Orautoha is a valley and rural community in the

Ruapehu District Ruapehu District is a territorial authority in the centre of New Zealand's North Island. It has an area of 6,734 square kilometers and the district's population in was . Features The district is landlocked, and contains the western half of the ...

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-largest ...

. Bill McNie was the original settler of the valley. McNie built a house in the valley in 1924, using newspaper as wallpaper. It later became workers' accommodation and then shearers' housing after his death in 1961, before being renovated into a rural bach his grand-nephew. The bach, on an active beef and sheep farm, was voted one of the best in the country in 2017. The area currently consists of several farms on rugged land, with residents having to face regular electrical outages.

Education

Orautoha School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . In 2019, students from the school helped plant a new walkway along

Makotuku River The Makotuku River is a river of the west of New Zealand's North Island. It flows southwest from Tūroa ski field, on the slopes of Mount Ruapehu, and passes through the town of Raetihi before its confluence with the Mangawhero River. It has been ...

References

{{coord, -39.329932, 175.233141, region:NZ_type:city(200), display=title Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui Ruapehu District