Last updated October 2026
Aorangi is a rural settlement in the Manawatū District, just south of Feilding and a short drive north of Palmerston North. It is near the city, not part of it.
The land lies on the Palmerston North side of the Ōroua River, where the open plains meet the roads into Feilding. There is no village square or shopping strip. Houses and farm properties are spread along Waughs Road, and the community landmark is Aorangi Marae.
Official Locality Facts
- Population (2023 Census)
- About 610, up 13% since 2018
- Land area
- 25.17 km²
- Location
- 11.8 km north of central Palmerston North
- Council
- Manawatu District Council
- Neighbouring suburbs
- Feilding, Bunnythorpe, Colyton, Newbury
- Getting there
- Just south of Feilding, on the Palmerston North side of the Ōroua River. The marae is at 6 Waughs Road, also given as Aorangi Road. Drive from Palmerston North toward Feilding, then follow Waughs Road.
- Main shopping
- Feilding town centre, the nearest place for shops, fuel and everyday services.
- Nearby landmarks
- Aorangi Marae (wharenui Maniaihu), the Ōroua River, and Feilding township, with the Ruahine Range on the eastern skyline.
Who Lives in Aorangi
About 610 residents in 220 households. From the 2023 Census, with the New Zealand figure alongside for comparison.
About Aorangi
Aorangi reads as the rural edge of Feilding rather than as a town in its own right. The settlement sits outside the Feilding township, on farmland between that town and Palmerston North.
People living here look to Feilding for daily needs and to Palmerston North for the larger city. The locality name is also the name of the marae, which is the reason most outsiders come to know the place.
The country is the gentler Manawatū plain, not hill country. The Ōroua is the river named in the marae’s own pepeha, and Ruahine is the ancestral mountain, Ruahine te pae maunga.
The ranges are a backdrop on the skyline, not a walk that starts at the gate. Around Waughs Road the pattern is paddocks, shelter belts and scattered houses, including lifestyle blocks, rather than a grid of streets.
The name is carried in the phrase used at the marae, He ao, he ao, he Aorangi e. A single English gloss is not given here, because the meaning sits with the people of the marae.
What published marae and iwi sources do make clear is which Aorangi this is. It is not Aorangi Forest Park in the Wellington region, and it is not Aorangi Island in the Poor Knights.
For a visitor, the experience is quiet. There is no cafe row, signed village walk or cluster of attractions under the locality name.
The approach is a country road, the carved gateway of the marae if a visit has been arranged, and the wider life of Feilding and the plains. Treat it as marae country and working farmland, and arrange any time on the marae before you arrive.
Aorangi Marae
Aorangi Marae belongs to Ngāti Kauwhata. Ancestors of the iwi came on the Tainui waka and lived around Maungatautari in the Waikato before large numbers moved to the southern North Island in the 1820s. The marae’s main hapū is Ngāti Tahuriwakanui.
Māori Maps places the marae just south of Feilding and names the wharenui Maniaihu. The marae’s own site gives this pepeha: Ko Ruahine te pae maunga, ko Oroua te awa, ko Kauwhata te iwi, ko Tahuriwakanui te hapū, ko Aorangi te marae, ko Maniaihu te whare tupuna, ko Kakerangi te wharekai.
The marae is a living community place, not a drop-in tourist stop. Its kawa is Tainui, tū atu tū mai. If you have not been before, the marae will arrange the pōwhiri. Bookings are taken for hui, wānanga, accommodation and group visits.
Catering is not provided. The wharenui sleeps up to 60 people and the wharekai can seat 150. The whare kaumātua has an accessible bathroom and a baby change table, with a small adjoining room for someone who needs a quieter place to sleep.
The street address is 6 Waughs Road (Aorangi Road), Aorangi, Feilding 4775. Enquiries go to the marae by email, with dates, purpose, a contact person and numbers.
Ngāti Kauwhata also has Kauwhata Marae (Kai Iwi Pā), likewise just south of Feilding, on Te Arakura Road. That is a separate marae, with its own hapū, and should not be confused with Aorangi.
History and Heritage
Ngāti Kauwhata’s move south was part of the upheaval of the 1820s, when iwi linked to the Waikato, including Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Kauwhata, established themselves in the Manawatū alongside Rangitāne. Aorangi later became one of the iwi’s two main marae, with the hapū Ngāti Tahuriwakanui and the meeting house Maniaihu.
A third marae, Te Iwa Tekau mā Iwa, once stood at Awahuri on the Ōroua; its wharenui was lost after the 1936 cyclone. That history belongs to the wider rohe, not to the Aorangi gateway itself.
Family land at Aorangi also enters the written record through a Te Ara biography of the Rangitāne leader Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotū. His daughter Hurihia married Robert Te Rama Apakura Durie and lived on family land at Aorangi, near Feilding, where their descendants continued to farm.
The Durie name remains closely associated with Ngāti Kauwhata leadership. The biography is a historical source for that connection, not a guide to who farms which paddock today.
European industry reached the same locality name. A 1966 Te Ara account of Feilding recorded a large meat-freezing works at Aorangi, about a mile south-east of the town, with a wool-scouring works nearby. That entry describes the industrial edge of Feilding in the mid-twentieth century. It is not used here as evidence that a works is still operating. The lasting public landmark of the settlement is the marae.
Getting Around
Plan to arrive by car. From Palmerston North, head north toward Feilding and use Waughs Road, also known as Aorangi Road, on the Palmerston North side of the Ōroua. The marae is only a short way outside Feilding, so the town is the practical base for food, fuel and anything you have not arranged in advance.
Do not assume a public bus will drop you at the gate. If you are attending a hui, ask your hosts which driveway and parking area to use, and do not wander the marae grounds uninvited.
Feilding is also where schooling and shopping sit. Feilding High School is the town’s secondary school, and primary and intermediate schools in Feilding serve the surrounding district.
An address on Waughs Road should be checked against the relevant enrolment zone rather than assumed. There is no separate Aorangi shopping centre. Manchester Street and the Feilding town centre cover groceries, banks and other errands.
Near Aorangi
Just outside Aorangi, within 5 km of its centre, nearest first.
Places
Where to Learn More
Te Roopu Hokowhitu: Aorangi Marae: The marae’s own page, with pepeha, visiting kawa, facilities and booking contact.
Māori Maps: Aorangi: Location just south of Feilding, iwi Ngāti Kauwhata, wharenui Maniaihu, and links to waka, awa and maunga.
Te Ara: Hoani Meihana Te Rangiotū: Biography noting family land at Aorangi, near Feilding, and descendants who continued to farm there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Aorangi part of Palmerston North?
No. Aorangi is a rural settlement in the Manawatū District, just south of Feilding. Palmerston North is the nearby city, not the council that administers it.
Where is Aorangi?
It is on the Palmerston North side of the Ōroua River, just outside Feilding. Aorangi Marae is at 6 Waughs Road, also called Aorangi Road, Feilding 4775.
Which iwi is connected with Aorangi Marae?
Ngāti Kauwhata, of the Tainui waka. The main hapū of the marae is Ngāti Tahuriwakanui, and the wharenui is Maniaihu.
Can I visit the marae without arranging it?
No. Aorangi Marae is a living marae, not a public park. First-time visitors are received by pōwhiri, and the kawa is Tainui, tū atu tū mai. Contact the marae before you go.
What facilities does the marae have for a booked group?
The wharenui sleeps up to 60 and the wharekai seats 150. The whare kaumātua has an accessible bathroom and a baby change table. Catering is not provided.
Is this the same place as Aorangi Forest Park?
No. This Aorangi is the settlement south of Feilding. Aorangi Forest Park is in the Wellington region, and Aorangi Island is one of the Poor Knights Islands, off Northland.
Where do residents shop and go to school?
Feilding town centre is the place for shops and services. Schooling is in Feilding, including Feilding High School for secondary students. Check the enrolment zone for a Waughs Road address with the school.
How do I get there from Palmerston North?
Drive north toward Feilding and follow Waughs Road (Aorangi Road) on the Palmerston North side of the Ōroua. A car is the practical way to arrive.
Spotted something incorrect on this page? Let us know.
Explore Palmerston North only lists suburbs officially recognised by Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), and Aorangi is one of them. Suburb boundary: LINZ, CC BY 4.0.