Oroua County was one of the

counties of New Zealand A system of counties of New Zealand was instituted after the country dissolved its provinces in 1876, and these counties were similar to other countries' systems, lasting with little change (except mergers and other localised boundary adjustmen ...

in the

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 ...

. Centred on the town of

Feilding Feilding ( mi, Aorangi) is a town in the Manawatū District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 54, 20 kilometres north of Palmerston North. The town is the seat of the Manawatū District Council. Feilding has w ...

, it had an extent of just under 500 square kilometres. The county was first established in 1883, unilaterally declared as a protest against the local Manawatu County Council. It covered much of what is now Manawatu District as well as part of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

city, and the initially elected councillors stood on the platform of abolishing county administrative activities within the area. Activities were devolved to local town and road boards, and the county as an administrative entity became essentially non-existent. Over the following twenty years, several parts of Oroua had been reorganised into new counties (Kiwitea, Kairanga, and Pohangina). The rump of Oroua County (with the exception of

Ashhurst Ashhurst ( mi, Whārite) is a town and outlying suburb of Palmerston North, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. Location Ashhurst is sited 14 kilometres northeast of the Palmerston North city centre. The town s ...

, which was transferred to Palmerston North City Council) was reestablished officially in 1903.Oroua County Council
" ''thecommunityarchive.org.nz''. Retrieved 28 April 2018. The county was disestablished and merged into Manawatu District as part of New Zealand's

1989 local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, made up of regional and territorial levels. Backg ...

of administrative regions.

References

Counties of New Zealand Politics of Manawatū-Whanganui {{ManawatuWanganui-geo-stub

See also

References