Paekakariki

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Paekakariki is a town in the Kapiti Coast District in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It is situated 22 km north of Porirua and 45 km north-east of Wellington, the nation's capital city.

Paekakariki's population is 1731 (2001 census). The town's name is a Māori word meaning "Perching place of the kakariki (green parrot)".

Paekakariki lies on a narrowing of the thin coastal plain between the Tasman Sea and the Akatarawa Ranges (a spur of the Tararua Ranges, and as such is an important transportation node. To the south of Paekakariki State Highway 1 climbs towards Porirua; to the north the plains extend inland from the Kapiti Coast, but at Paekakariki itself both the highway and North Island Main Trunk railway run close together between the coast and hills.

In the days immediately prior to European settlement at Paekakariki the area had a violent history, due mainly to the presence of the great Māori warrior leader Te Rauparaha, whose pa was on nearby Kapiti Island. He died in 1849, the same year that a road was completed connecting Paekakariki with Porirua.

Paekakariki's history has been intimately linked with the railway, and there is a Rail Museum at the town. In 1886 the Wellington and Manawatu Railway was completed, and Paekakariki became an important stop on the journey. From 1917 until the 1960s, during which time New Zealand Railways did not have refreshment cars, Paekakariki became a main refreshment stop on the trip north.

Today, the town's main income is from tourists, with a thriving arts community and a good local beach attracting visitors.

[edit] Trivia

The town was immortalised as an almost mythical distant place in the song "Paekakariki Beach" by British rock group New Model Army in 2000.
The town also appeared in an animated documentary by the Simmonds Brothers, entitled: "Paekakariki: Center of the Universe".
The New Zealand rugby player, Christian Cullen was named the "Paekakariki Express" for his speed.
Paekakariki was a camp site for U.S. Marines during World War II.^{[citation needed]}