Dannevirke

Dannevirke ( "work of the Danes", a reference to Danevirke; or Tāmaki-nui-a-Rua, the area where the town is), is a rural service town in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of the North Island, New Zealand. It is the main centre of the Tararua District. The surrounding area, a catchment and source of the Manawatū River (approximately 20 Min drive north of town) has developed into dairy, beef cattle and sheep farming, which now provides the major income for the town's population of . History Before European settlers arrived in the 1870s, the line of descent for Māori in the area was from the Kurahaupō waka. The tribe of the area is Rangitāne, with geographic distinction to Te Rangiwhakaewa in the immediate Dannevirke region. The first known 'Aotea' meeting house was established approximately 15 generations ago (from 2010) followed by the building of a marae at Makirikiri near Dannevirke at about the same time as the first Nordic settlers arrived from Napier and Hawkes Bay.