Horticultural farming locality on the Heretaunga Plain, 7 kms north of Hastings. A Catholic mission station was founded at Pākōwhai in 1851, and later transferred to nearby Meeanee. New Zealand’s oldest surviving winemakers are Mission Estate, which was set up here in the same year.
Meaning of place name
Can be translated as pā: fofrtified village; kōwhai: a native tree or as pākō: gleanings, scraps of food; whai: to look or search for
