Tokoroa Visitor Information Centre

New Zealand's centre of Pulp and Paper, Tokoroa is the service town for the massive Kinleith Pulp and Paper mill, using Pine grown in the area since WWII. While the rest of the Waikato is productive dairying land,'Bush Sickness', (cobalt deficiency)initially inhibited farming in the Tokoroa area. During it's heyday of the 1970s and 1980s it housed 19,000 people. It now has a population of about 14,000.
Dairying is of increasing importance in the region as forest land is converted now that the soil deficiency is understood and can be supplemented.
Talking Poles, usually wood carvings,are a feature of the town. They represent ethnic culture, sport & recreation and industry. The project which began in 1997 has now seen 39 such sculptures erected in the town, and an international talking pole symposium hosted there.