# Awaiti

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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=February 2021}}
'''Awaiti''' is a rural community in the [Hauraki District](/source/Hauraki_District) and [Waikato](/source/Waikato) region of New Zealand's [North Island](/source/North_Island), west of [Paeroa](/source/Paeroa).

''Awaiti'' is a [Māori](/source/M%C4%81ori_language) word, meaning "little stream".<ref name="buchanan" />

==Geography==

The area is predominantly farmland.<ref name="buchanan" />

Two canals, Awaiti and Bancrofts, drain from the Kopuatai Peat Dome and surrounding farmland into Tee Head Canal in the [Piako River](/source/Piako_River) system. The canals have low biodiversity, with a small population of fish which can tolerate the low-quality water.<ref name="hicks">{{cite book |last1=Hicks |first1=Brendan |title=Boat electrofishing survey of the Awaiti and Bancrofts canals (Tee Head Canal), Piako River system |date=2018 |publisher=Environmental Research Institute |location=[Hamilton](/source/Hamilton%2C_New_Zealand) |url=https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10289/12367/ERI-rept-110-Boat-electrofishing-survey-of-the-Tee-Head-Canal.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y}}</ref>

==History==

===Early history===

Awaiti is in the ''[rohe](/source/rohe)'' (traditional tribal area) of the [Ngāti Tamaterā](/source/Ng%C4%81ti_Tamater%C4%81) people.<ref name="Prickett1990">{{Cite Q|Q58677392}}</ref> There were previously two ''[pā](/source/p%C4%81)'' (defensive settlements) in the area; one became a ''[tapū](/source/tap%C5%AB)'' (sacred) burial ground.<ref name="buchanan">{{cite journal |last1=Buchanan |first1=Bruce |title=Te Awaiti |journal=Ohinemuri Regional History Journal |date=16 June 1972 |volume=16}}</ref>

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.<ref name="buchanan" />

At the turn of the century, local Māori and Pākehā regularly gathered for social events, including a New Year's Eve sports day.<ref name="buchanan" />

===Modern history===

Following the end of [World War I](/source/World_War_I) in 1918, six returned servicemen settled farms in the area.<ref name="buchanan" />

By the 1970s, the area had sealed roads, electricity, and tanker milk delivery to a dairy factory.<ref name="buchanan" />

There was a small scrub fire in the area in late December 2020.<ref name="nzcity">{{cite news |title=A scrub fire in rural Awaiti near Paeroa has now been put out |url=https://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=324693 |agency=[Newstalk ZB](/source/Newstalk_ZB) |publisher=NZCity |date=27 December 2020}}</ref> It may have been caused by lightning from a thunder storm passing the area at the time.<ref name="leaman">{{cite news |last1=Leaman |first1=Aaron |title=Firefighters extinguish grass fire threatening homes at Port Waikato |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/123850949/firefighters-extinguish-grass-fire-threatening-homes-at-port-waikato |agency=[Waikato Times](/source/Waikato_Times) |publisher=[stuff.co.nz](/source/stuff.co.nz) |date=31 December 2020}}</ref>

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Hauraki District}}

{{coord|-37.4071976|175.56893|display=title|region:NZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki}}

Category:Hauraki District
Category:Populated places in Waikato

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Awaiti](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awaiti) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awaiti?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.