32 Main Street, Eketahuna, Other
Classic Kiwi Country Town. So classic in fact that there is a certain awareness in the area that "eke" is known as the Timbuktu of New Zealand , the sort of place one might disappear to and never be seen again. Embracing this status as the archetypal Kiwi town, the residents of Eketahuna put up a big Kiwi Welcome sign at the edge of town and another one in the middle, outside the public conveniences.
Underneath the good humour is also a strong streak of the stuff now known as resilience, where the 400 odd residents have each others backs, are sticking it out through transportation troubles like the closure of the Manawatu Gorge, and reduction in railway traffic. In fact as this cool little video by the New Zealand Herald shows, the folk of Eke dug deep enough to buy their own service station when it burned down, and to see their grocery store through hard times too. The same spirit saw Eketahuna set up the first nurse-led health clinic when they lost their GP.
Long live Eketahuna.
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Image Credit: Sabrina Xavier Photographer and Railway Station, Eketahuna, New Zealand, 1904-1915, Eketahuna, by Muir & Moodie studio. Purchased 1998 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. Te Papa
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