Mokoia

For the island in Lake Rotorua, see Mokoia Island.

Mokoia
Mokoia
Coordinates: 39°37′34″S 174°22′7″E / 39.62611°S 174.36861°E / -39.62611; 174.36861
Country	New Zealand
Region	Taranaki
District	South Taranaki District

Mokoia is a small settlement in south Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3 10 kilometres to the east of Hawera and about 17 km northwest of Patea.^[1][2]

History

The settlement was founded in 1867. Early settlers farmed sheep, cattle and horses. A flour mill was run by local Maori. A creamery was built in 1904 and expanded into a dairy factory in 1908. It expanded to include cheese-making in 1913, and again to produce casein in 1923. It closed in 1970.^[3]

A meteorite exploded above Mokoia on 26 November 1908, showering the area with fragments. It made international headlines. One of the surviving fragments, recovered from the farm of Cecil Hawken is now held in the Puke Ariki heritage collection.^[4] Mokoia was one of the areas where soldiers were given rehab farms after World War II.^[5]

The Rimu A1 well struck oil on the coast near Mokoia in December 1999, and eight more wells for oil and natural gas were subsequently developed by Swift Petroleum.^[3]

Education

Mokoia School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a decile rating of 7 and a roll of 17.^[6] The first school in the area was built in 1904, but was replaced by the current school in the early 1940s.^[3]

Notes

1. ^ Peter Dowling (editor) (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. pp. map 44. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8. 
2. ^ Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton. pp. map 97. ISBN 1-877333-20-4. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Bruce, David (22 October 2002). "Mokoia: Where The Sky Fell Down". Taranaki Daily News. http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/businessAndIndustry/mokia.htm. 
4. ^ Deadly Messenger From the Unknown publisher=Puke Ariki|date=2009 .
5. ^ Bartle, Rhonda (15 December 2005). "A Rehab Farm at Mokoia". Puke Ariki. http://www.pukeariki.com/en/stories/farming/rehabfarm.htm. 
6. ^ "Te Kete Ipurangi - Mokoia School". Ministry of Education. http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/display_school_info.php?school_id=2201. 

Coordinates: 39°38′S 174°22′E / 39.633°S 174.367°E / -39.633; 174.367