Tokoroa - Our timber town stories

A DigitalNZ Story by Zokoroa

A pictorial journey through Tokoroa's earliest beginnings from its growth as a farming community and timber town, to it nearly becoming a city, together with stories from 'locals'.

Tokoroa, South Waikato, Waikato, Timber, Farming, Kinleith, Housing, Schools, Moa, Woodchopping. Kinleith Mill

Tokoroa lies at the heart of the North Island's South Waikato district.  When you think of 'Tokoroa' what springs to mind?  - Timber town? The sulphurous smell of Kinleith Mill? NZ Forest Product houses?  Wood chopping at the annual A.&P. Show? Pasifika / Māori / European community?  Local RSA cricket picnics?  TT2 ice blocks and jelly tips at the dairy?  Pie cart munchies? Those are some of my memories from my childhood days and teen years growing up in Tokoroa. Here's a pictorial journey of Tokoroa's earliest beginnings from its growth as a farming community and timber town, to it nearly becoming a city  - yes, nearly a city! 

Image: Rail routes, 1950–1980

Heart of the South Waikato

Rail routes, 1950–1980

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Tokoroa

Early Tokoroa township with NZ Forest Product houses

Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Kinleith pulp and paper mill

Kinleith Mill

Kinleith pulp and paper mill

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

TELL US - LOCAL STORIES

What memories do you have of Tokoroa?  Were you born there? Grew up or worked there? Or travelled by on the State Highway and had a rest stop? Here are some recollections shared by 'locals'....  

THE TALKING POLES

Positioned around the town are 'talking poles' which depict the diversity of cultures in the Tokoroa community. Several poles are made from pine and other local woods, to reflect Tokoroa's forestry heritage. See the Talking Poles Index for a description of the many poles on display, which will eventually number 60, and the story each pole tells.

Image: Tokoroa sculptures

Pine Man 'talking pole'

Tokoroa sculptures

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: ‘Raukawa’

Raukawa 'talking pole': The ancestor of Ngāti Raukawa

‘Raukawa’

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: ‘Pacific memories’

Pacific memories 'talking pole'

‘Pacific memories’

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

QUIRKY TALES

Hands up who remembers Tokoroa's legendary pie cart in Leith Place near SH 1 and it didn't sell pies! (See article).  How's this for ingenuity - chess players miles apart in Tokoroa and Gisborne relaying their moves via the Amateur Radio Transmitters Club! Did you hear the tale about wild dogs on the loose in the early days?

Image: tokoroa nz

Pie Cart

The 'Tokoroa special' = chips, grated cheese and mayo. (And pies weren't on the menu!)

tokoroa nz

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Radio Chess Match

Chess by radio

Tokoroa and Gisborne Chess Clubs battle it out! (1962 photo)

Radio Chess Match

Gisborne Photo News

Wild dogs on the loose

WILD DOGS (Colonist, 14 May 1913)

National Library of New Zealand

FASCINATING FACTS: MOA, ROCK ART & CARVINGS

Tokoroa is one of a very few known inland North Island moa hunter sites.  Yes, moa!  Excavations on farmland near the Matarawa Stream have uncovered moa bones, early adzes, and obsidian flakes. (See: An inland archaic site and Tokoroa moa-hunter site.) The Council and Pūtake Taiao are involved with the ongoing management of this historic reserve, known as Te Tokotokoroa a Matarawa, which lies to the west of James Higgins Park.  Rock art with ochre markings and carvings (including a canoe) have also been discovered in small shelters in ignimbrite cliffs near Tokoroa, along with a number of objects - waka huia lid, obsidian flakes, chert flake, adze, bird bone toggle, wooden comb top and a stone pounder. (See Archaeology in the Bay of Plenty.)

Image: Moa diversity

The small ‘bush’ moa, Euryapteryx Curtis, has been found in Tokoroa

Moa diversity

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: NZ Forest Products Ltd, Tokoroa, South Waikato

Moa bones found near Matarawa Stream on west side of Tokoroa houses

NZ Forest Products Ltd, Tokoroa, South Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Māori rock art – ngā toi ana

Rock art and carvings also found near Tokoroa

Māori rock art – ngā toi ana

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

MUSICAL  / ARTISTIC JOURNEYS

Did you watch music shows like "The Grunt Machine" and "Radio with Pictures" on the TV?  And did you enjoy Tokoroa's pub scene with groups like soul funk band Shriek Machine who appeared on NZ telly and later renamed themselves Collision (See article)?  Kiwi music legend Jenny Morris was born in Tokoroa and inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame at the 2018 APRA Silver Scroll Awards (See article).  What other musicians and artists came from Tokoroa?  Let's see: Stella Duffy and .......

Image: Music reviewer Grant Smithies

Soul funk legends - Collision - started out as the Shriek Machine in 1969 & came 3rd in 'Battle of the Bands' final

The band moved to Wellington in 1972; then Sydney in 1977; and toured with Dalvanius, Tina Turner, Commodores and others

Music reviewer Grant Smithies

Radio New Zealand

Image: Tears

Singer Jenny Morris

Sang with Wide Mouthed Frogs, The Crocodiles, QED, INXS (backing vocals) & went solo. (Love 'Body and Soul' LP)

Tears

NZ On Screen

Image: The Expats: UK based author Stella Duffy

Author Stella Duffy

Author and theatre director

The Expats: UK based author Stella Duffy

Radio New Zealand

MULTICULTURAL STORIES

Tokoroa's diverse community was celebrated with a variety of festivals, including the Māori Cultural Festival, the Polynesian Festival and the Tokoroa A.&.P. Show Festival.

Māori Culture:

The southern Waikato and northern Taupō are the ancestral home of  Ngāti Raukawa. (See Te Ara's Story: Ngāti Raukawa).  Tokoroa has two marae: "Ngātira Marae and Te Tikanga a Tāwhiao meeting house which are associated with the Ngāti Raukawa hapū of Ngāti Ahuru and the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Korokī and Ngāti Raukawa ki Panehākua. Ōngāroto Marae and Whaita meeting house are affiliated with the Ngāti Raukawa hapū of Ngāti Whaita". (Source: Wikipedia: Tokoroa)  

Image: Marae trustees, 2000

Ōngāroto Marae and Whaita meeting house

Marae trustees, 2000

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Hui ā Tau 1995

Papa o Te Aroha Marae, Tokoroa

The Marae was established by the Tokoroa Catholic Māori Society as a community marae in 1987

Hui ā Tau 1995

NZEI Te Riu Roa (New Zealand Educational Institute)

Image: Hui ā Tau 1995

Hui ā Tau 1995

NZEI Te Riu Roa (New Zealand Educational Institute)

Image: Hui ā Tau 1995

Hui ā Tau 1995

NZEI Te Riu Roa (New Zealand Educational Institute)

I recall students at our Tokoroa East School being part of the Kapa Haka group. At Tokoroa Intermediate, students learnt tāniko weaving and piupiu making, which they gave displays of during the Tokoroa Māori Festival held at the Tokoroa New Memorial Hall.  Nowadays, the Tokoroa Polynesian Festival  with  Māori, Samoan, and Cook Islands performances, is held in September at the new South Waikato Sport and Events Centre, located at  the Tokoroa Memorial Sports Ground. 

Pacific Cultures:

 Large numbers of Pacific Island people, including from the Cook Islands, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and Niue, emigrated to work at the Kinleith Mill. On Sundays, you would see beautifully dressed women wearing colourful flowers in their hair outside the St Luke's Pacific Islanders Presbyterian Church on Maraetai Road.   

Image: Group of Pacific Islanders ready to travel by bus to Tokoroa for the opening of a new church

1958: Pacific Islanders Church opens

Group of Pacific Islanders ready to travel by bus to Tokoroa for the opening of a new church

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Polynesian festival, 2004

Polynesian festival, 2004

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Tokoroa

Samoan 'talking pole'

Tokoroa

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: UAPOU FELLOWSHIP - TOKOROA

Stories of how the Tokoroa Cook Island Community preserve their culture through "Uapou' or 'fellowship'

UAPOU FELLOWSHIP - TOKOROA

The Coconet TV

European Cultures:

Workers attracted to Tokoroa included assisted immigrants from the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. The expectation that Tokoroa would become NZ's next city was an added drawcard for others living elsewhere in New Zealand during the late 1950s - 70s. Family traditions were reflected in the forms of entertainment, which included Scottish dancing and balls. The annual social highlight was the Tokoroa A.&P. Show - you could 'show' animals, enjoy amusement park games, eat pink candyfloss, and watch the 'must-see' event - the woodchopping and sawing competitions! 

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

A.&P. Festival at the Memorial Showgrounds

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Pictorial Parade No. 159 (1964)

Video of A.&P. Showgrounds (1964)

Pictorial Parade No. 159 (1964)

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Woodchopping events

If you were born or lived in Tokoroa for a number of years, it has been said you have woodchopping in the blood and can 'smell' the sawdust for an event  miles away!  The Tokoroa A.&P. Show's woodchopping was a popular event where family, friends and interested onlookers cheered on the competitors. The two-day Tokoroa Golden Axe Festival is the premier woodchopping competition with open and championship events that draw competitors nationwide and internationally.  You can view 'action' videos on Youtube.     

Image: The chips were down and flying

Competing at woodchopping thoughout NZ

The chips were down and flying

Nelson Photo News

Image: Woodchopping at the A&P Show

Standing block chopping. Top axemen take less than 20 secs with a 10 inch log.

Woodchopping at the A&P Show

mychillybin

Image: The sport of woodchopping. 2

Woodchopping: NZ & overseas continues today

The sport of woodchopping. 2

mychillybin

WEEKEND LEISURE

Leisure hour activities have varied over the decades. In the sixties, for example, you could go to the movies, public library, roller skating rink, swimming baths, or pursue club or sporting interests. Pocket money treats included TT2 iceblock, jelly tip, topsy, and pineapple lumps. Children in our neighbourhood socialised by playing skipping, hopscotch and marble games; enjoying tennis on the road; making kites; and racing home-built trolleys down the nearby hilly road. We also swam in the Matarawa Stream and a dam was built in 1975 to create Lake Moananui. Our street (Elizabeth Drive) also started up a library in a small shed in the mid-sixties where we could swap our children's books. 

Image: The Reel People of New Zealand

Going to the movies & eating Tip Top ice cream and pineapple lumps

The former cinema on Mannering Street is now the site of the Tokoroa Public Library

The Reel People of New Zealand

NZ On Screen

USER STORY
Image: Marbles, hopscotch & skipping games

Playing marbles, hopscotch & skipping

Marbles was our neighbourhood sport of champions!

Marbles, hopscotch & skipping games

DigitalNZ

Image: Tokoroa youth centre. Outside view.

Joining activities at the Tokoroa Youth Centre which opened in 1964

Tokoroa youth centre. Outside view.

Tauranga City Libraries

Image: Australasian Coot

Picnicking, boating & swimming on man-made Lake Moananui

Created when dam placed across Matarawa Stream (1975)

Australasian Coot

iNaturalist NZ — Mātaki Taiao

Social watering holes, CLUB & VOLUNTEER CULTURE

The community spirit in Tokoroa was evident with the number of clubs and volunteer organisations. 

The RSA organised commemorative Anzac ceremonies and activities, like the family cricket picnics held in Tokoroa and at Hamilton's Lake Rotoroa.  Tokoroa also has two civic war memorials: the Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground, which was opened in 1953, and the memorial wall outside the South Waikato District Council offices. 

Social watering holes included the Tokoroa Club and Cosmopolitan, in addition to the Tokoroa Hotel, the Timberlands and the Trees Tavern. Young people could join groups like the Red Cross, St. John's and the Scouts/Guides. Community projects were supported through organisations like the Jaycees and Lions Club. Volunteers also helped the St. John Ambulance Service and the Tokoroa Volunteer Fire Brigade - the town siren would sound the alarm and you'd see workers sprinting to the fire engine. And the list goes on.... 

Image: Tokoroa war memorial

Tokoroa War Memorial wall outside the South Waikato District Council offices

On 17 Oct 1953 Major General Sir Howard Kippenberger opened Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground for those who served in WWII

Tokoroa war memorial

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Hotel Bar at Tokoroa

Tokoroa's pub scene featured music groups

Hotel Bar at Tokoroa

Hamilton City Libraries

SPORTING EXPLOITS

The Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground  was the place to be for sporting and social activities that brought the community together, and is now home to the South Waikato Sport and Events Centre. Sporting memories include frosty Saturday mornings playing netball and spending summery days at the Athletics Club and the town swimming baths. The Tokoroa East Bowling Club, which was located by the netball courts, flourished in local and regional competitions, until it closed due to falling numbers. The Tokoroa Bowling Club is still operating since the first roll up on its greens in 1951. Locals also headed along the road to the golf course or out into the bush country for off-road biking, pig hunting and eeling. You could tell when Kinleith workers were on strike by the number of vehicles parked on the side of the highway - pighunters and their dogs were busy in the forests!

Image: New swimming baths at Tokoroa

Swimming baths (1943)

New swimming baths at Tokoroa

Auckland Libraries

Image: Making The Go-Karts Go

Go-karting (1961)

Making The Go-Karts Go

Gisborne Photo News

Image: Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground

Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground opened 1953

Multi-purpose sports oval, bowling greens, croquet lawns, combined netball & tennis courts, and sports pavilions

Tokoroa Memorial Sportsground

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Records Smashed

Athletics (1967)

Records Smashed

Gisborne Photo News

Sporting stars: 

Over the years various sports 'stars' have had their turn in the spotlight in NZ and overseas. For example, see article on rugby players which includes being in the All Blacks (naturally!) and the list of notable sportspeople on Wikipedia.  Also see list of champion lawn bowlers on Tokoroa Bowling Club's website.

Image: Webb, Murray 1947-:Walter Little (circa 1997-1999).

All Blacks - Walter Little

50 tests: 1990 - 1998

Webb, Murray 1947-:Walter Little (circa 1997-1999).

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Inspiring Islander: Keven Mealamu

All Blacks - Keven Mealamu

132 tests: 2002-2015

Inspiring Islander: Keven Mealamu

The Coconet TV

Image: Richard Kahui. 2 June 2009

All Blacks - Richard Kahui

17 tests: 2008-2012

Richard Kahui. 2 June 2009

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Silver Ferns celebrate their win at Delhi, 2010

Silver Ferns - Maria (Tuta'ia) Folau

2005 - 2019

Silver Ferns celebrate their win at Delhi, 2010

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Jan and Marina Khan

Lawn bowls - Marina Khan

2006 Commonwealth Games: bronze medal

Jan and Marina Khan

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Commonwealth Games (2010)

NZ Athletics team included Monique Williams (200m)

Athletics

Radio New Zealand

Image: Pero Cameron

Tall Blacks - Pero Cameron

Received New Zealand Order of Merit for basketball (2011)

Pero Cameron

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Pero Cameron in good company with Hall of Fame induction

Hall of Fame (2017)

Pero Cameron was inducted into FIBA Hall of Fame 2017

Pero Cameron in good company with Hall of Fame induction

Radio New Zealand

Rugby League Player - Joseph Manu

2014 -

Rookies relish in Kiwis success

Radio New Zealand

STORY OF TOKOROA'S BEGINNINGS

The origin of the town's name is possibly taken from the nearby 'Tokoroa Plains' which appear on 19th-century maps. The surveyor may have commemorated Tokoroa, a chief of the Ngāti Kahupungapunga, who was killed by the invading Ngāti Raukawa during the 1600s. (See Te Ara and the Journal of the Polynesian Society.) During the Government's negotiations for land in the Patetere District of the Waikato, parts of the Tokoroa Block were subdivided off (1881). 'For sale' advertisements were placed in N.Z. and England to attract settler farmers.  

Waikato places: Tokoroa

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Districts of Ngāti Raukawa in southern Waikato

Districts of Ngāti Raukawa in southern Waikato

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

London advert for farmers (1884)

Parts of the Tokoroa Block were subdivided in 1881

THE SETTLEMENT OF PATETERE. (Waikato Times, 25 March 1884)

National Library of New Zealand

Image: Horse and rider with spare horse, Tokoroa

Farmland

Horse and rider with spare horse, Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

FARMING SETTLEMENT

A small farming settlement began with sheep and dairy cattle during the early 1900s. Initially the land surrounding Tokoroa was owned by the Thames Valley Land Company and then the Matarawa Land Company from 1914.  Land sales were slow due to the quality of the pumice soils causing 'bush sickness' in animals. After the soil's cobalt deficiencies were addressed in the 1930s, the farming of stock became more profitable. 

Image: Tokoroa, South Waikato District, Waikato Region, including surrounding farmland and nearby pine forests

Aerial view of farmland forestry and housing

Tokoroa, South Waikato District, Waikato Region, including surrounding farmland and nearby pine forests

Alexander Turnbull Library

Matarawa Land Company advertisement (1923)

Page 8 Advertisements Column 1 (Hawera & Normanby Star, 31 May 1923)

National Library of New Zealand

Image: Pictures taken recently at the Waikite and Tokoroa blocks, near Rotorua

Stock farming flourishing (1944)

Pictures taken recently at the Waikite and Tokoroa blocks, near Rotorua

Auckland Libraries

Image: Dairying at Tokoroa, South Waikato District

Dairying (1958)

Dairying at Tokoroa, South Waikato District

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Apple Packing Titles

Annual Fruit Show (1964)

Apple Packing Titles

Nelson Photo News

Dairy Industry Awards (2015)

Dairy awards regional finals

Radio New Zealand

FORESTRY INDUSTRY: EXOTIC TIMBERS 

The Taupo Totara Timber Company (TTT) was set up in  Putaruru in 1901 by a group of Wellingtom businessmen, to harvest stands of totara and matai south of Tokoroa.  A sawmill (the district's first) was established in 1903 at Kopokorahi, near Kinleith. In the 1970s, TTT was taken over by NZ Forest Products, which eventually became part of Carter Holt Harvey.  

Image: Sawmill, Tokoroa, Waikato

Timber sawmill

Sawmill, Tokoroa, Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa 1952

Tree-felling by axe (1952)

Tokoroa 1952

Auckland Libraries

Image: Tokoroa 1952

Crane loading logging truck (1952)

Tokoroa 1952

Auckland Libraries

Image: Tokoroa 1952

Transporting logs on bush road (1952)

Tokoroa 1952

Auckland Libraries

Image: Tokoroa 1952

Bank of circular saws (1952)

Tokoroa 1952

Auckland Libraries

Image: Tokoroa 1952

Stacking sawn timber (1952)

Tokoroa 1952

Auckland Libraries

A private bush railway line was built from Putaruru to Mokai which started transporting logs in 1905. Three years later goods and passengers were carried. With the cutting out of the bush at Mokai, dismantling the line was commenced in 1944. The Ministry of Works constructed a much heavier line on the site of the light railway to serve the Kinleith mills in 1948.  

Image: Tokoroa, South Waikato

Putaruru - Kinleith line passes through township

Tokoroa, South Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

FORESTRY INDUSTRY: PINUS RADIATA

With the pumice soil suitable for forestry, pine forests were planted from 1925 by New Zealand Perpetual Forests which evolved into New Zealand Forest Products (NZFP).  The next lot of planting was carried out NZFP in 1935. When these trees matured in the 1940s, a sawmill and a pulp and paper mill were set up at Kinleith.

Image: Pine plantation forestry around Tokoroa

1926: Pinus radiata

Pine plantation forestry around Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Pine plantation forestry around Tokoroa

1926

Pine plantation forestry around Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Pine plantation forestry around Tokoroa

1926

Pine plantation forestry around Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Pine forest at Tokoroa

1938

Pine forest at Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Timber industry, Tokoroa

1948

Timber industry, Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Pine plantations, Tokoroa

1948

Pine plantations, Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

KINLEITH MILL: 1954 - 

The Kinleith Mill was built by NZFP eight kilometres south of the Tokoroa township. It is located alongside the Putaruru-Taupo Highway and the Government-owned railway line which was extended from Putaruru to Kinleith in 1952.  In 1954 the works began producing timber, pulp, and paper.  The Mill is named after the Kinleith paper mills near Edinburgh in Scotland, where NZFP founder director Sir David Henry served his papermaking apprenticeship. 

Image: Kinleith pulp, paper and timber mills, official opening, Saturday 20 February 1954

Kinleith Mill built south of Tokoroa, opened 1954

Kinleith pulp, paper and timber mills, official opening, Saturday 20 February 1954

Auckland Libraries

Image: Kinleith pulp and paper mill

National Film Unit video of papermaking process (1954)

Kinleith pulp and paper mill

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Kinleith strike poster, 1980

Kinleith strike poster, 1980

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Logging pine forest

Cable logging of radiata pine

Logging pine forest

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Logger Rhythms

Film about timber work at Tokoroa and Kawerau

from planting to felling to finished product (1984)

Logger Rhythms

NZ On Screen

Carter Holt Harvey bought the New Zealand Forest Products forests in 1991. As the plantations were cut down, former forestry land was converted into dairy farms.  American International Paper purchased shares in Carter Holt Harvey and by 1995 had a 50.5% controlling interest. In 2005 Rank Group Investments Ltd, controlled by Graham Hart, purchased American International Papers holding and Carter Holt Harvey became wholly owned by Rank Group Investments. With the fall in demand from export markets in Australia and a decline in new building projects in NZ,  the dairy farms were sold and the workforce numbers at Kinleith declined through redundancies. 

In 2014 the Kinleith, Tasman and Penrose paper mills were sold to Japanese company Oji Fibre Solutions. Kinleith produces over 600,000 tonnes per annum of packaging papers and bleached softwood kraft market pulp. Most of the pulp is exported to markets in Asia for use in the manufacture of printing and writing paper, boards and tissue.   

Image: Business briefs

2014

Kinleith owned by Japanese pulp and paper maker, Oji Fibre Solutions

Business briefs

Radio New Zealand

TOWNSHIP DEVELOPMENT

Local politics: From town > Borough > district council:

Tokoroa was constituted a county town on 1 April 1953 and it became a county borough with its own mayor under the Tokoroa Town Empowering Act 1965. Later the Tokoroa Borough Council was established in 1975. Since 1989, Tokoroa has been part of the Waikato District Council which was established through the merger of the Tokoroa Borough Council and the Putaruru Borough Council (established in 1926).  The South Waikato District Council encompasses four main towns - Tokoroa, Putāruru, Tīrau and Arapuni. The main office is in Tokoroa, with a second office in Putāruru. 

Population: 

Spot the changes in the township as the population grew!  Back in 1948 Tokoroa had 242 people. Population Census figures for the 1950s show the rate of increase: 1951 census = 1,193; 1956 census = 5,366; 1961 census = 7,054.  With the growth of Kinleith Mill, Tokoroa was expected to become a city of 20,000 people. Instead, the population peaked in 1981 at 18,713 people and, thereafter, continued to fall as Kinleith reduced its operations.  Since 1989, a town has needed 50,000 people to become a city.  The 2018 New Zealand Census recorded a population of  13,578, of which ethnicities were:  59.0% European/Pākehā, 42.7% Māori, 20.7% Pacific peoples, 4.2% Asian, and 1.4% other ethnicities. (Note: totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities.) 

Housing Subdivisions:

To house its growing workforce, NZ Forest Products built 2,230 workers’ houses between 1947 - 1976, as well as camps for single men. From the 1960s, land was subdivided by private industry and the Matamata County Council.  As subdivisions were opened up for owner-built homes, the Matarawa Stream formed the western boundary for the township.

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato

1953:

Township planning spanning the Putaruru-Kinleith railway line

Tokoroa, Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa takes shape

1953:

Streets being laid out for housing Kinleith workers

Tokoroa takes shape

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

1958: Braeside Camp's single men's huts

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato

1958: Northern entrance

Township with Kinleith to the south, and farmland surroundings

Tokoroa, Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa

1963: Northern entrance

into town with Kinleith Mill to the south

Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato

1970: Shops and housing to the west

Tokoroa, Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, South Waikato

1976: Tokoroa Hospital in foreground

Looking northward with the Lake Moananui and Matarawa Stream on western boundary

Tokoroa, South Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, South Waikato

1976: Owner-built homes

Looking southward along Elizabeth Drive, with Matarawa Stream as western boundary

Tokoroa, South Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa urban area / drawn by the Department of Lands & Survey, Wellington, N.Z.

1981: Tokoroa's population peaked at 18,713 people

To be classified as a city, a population of 20,000 was required. (Since 1989, a population of 50,000 is required.)

Tokoroa urban area / drawn by the Department of Lands & Survey, Wellington, N.Z.

National Library of New Zealand

Shopping Centre:

Over the years there has been a range of stores, including Woolworths and, more recently, the Warehouse. In the 1960s, Friday night treats in front of cartoons on the TV were fish, battered sausages and chips. The local takeaway welcomed copies of the South Waikato News and NZ Herald newspapers to recycle as wrapping.  The dining out treat was at the Chinese restaurant in town. The choices for dining experiences have since increased, including the fast food outlets that can be seen today. 

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato, showing housing

Shopping area and housing (1953)

Tokoroa, Waikato, showing housing

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Shopping centre (1958)

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Shopping area (1959)

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa

Shops and housing to the west (1963)

Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa

Timberlands opposite shops (1963)

Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, South Waikato

Shopping area by SH 1 (1976)

Tokoroa, South Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Modern shopping area in Bridge Street, Tokoroa

Shops at Leith Place (1976)

Modern shopping area in Bridge Street, Tokoroa

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Arrival of other businesses:

Image: Film negative: International Harvester Company: T Dodge Tokoroa logging truck

T. Doidge Ltd (privately owned fleet of logging trucks) was formed in 1952

See: https://www.nztrucking.co.nz/trucks-and-trees/

Film negative: International Harvester Company: T Dodge Tokoroa logging truck

Canterbury Museum

Image: Egmont Box Company factory with saw mill and stacked lumber, with another lumber yard and workers housing beyond, Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Egmont Box Company (1956)

The factory was built on 18 acres and began manufacturing cheese crates in 1946

Egmont Box Company factory with saw mill and stacked lumber, with another lumber yard and workers housing beyond, Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Egmont Box Company, Limited. Tokoroa Factory, 1940s

Egmont Box Company was sold to NZ Forest Products Ltd in 1966

Egmont Box Company, Limited. Tokoroa Factory, 1940s

Massey University

Image: Nihills Transport Limited,Tokoroa

Nihills Transport Ltd (1970)

Nihills Transport Limited,Tokoroa

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Plan of Tokoroa Mobile Telephone Control Station (1975)

Plan of Tokoroa Mobile Telephone Control Station (1975)

Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Image: Not your usual tourist towns

Tourist attractions of Tokoroa (2009)

Not your usual tourist towns

Radio New Zealand

Image: Fight against pokies in Tokoroa

Clubs & pokie machines controversy made national news (2018)

Fight against pokies in Tokoroa

Radio New Zealand

SCHOOLING

The local schools were a social hub of the community drawing families together. The first school built was Tokoroa School (later renamed Tokoroa East) which opened in 1915 with a roll of 9 students and closed on 1 April 2010. (See The story of Tokoroa East School.)  In 1954 the second school opened and was named Tokoroa Central School. Tokoroa High was officially opened in October 1957, Amisfield School in 1956, and Matarawa School in 1958 (and later closed in 1999). With further increases in the population, Tokoroa South School (now named Strathmore School) opened in 1965. As Tokoroa's population increased, new schools were built (see Wikipedia article) and tertiary education options were provided.

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Tokoroa East School opened 1915

Tokoroa School (later renamed Tokoroa East) closed on 1 April 2010 (Photo 1958)

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

View of Tokoroa East School (bottom left ) looking towards the shops at middle right (1958)

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Tokoroa East School (1959)

Aerial view of location next to Showgrounds on left side of SH 1

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, South Waikato

Tokoroa East School (1976)

Tokoroa, South Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Closure notice for Tokoroa East: 1 April 2010

Tokoroa East School (2036) Closure Notice

Department of Internal Affairs

Image: Tokoroa School, Waikato

Tokoroa Central opened 1954

Photo: 1955

Tokoroa School, Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Tokoroa Central (1958)

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Tokoroa Central (1959)

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Tokoroa High School opened 1957

Tokoroa High School was opened officially on 19 October 1957. (Photo 1958)

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Tokoroa High & Matarawa School (opened 1958 & closed in 1999)

Aerial photo 1959

Tokoroa, Waikato Region

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa School

Tokoroa High, Int & Matarawa School (1963)

Tokoroa School

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Tokoroa, South Waikato

Tokoroa High, Tokoroa Int, & Matarawa School (1976)

Tokoroa, South Waikato

Alexander Turnbull Library

Image: Waiariki Institute of Technology

Regional Waiariki campus opened in 1978

Waiariki Institute of Technology

Manatū Taonga, the Ministry for Culture and Heritage

Image: Politicians on the Campaign Trail

Secondary students interviewing Helen Clark on the campaign trail (2008)

Politicians on the Campaign Trail

Radio New Zealand

Image: Subsided buses for Waikato University students

Travel to University subsidised (2015)

Subsided buses for Waikato University students

Radio New Zealand

Happenings since 2020:

Singapore-based OFI announce (2021) will build a dairy processing plant

OFI to build Tokoroa dairy plant for desserts, beverages, baked goods

Radio New Zealand

For recipients of the Queen's Birthday Honours and New Year Honours, see the NZ Gazette which lists online recipients from 1993 onwards.

Queen's Birthday Honours 2021

MNZM awarded to Mrs Heather Margaret Williamson, JP, of Tokoroa. For services to netball and the community.

Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021

Department of Internal Affairs

Image: Tokoroa's public toilets judged best in NZ

At 2022 Keep NZ Beautiful Awards, Tokoroa won best loos!

Tokoroa's public toilets judged best in NZ

Radio New Zealand

(This DigitalNZ story was created in 2018 and updated in April 2022)