Mātāwai is a small inland settlement in the
Gisborne Region in the northeast 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 ...
. It is located on the upper reaches of the
Motu River, in the
Raukumara Range.
It is on
State Highway 2 between
Gisborne and
Opotiki.
The Matawai War Memorial Hall was opened in 1952, replacing a previous hall built in 1910. It was refurbished in 2016 to accommodate war rolls of honour from neighbouring communities.
Parks
The settlement's main reserve, Matawai Reserve, is a sports ground and local park.
Marae
The local Mātāwai Marae and Tapapa meeting house is a meeting place of
Te Aitanga ā Māhaki's
hapū of
Ngā Pōtiki,
Ngāti Mātāwai,
Ngāti Wahia
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...
and
Te Whānau a Taupara.
In October 2020, the Government committed $812,548 from the
Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade it and
Te Wainui Marae, creating 15.4 jobs.
Education
Matawai School is a Year 1-8 co-educational public primary school.
In 2019, it was a
decile 4 school with a roll of 58.
The nearby Otoko School was closed in 1997.
References
Populated places in the Gisborne District
{{Gisborne-geo-stub