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa) is New Zealand's legal deposit library charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (''Nat ...

, shows little change to the size of the settlement between 1914 and 1958.

References

{{coord, -37.411, 175.707, display=title, region:NZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Hauraki District Populated places in Waikato