Tataraimaka ( Maori pronunciation, "Ta-ta-rai-ma-ka") is a rural coastal area in

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is predominantly a

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history th ...

area, approximately south-west of New Plymouth. Tataraimaka is located south of Oakura and north of

Ōkato Ōkato is a small town in rural Taranaki, New Zealand. It is situated about 25 minutes drive around the coast from New Plymouth on State Highway 45. Oakura is 12 km to the north-east, and Warea is 9 km to the south-west. The place of ...

. The Timaru River passes through Tataraimaka on its way from

Mount Taranaki Mount Taranaki (), also known as Mount Egmont, is a dormant stratovolcano in the Taranaki region on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is the second highest point in the North Island, after Mount Ruapehu. The mountain has a seco ...

. The area lies close to the Kaitake ranges at the foot of mount Taranaki, and consists of steep farmlands which overlook rolling pastures, intercepted by many creeks and rivers leading to the rocky, west coast shoreline. The area is well known for its beaches. Weld Road Beach is a popular surf beach with the locals. The area is becoming increasingly popular for people building lifestyle properties. There are many hiking tracks available to the public which traverse the Kaitake Range. One of these treks is the Boars Head Mine track, which takes hikers to a historical gold mine. In pre-European times, the area was extensively settled, with more than 30 pā sites found mainly on the shores of the Katikara River, Pitone Stream and Timaru River. One of the largest pā sites, Tataraimaka Pā, is a part of a historic reserve managed by the Department of Conservation. The pā was sacked by a party of northern

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

during the

Musket Wars The Musket Wars were a series of as many as 3,000 battles and raids fought throughout New Zealand (including the Chatham Islands) among Māori between 1807 and 1837, after Māori first obtained muskets and then engaged in an intertribal arms rac ...

, shortly before 1820. The Tataraimaka Block of land was purchased from

in 1847, and was the location where 200 men of the 65th Regiment were stationed during the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from M ...

, from April to June 1860. By March 1861, the Tataraimaka Block had been taken by Māori forces, and had returned to government control in early 1865. Tataraimaka has a rich dairy farming history, with a historic dairy factory previously called the Timaru

Creamery A creamery is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream re ...

dating back to the nineteenth century.Tataraimaka"
in The Cyclopedia of New Zealand aranaki, Hawke's Bay & Wellington Provincial Districts(1908), retrieved from

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well kno ...

website, 4 November 2015. In 2008, a local farmer re-opened the factory as the Patua Co-operative Dairy Factory to provide an alternative to the dairy giant

Fonterra Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational publicly traded dairy co-operative owned by around 9,000 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exce ...

. Production of their organic Okato Cheese ceased due to financial difficulties in 2010. The former dairy factory is currently used to showcase rock carvings.Anthony, J.,
Sculpture adorns old dairy factory
, ''

Taranaki Daily News The ''Taranaki Daily News'' is a daily morning newspaper published in New Plymouth, New Zealand. History The paper was founded as the ''Taranaki News'' on 14 May 1857, by friends of former Taranaki Province Superintendent Charles Brown.J.S. Tu ...

'', 28 February 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2015. On 10 October 1998 the Timaru River flooded and tore through Surf Highway 45. The road wasn't re-opened until 19 October.

References

{{coord, 39, 10, S, 173, 55, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Populated places in Taranaki Surfing locations in New Zealand Black sand beaches