Awaiti

Awaiti is a rural community in the Hauraki District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, west of Paeroa.

Awaiti is a Māori word, meaning "little stream".^[1]

The area is predominantly farmland.^[1]

Two canals, Awaiti and Bancrofts, drain from the Kopuatai Peat Dome and surrounding farmland into Tee Head Canal in the Piako River system. The canals have low biodiversity, with a small population of fish which can tolerate the low-quality water.^[2]

Awaiti is in the rohe (traditional tribal area) of the Ngāti Tamaterā people.^[3] There were previously two pā (defensive settlements) in the area; one became a tapū (sacred) burial ground.^[1]

Europeans began cattle farming in Awaiti in the late 19th century. In the 1890s, it was a place of "mud and wet and cows" which was only accessible by the river. Ngāti Tamaterā farmed battering pigs and horses.^[1]

At the turn of the century, local Māori and Pākehā regularly gathered for social events, including a New Year's Eve sports day.^[1]

Following the end of World War I in 1918, six returned servicemen settled farms in the area.^[1]

By the 1970s, the area had sealed roads, electricity, and tanker milk delivery to a dairy factory.^[1]

There was a small scrub fire in the area in late December 2020.^[4] It may have been caused by lightning from a thunder storm passing the area at the time.^[5]

37°24′26″S 175°34′08″E / 37.4071976°S 175.56893°E / -37.4071976; 175.56893