Manaia, Taranaki: The Bread Capital, George the Hero Dog and a Redoubt on the Golf Course
Manaia is the kind of Surf Highway stop that turns a quick coffee into an hour. It's the self-declared Bread Capital of New Zealand, home to a hero dog with his own statue, a golf course built around an 1880s redoubt, and a museum devoted to country music. All of it fits in a small South Taranaki farming town of about a thousand people.
Manaia at a glance
Where: on State Highway 45, the Surf Highway, about 13 km north-west of Hāwera.
Known for: Yarrows bakery, George the dog, and layers of Taranaki history.
Allow: half an hour for the statues and a pie, longer if you play golf or catch the country music.
The Bread Capital
Yarrows has been baking in Manaia since 1923 and is still the town's biggest employer, sending bread all over the country. Hence the giant loaf sculpture in town and the proud "Bread Capital" signs. Pick up something fresh before you hit the road.
George, the hero dog
In 2007, George, a nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier, died defending five local children from two attacking dogs. He was awarded a posthumous PDSA Gold Medal, the highest honour for animal bravery, and Manaia put up a statue in his memory near the main roundabout. It's a small, touching stop, and a good story to share with kids.
History on the golf course
Manaia Redoubt was built around 1880, in peacetime, on the site of a former pā. It was built as an armed response to the passive resistance led by Te Whiti o Rongomai and Tohu Kākahi at Parihaka. Two blockhouses still stand, alongside a 1912 concrete replica of the lookout tower, and today they sit on the town's 18-hole golf course. It's a striking reminder of how close the history of the Taranaki land confiscations still is.
In the town centre, an 1890 marble obelisk and a band rotunda are memorials to settlers killed in the 1860s wars and to the First World War.
Country music
The Taranaki Country Music Hall of Fame celebrates local performers, with memorabilia and regular live nights. Opening hours vary, so check ahead if you're a fan.
Nearby
Hollard Gardens: near Kaponga, a farm couple's garden grown from a bare paddock into one of the region's gardens of significance. Free entry.
Dawson Falls and the Goblin Forest: about half an hour up the mountain in Te Papa-Kura-o-Taranaki.
Hāwera: for the water tower climb and the remarkable Tāwhiti Museum, with life-size figures made by Nigel Ogle.
Ōpunake: the next surf town west, with murals and a beach.
A layered landscape
The coast around Manaia carries centuries of history: pā sites at the mouth of the Kapuni River, the Ngāruahine marae in and around town, shipwrecks like the barque Lizzie Bell in 1901, and the land confiscations of the 1860s. Read the information boards as you go. Manaia is named after Hukunui Manaia, a paramount chief of the district.
Where to stay
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Plan your trip
Pair with: the rest of the Surf Highway 45 route, New Plymouth and Stratford.
Take care: milk tankers use these narrow country roads every day.
Best time: any time of year. Spring brings the gardens into flower.
FAQs
Why is Manaia called the Bread Capital?
Yarrows bakery has baked in Manaia since 1923 and is still the town's biggest employer, supplying bread across New Zealand.
Who was George the dog?
George was a Jack Russell terrier who died in 2007 protecting five children from two attacking dogs in Manaia. He was awarded a posthumous PDSA Gold Medal, and his statue stands in town.
Where is Manaia?
On State Highway 45, the Surf Highway, about 13 km north-west of Hāwera in South Taranaki.
