Ōtaki is a town in the Kāpiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated halfway between the capital city Wellington, 70 km (43 mi) to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 km (43 mi) to the northeast.
Ōtaki is located on New Zealand State Highway 1 and the North Island Main Trunk railway between Wellington and Auckland and marks the northernmost point of the Wellington Region.
Plimmerton is a seaside suburb that lies in the northwest part of the city of Porirua in New Zealand, adjacent to some of the city's more congenial beaches. State Highway 59 and the North Island Main Trunk railway line pass just east of the main shopping and residential area.
Plimmerton has its modern origins as a late 19th century seaside resort. It is named after John Plimmer, an English settler and entrepreneur who, through the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, helped to fund and direct construction of the railway line. The estimated population is 2,130 as of June 2025.
Kīngi Tāwhiao (Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao, Māori: [taːɸiao tʉːkaɾɔtɔ matʉtaeɾa pɔːtatau tɛ ɸɛɾɔɸɛɾɔ]; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894), known initially as Matutaera, reigned as the Māori King from 1860 until his death. After his flight to the King Country, Tāwhiao was also Paramount Chief of Te Rohe Pōtae for 17 years, until 1881. A rangatira, and a religious figure – a tohunga ariki – Tāwhiao amassed power and authority during a time of momentous change, to become de facto leader of the Waikato tribes. He was a member of the Ngati Mahuta hapū and the kāhui ariki, the Kīngitanga royal family.
The son of kīngi Pōtatau te Wherowhero, Tāwhiao was elected the second Māori King after his father's death in 1860. Unlike his unenthusiastic father, Tāwhiao embraced the kingship, and responded immediately to the challenge of ongoing Raukawa and Tainui support for Te Āti Awa during the First Taranaki War. In 1863, Tāwhiao was baptised into the Pai Mārire faith, taking his regnal name, before leading the response to the invasion of the Waikato. After the Kīngitanga suffered a heavy defeat at the Battle of Rangiriri and war crimes at the trading centre of Rangiaowhia, Tāwhiao led the exodus of Tainui to the land of Ngāti Maniapoto, establishing a secessionist state called Te Rohe Pōtae (the King Country). Warning all Europeans that they risked death if they crossed the border, he governed Te Rohe Pōtae as an independent state for almost twenty years. Tāwhiao's power began to decline significantly in the 1880s, as his relations with Raukawa ki Ngāti Maniapoto deteriorated. He formally sued for peace with George Grey at Pirongia on 11 July 1881, allowing the construction of the North Island Main Trunk railway line, which first opened the King Country up to the outside world. Attempts by Tāwhiao to regain personal sovereignty or establish co-governance in accordance with the Treaty of Waitangi failed, and the Kīngitanga began to lose its supporters. The king died suddenly in August 1894, and was succeeded by his son Mahuta Tāwhiao.