Mokoia

The Rimu A1 well struck oil on the coast near Mokoia in December 1999, and eight more wells for oil and natural gas were subsequently developed by Swift Petroleum.

History: The settlement was founded in 1867. Early settlers farmed sheep, cattle and horses. A flour mill was run by local Maori. A creamery was built in 1904 and expanded into a dairy factory in 1908. It expanded to include cheese-making in 1913, and again to produce casein in 1923. It closed in 1970.

A meteorite exploded above Mokoia on 26 November 1908, showering the area with fragments. It made international headlines. One of the surviving fragments, recovered from the farm of Cecil Hawken is now held in the Puke Ariki heritage collection. Mokoia was one of the areas where soldiers were given rehab farms after World War II.