Last updated October 2026
Pūkahu is a rural locality in the Hastings District, on the southern side of Hastings in Hawke’s Bay. It lies along Te Aute Road, where that road meets Mt Erin Road and St Georges Road, the junction a local history account calls the nucleus of the old settlement. The place is farmland and scattered houses, not a township, with Mount Erin the landmark used to place it.
A newspaper record kept by the Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank describes an earlier community with a school, church, hotel, flour mill and post office, almost all of which have gone.
Today it is a quiet country edge of Hastings, reached by road, with everyday services in the city. People living here, or passing through on the Te Aute corridor, will find open paddocks, private farms and a few surviving reminders rather than a village centre.
Official Locality Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 210, up 4% since 2018
- Land area
- 3.97 km²
- Location
- 6.0 km south of central Hastings
- Council
- Hastings District Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Pakipaki, Havelock North, Poukawa, Longlands
- Getting there
- By Te Aute Road from Hastings. Mt Erin Road and St Georges Road meet Te Aute Road at the old centre of the locality. A local bus stop was not confirmed.
- Nearby landmarks
- Mount Erin; the Te Aute Road, Mt Erin Road and St Georges Road junction; the former Pukahu schoolmaster’s house
Who Lives in Pūkahu
About 210 residents in 70 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
About Pūkahu
Pūkahu sits on the rural fringe of the Heretaunga Plains, where Te Aute Road runs south from Hastings toward the hills. The ground is working farmland, with houses set back from the road rather than a street of shops.
Mount Erin is the feature named in local memory of the place. No village green, public hall or reserve was confirmed for the locality in the sources checked.
The official name is Pūkahu. A published translation of this particular name was not found in council, heritage or encyclopedia pages reviewed. It is not the same place as Pukehou, the farming locality further south on State Highway 2, or as Pukeahu, the Wellington hill associated with the National War Memorial. Those names belong to other landscapes, with their own histories.
The wider Hastings area is known in te reo Māori as Heretaunga. Regional histories link the district with Ngāti Kahungunu. Published sources reviewed here do not name a marae in Pūkahu, or tie this locality to one hapū, so no finer affiliation is stated.
What remains is a rural area rather than a service town. No shopping strip, cafe row or operating school was confirmed inside Pūkahu. Residents use Hastings, and Havelock North, for shops, schools and other daily needs. Farms are private property. The public way through is the road network, chiefly Te Aute Road.
History and Heritage
A Hawke’s Bay newspaper account, preserved by the Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank, is the fullest published picture of old Pūkahu found for this page. It describes a small farming community at the Te Aute Road, Mt Erin Road and St Georges Road intersection, with a school, church, flour mill, slaughterhouse, hotel, post office and family farms.
The Inn at Pukahu served coach travellers when this road was still a main route out of Hastings toward Havelock North and Napier. The settlement lost that passing trade after traffic was diverted to the present route. Pukahu School, attended by the article’s subject from 1930 to 1937, closed during the depression. He finished his schooling in Havelock North.
The same account says much of the surrounding land was held by the Collison family, about 1,900 acres, and was sold after the war years for residential blocks. Housing around southern Hastings and along St Georges Road was linked to that breakup of farmland.
The writer noted that the former schoolmaster’s house still stood, with the street names and Mount Erin as the other visible links to the old community. Some farms had stayed in the same families.
During the depression, the article says, city children were fostered with Pūkahu farming families. One family on Te Aute Road ran a rabbit farm of up to 300 white angora rabbits, bred for wool. These details come from one published recollection, not from a council heritage listing, and should be read that way.
Getting Around
Te Aute Road is the way in from Hastings. Mt Erin Road and St Georges Road join it at the historic centre of the locality. Driving is the practical option. A regular bus stop in Pūkahu was not confirmed in the transport information reviewed.
There is no railway station in the locality. The Palmerston North to Gisborne line, and its old flag stops, belong to other settlements, including Pukehou, and should not be confused with Pūkahu. Hastings District Council is the territorial authority for rates, roads and local maps.
Getting Outdoors
Pūkahu is open farmland and roadside country, not a reserve with tracks, toilets or a formed lookout. Mount Erin is the landmark on the skyline. Any walk here is along public roads. Farm gates, paddocks and driveways are private.
The locality is not a swimming, surfing or summit destination. People wanting parks, cafes or peak walks use Hastings and Havelock North. This page is about the rural area as a place to live in and pass through, not a guide to those town attractions.
Near Pūkahu
Just outside Pūkahu, within 10 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Businesses
Where to Learn More
Hawke’s Bay Knowledge Bank: newspaper account of Pukahu’s school, inn, farms and the Collison land.
Hastings on Wikipedia: lists Pukahu among the outlying communities of Hastings.
Hastings District Council: council services, maps and contact details for the district.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pūkahu part of Hastings?
It is a rural locality in the Hastings District, listed as an outlying community of Hastings rather than an inner city suburb. It is not a separate town with its own council.
How do you get to Pūkahu?
Take Te Aute Road south from Hastings. Mt Erin Road and St Georges Road meet Te Aute Road at the old centre of the locality. A local bus stop was not confirmed, so a car is the practical way.
Is there a school in Pūkahu?
No operating school was confirmed in the locality. A newspaper account says Pukahu School closed during the depression, after a former pupil attended from 1930 to 1937. Children now enrol at schools in Hastings or Havelock North, depending on the address.
Are there shops or cafes in Pūkahu?
No shopping centre or cafe strip was confirmed. Daily shopping and dining are in Hastings or Havelock North.
What happened to the old Pukahu settlement?
It was a small roadside community with a school, church, hotel, mill and post office while coaches used this route. After through-traffic was diverted, and after the school closed in the depression, little remained beyond farms, road names, the former schoolmaster’s house and the view of Mount Erin.
What does the name Pūkahu mean?
A published translation of this Hastings place name was not found in the sources checked. Do not assume it shares a meaning with Wellington’s Pukeahu, or with Pukehou further south.
Is Pūkahu the same place as Pukehou?
No. Pukehou is a separate farming locality on State Highway 2, between Hastings and Waipukurau, known for Christ Church and Te Aute College. Pūkahu is the closer rural locality on Te Aute Road, near Mount Erin.
Can you walk around Pūkahu or visit the farms?
Public roads are open. Farms, driveways and paddocks are private, and there is no confirmed public track, toilet or lookout in the locality. Stay on the road unless you have permission to enter a property.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Explore Hastings only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Pūkahu is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.