Otaki Attractions
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75km north of Wellington, on the South Taranaki Bight, is Otaki (pop. 6500). The Otaki area once had a relatively large Maori population and was controlled in the early 19th C. by Te Rauparaha from his base on nearby Kapiti Island. It is now the commercial center of a fertile vegetable-growing area.
The first Maori university, the University of Rauwaka, was founded in Otaki as the logical development of earlier Maori pre-school and school education projects.
The British missionary Octavius Hadfield (1814-1904), later bishop of Wellington, worked in Otaki from 1839 and taught the Maoris to cultivate the excellent local soil.
The first Maori university, the University of Rauwaka, was founded in Otaki as the logical development of earlier Maori pre-school and school education projects.
The British missionary Octavius Hadfield (1814-1904), later bishop of Wellington, worked in Otaki from 1839 and taught the Maoris to cultivate the excellent local soil.