Pukekawa

Pukekawa is a town in the Lower Waikato River area of New Zealand's North Island, 66 km south of central Auckland. The area's fertile soils are used to grow a range of vegetables, including onions, potatoes and carrots. The town was in the Franklin District until the district's abolition in 2010. There is the Pukekawa primary school which is located opposite the garage/store. Most of the services, supermarkets, banks, chemist and shops are located at Tuakau some 8 kilometres away and a further 10 km there is Pukekohe which is a thriving New Zealand rural town. The Onewhero Golf Club is listed by newzealand.com as the sole recreational activity in Pukekawa. The former State Highway 22 runs through Pukekawa. An ancient Maori pā (fortress) lies on the summit of Pukekawa hill. Otherwise Pukekawa shows no signs of pre-European contact Maori settlement. Its name pukekawa (bitter hill) tells why. The hill could not grow the kumara (sweet potato). In the 1920s James Cowan described Pukekawa as a "beautiful round green hill on the west side of Waikato".