Matiere is a rural community in the Ruapehu District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.

European settlers arrived in the early 1900s, establishing the Matiere School in 1906.[1]

The settlement is now a ghost town,[1] consisting of a small number of homes, former shops and former churches.[2] However, there is still a small but active community.[3]

The former post office has been converted to a business making swings for babies and toddlers.[4] The business supplies just 35 stockists,[5] but Kourtney Kardashian is among its customers.[6] The couple who make the swings live in the former Catholic church, and have turned the former Methodist church into a woodworking workshop.[2]

In September 2018, American forestry company Soper Wheeler Co received regulatory approval to convert to convert a 1148 hectare farm north of the main settlement into a redwood forest.[7]

Education

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Matiere School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[8] with a roll of 28 as of August 2024.[9]

References

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  1. ^ a b Morris, Bruce (14 June 2011). "Land of contrasts: Taumarunui and Auckland". APN New Zealand. The New Zealand Herald.
  2. ^ a b Packer, Ann (12 May 2015). "The couple who live in a church they bought for $1100". Fairfax New Zealand. NZ House & Garden.
  3. ^ Braae, Alex (29 March 2020). "Ohura Medieval Market Day, and the fight to keep a small town standing". The Spinoff.
  4. ^ Ferguson, Frances (23 August 2016). "Into the swing of business at Matiere". Stuff.
  5. ^ Donaldson, Rachel (24 April 2019). "Regional rollercoaster: Selling to the Kardashians from Matiere". ICG Media. The Register.
  6. ^ Nadkarni, Anuja (19 December 2018). "Taumarunui-made Solvej swings on Kardashian's Christmas wishlist". Stuff.
  7. ^ Piddock, Gerald (3 September 2018). "US company snaps up farmland for forestry plantation". Stuff.
  8. ^ "Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  9. ^ "Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.

38°45′54″S 175°06′05″E / 38.764990°S 175.101457°E / -38.764990; 175.101457