Morrinsville


Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Morrinsville is a service town for the local dairy industry; the area surrounding the town has the highest concentration of dairy cattle in New Zealand.

History and Culture

Pre-European settlement

Prior to European settlement of New Zealand, the hills around present-day Morrinsville were occupied by the Ngati Werewere Māori people of the Ngati Haua Iwi, and the site of the present-day town was on or near to an old Māori route between the upper Waihou-Piako basin and the Ngāruawāhia area.
Following the arrival of Europeans, some early European traders are believed to have traversed this route prior to 1834 when the Rev. J. Morgan travelled up the Piako River to near the future town site and crossed west to Horotiu, near Ngāruawāhia. First recorded contact with European settlers in the area occurred around 1850, with John Johnson trading with the Māori from 1852.

Post-European settlement

The 1860s saw an influx of European settlers to the area between Te Aroha and Matamata, and on 13 December 1873 a settler from Auckland, Thomas Morrin, purchased the Kuranui No.1 Block from the local Māori and founded the Lockerbie Estate, which Morrin named after the Scottish town from which his father had emigrated. In May 1874, Morrin purchased two further blocks, Motumaoho No.1 and No.2, and his estate then totaled over. The fledgling village was to be the service centre for Morrin's Lockerbie Estate and he built a blacksmith's shop, manager's house, the Jolly Cripple Hotel and general store and donated land for a school. Morrin hired Irish navvies from the gold fields to dig a network of ditches to drain the land, enabling it to be used for agriculture. In 1882 Morrin surveyed the land for the site of the town proper, and deposited plans for ten streets: Anderson, Hamilton, Studholme, Moorhouse, Lorne, Canada, Cureton, Somerville, Thames and Thorpe.
The Thames Valley and Rotorua Railway Company began construction of a railway line from Morrinsville to Rotorua in 1879, and on 1 October 1884, the line from Hamilton to Morrinsville was opened. With construction progressing towards Paeroa and the line to Te Aroha opening on 1 March 1886, the town's population was listed as 633 people. There were some proposals for lines to Matamata, Tīrau, and Rotorua, which would have turned Morrinsville into an area where several lines meet, instead a railway line was built to Lichfield. In 1880 Morrinsville was a hamlet with her own school, post office, and hotel. With further expansion of the railway towards Thames and Tauranga, alongside extensive drainage of swamp land to the south and west of the town making available large areas for dairy farming. Morrinsville was declared a town district in 1908 and in 1921 was constituted as a borough.
In 1895 the first church in Morrinsville, an Anglican church, was constructed. In 1907 a police station was constructed. The resident constable also serviced Wardville, Gordon, and Waharoa.
In 1957 Morrinsville annexed land from Piako County. The expansion included land at the south-east up to the Piako River and the Waitakaruru Stream, alongside land near the Tahuna-Waharoa highway, and land around Avenue Road.
In the early 1900s a Māori canoe was discovered on a property in Tahuna. The waka, named Maungateroto, had been laying on the property under a tree for 60 years. The waka was placed outside the Morrinsville War Memorial Hall after being gifted to Morrinsville by Ngati-Paoa in 1968.

Demographics

In 1881 Morrinsville had a population of 115, 30 years later it was 300. When Morrinsville was constituted as a town district in 1911 it had a population of 565. In 1971 Morrinsville's population was 4,454.
Morrinsville covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Morrinsville had a population of 9,003 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,110 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 1,956 people since the 2013 census. There were 4,293 males, 4,695 females and 18 people of other genders in 3,390 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 38.5 years. There were 1,860 people aged under 15 years, 1,617 aged 15 to 29, 3,627 aged 30 to 64, and 1,896 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 83.1% European ; 19.5% Māori; 2.3% Pasifika; 7.6% Asian; 0.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 2.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.0%, Māori language by 4.2%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 8.0%. No language could be spoken by 2.7%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 14.5, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 30.2% Christian, 0.8% Hindu, 0.4% Islam, 1.0% Māori religious beliefs, 1.5% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, and 2.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.1%, and 7.6% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,158 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 3,978 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 2,010 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $41,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 645 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,648 people were employed full-time, 870 were part-time, and 171 were unemployed.
NameArea
PopulationDensity
DwellingsMedian ageMedian
income
Morrinsville North1.851,59386159737.9 years$44,200
Morrinsville East3.244,1431,2801,58141.8 years$40,900
Morrinsville West5.193,2676291,21235.3 years$40,300
New Zealand38.1 years$41,500

Apart from Morrinsville, the largest number of commuters go to Waihou from Morrinsville East and Tahuroa from West. In 2018 13.8% of the population of Morrinsville East and 25.1% of West were Māori.

Education

Morrinsville College is the town's state secondary school, with a roll of. It opened in 1923 on a trial basis as Matamata District High School and moved to a new site in 1939. It became Morrinsville College in 1950.
Morrinsville Intermediate is the state intermediate school, with a roll of. It opened in 1970.
The town has two state primary schools for Year 1 to 6 students: Morrinsville School, with a roll of ; and David Street School, with a roll of ; Morrinsville School opened in 1877 at Studholme St, and moved in stages to Lincoln Street between 1920 and 1935 as the high school expanded on the original site. David Street School opened in 1955.
A third primary school, Motumaoho School, is located south-west of the town on State Highway 26; it has a roll of.
St Joseph's Catholic School is a state integrated Catholic primary school, with a roll of. It opened in 1930.
All these schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of

Economy

Morrinsville's economic growth is dependent on the surrounding countryside: the Piako country is one of the wealthiest farming areas in the world with the country being good for dairy cattle specifically.
Morrinsville was impacted by the Long Depression but weathered it better than other settlements due to its location on the railway line.
Morrinsville houses several factories involved in agricultural products such as a butter factory, which claims to be the first butter factory in the world to be fully automated,, and a fertiliser factory.

Transportation

Railway

Historically, Morrinsville was the railway junction of the Auckland–Thames and Auckland–Rotorua lines, which subsequently became the Thames Branch and the East Coast Main Trunk Railway lines. Morrinsville Railway Station was opened on 1 October 1884, to the east off Studholme Street, at the junction of the two lines. A footbridge over the track was opened in 1913, connecting the station with the town from the end of Canada Street. The station was described as consisting of "two asphalt passenger platforms, and the station buildings contain a ladies' waiting room, a large general waiting room, a post office lobby with post and telegraph offices, a ticket office, and offices for the Inspector of Permanent Way. There are also large goods and engine sheds, and cattle loading yards. Five workmen's cottages adjoin the station, and the Bank of New Zealand Estates Company has a large building connected with the siding for seed-cleaning and storage purposes." The station was moved about towards Hamilton in 1923. The original station building was demolished in 1984 and a smaller building was erected approximately 300 metres to the west off Marshall Street, which is still used by KiwiRail for freight services.
Passenger services are no longer provided to or from Morrinsville Railway Station. The Thames Branch closed on 28 June 1991 and the track subsequently lifted, although in 2004 a short shunt line – the Waitoa Industrial Line – reopened to facilitate freight trains for the Waitoa Dairy Factory. The East Coast Main Trunk Railway provided passenger services between Auckland and Rotorua – the Geyserland Express – and Auckland and Tauranga - the Kaimai Express; however, in 2001 it was announced that these services were too uneconomic to continue, and the last trains ran on 7 October 2001.
Passenger traffic reached a peak in 1944, as shown in this table and the graph -
yearticketsseason ticketsstaffsourcetitte
18851,65233https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1885/I/1156RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1885
18864,56266https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1886/I/1138RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1886
18873,688632https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1887/I/920RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1887
18881,892581https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1889/I/1068?large_image=trueRETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1888
18891,911261https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1889/I/1068RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1889
1890https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1890/I/1064RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1890
18912,02472https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1891/II/1264RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1891
18922,175132https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1892/I/1164RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1892
18932,603262https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1893/I/1494RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1893
18942,965163https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1894/I/1388RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1894
18952,137153https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1895/I/1586RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1895
18962,24183https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1896/I/1624RETURN No. 10. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Twelve Months ending 31 March 1896
18972,22583https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1897/II/1610RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1897
18982,249113https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1898/I/1670RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1898
18992,172293https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1899/I/1824RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1899
19002,621224https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1900/I/1612RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1900
1901RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1901
19023,78724https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1902/I/1436RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1902
19034,448165https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1903/I/1873RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1903
19045,652345https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1904/I/1848RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1904
19056,363225https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1905/I/3767RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1905
19066,747175https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1906/II/1600RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1906
19078,099266https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1907/I/2542RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1907
190811,985437https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1908/I/2061RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1908
190913,067438https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1909/II/1832RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1909
191014,043446https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1910/I/2050RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1910
191114,505575https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1911/I/2497RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1911
191214,718696https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1912/II/2420RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1912
191319,603628https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1913/I/3693RETURN No. 12. STATEMENT of Revenue and Expenditure of each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1913
191423,66174https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1914/I/2031RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1914
191526,790120https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1915/I/1638RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1915
191630,754358https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1916/I/1053RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1916
191733,249264https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1917/I/1123RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1917
191833,602320https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1918/I-II/1159RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1918
191938,808351https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1919/I/1231RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1919
192039,360249https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1920/I/1349RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1920
192146,421309https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1921/I-II/1452RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1921
192242,904424https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1922/I/1409RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1922
192338,073478https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1923/I-II/1321RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1923
192437,166593https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1924/I/2458RETURN No. 12. Statement of Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1924
192535,327354https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1925/I/1804RETURN No. 12. Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1925
192633,467446https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1926/I/1930STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1926
192731,587261https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1927/I/2230STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1927
192827,278286https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1928/I/2628STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1928
192924,925215https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1929/I/2090STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1929
193018,686257https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1930/I/2212STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1930
193120,961217https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1931/I-II/1778STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1931
193218,270234https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1932/I-II/1934STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1932
193323,006367https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1933/I/1388STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1933
193427,071390https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1934/I/2278STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1934
193528,201401https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1935/I/1326STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1935
193627,293373https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1936/I/1552STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1936
193729,399364https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1937/I/1896STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1937
193828,030329https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1938/I/1652STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1938
193926,365257https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1939/I/1970STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1939
194025,771280https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1940/I/1314STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1940
194128,618289https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1941/I/1203STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1941
194237,228306https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1942/I/651STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1942
194351,297318https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1943/I/679STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1943
194452,091281https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1944/I/895STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1944
194540,542173https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1945/I/969STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1945
194637,342193https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1946/I/1548STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1946
194723,886153https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1947/I/2495STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1947
194817,22144https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1948/I/2521STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1948
194913,90168https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1949/I/2104STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1949
195011,79755https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/appendix-to-the-journals-of-the-house-of-representatives/1950/I/2366STATEMENT No. 18 Statement of Traffic and Revenue for each Station for the Year ended 31 March 1950

Road network

Roads in Morrinsville were not metalled until the late 19th century. Roads in the town were dusty and uneven in summer and in winter they were too muddy for horses to progress at a canter. The ride from Annandale to the church in Morrinsville, which is two and a half miles, took an hour.
Transport out of Morrinsville was initially difficult with the only proper road leading to Mangateparu; however, it was quite treacherous and prone to flooding.

Walkways

A walkway runs beside Waitakaruru Stream and one of beside the Piako River. There was a plan in 2008 to combine these walkways into a route of. There are also shorter walkways on the north east edge of town.

Notable places

  • The Nottingham Castle Hotel was originally built in 1875 as the Jolly Cripple and established as the Nottingham Castle Hotel in 1880. It burnt down in 1913 and was replaced in 1914. It is one of the oldest buildings in Morrinsville and serves a centre for the town.

Reserves

In 1970 a farm that bordered the Kuranui Reserve was purchased by the Piako County Council. This was gazetted as a reserve and named Roy Scott Recreation Reserve, in honour of the county chairman. In 1972 a further was added onto the reserve.

Sports clubs

  • Kereone Rugby & Sports Club, established in 1919.

Notable people