Mataura
| Mataura | |
|---|---|
 Mataura
|
|
| Coordinates: 46°11′S 168°52′E / 46.183°S 168.867°E | |
| Country |
 New Zealand
|
| Region | Southland |
| Territorial authority | Gore District Council |
| Time zone | NZST (UTC+12) |
| • Summer (DST) | NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Area code(s) | 03 |
Mataura is a town in the Southland region of the South Island of New Zealand. Mataura has a meat processing plant, and until 2000 it was the site of a large pulp and paper mill.
It is situated on State Highway 1 and the Main South Line railway, on the eastern fringe of the Southland Plain 13 kilometres south west of Gore and 53 kilometres north east of Invercargill. On the southern side of the town, New Zealand State Highway 96 diverges from SH 1 and runs westward through nearby communities such as Te Tipua and Waitane, ultimately terminating in Ohai. The town straddles the Mataura River which flows south through the town and is a source of brown trout. On the northern outskirts of the town the river falls over a bed of sandstone 6.1 metres (20 ft) high to create the Mataura Falls which is known by local Maori as Te Aunui (the great current).
The land rises to the Hokonui Hills 13 km to the north-west, while to the east is a series of hills.
The town's population was 1,560 at the 2006 census. This compares with a population of 1,715 in 1951 and 2,085 in 1961.
While there was no permanent Maori settlement in the present day location of Mataura prior to the arrival of European settlers, the location was well known to local Maori for the harvest of lamprey (which they called ‘kana kana’) in October of each year as they made their annual passage up the falls. The closest Maori settlement was the kaik (unfortified village) of Tuturau, which was located near the east bank of the Mataura River 3.2 km (2.0 mi) downstream from the present town. In 1836 this village was the scene of the last act of Maori warfare in the South Island. A war party of approximately 70 members of the Ngāti Tama and Te Āti Awa tribes under the command of Te Puoho, chief of the Ngati Tama tribe and an ally of Te Rauparaha attacked and occupied the village which was later retaken by the local Ngāi Tahu under the leadership of Hone Tūhawaiki (paramount chief of the Ngāi Tahu) and Te Matenga Taiaroa who had been at the Bluff when news of the war party's presence in the Southland came.
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Wikipedia