Tokoroa Vacations, Tokoroa Vacation Reviews, Tourism Guide

Tokoroa Vacation Guide

Tokoroa was a barren land due to a lack of goodness in the volcanic soil but science discovered other options and in the 1950s the town began to grow amid NZ Forest Products (NZFP) Pinus Radiata plantations.

It was a very cosmopolitan place to begin with. Europeans came with their knowledge to build and run the Kinleith Pulp and Paper mill (14kms south of town). Young Polynesian men were brought in to plant thousands of acres of pines and quickly something grew where there was nothing before.

By the 1970s Tokoroa was only a couple of hundred citizens away from being a NZ city (20 000 required) but never made it. NZFP chased profits, modernised, split into several companies (some of which were purchased by overseas interests) and reduced the workforce of the mill with machinery and contract labour.

Tok. has declined to a population of about 13 000 now. The town is still heavily reliant on Kinleith for it's future but many of the town's inhabitants are retired due to the low cost of housing. It is still very cosmopolitan with large Samoan, Cook Island, Scottish, Dutch, English and Maori numbers.

Tokoroa prides itself of being the centre of the North Island. Hamilton, Rotorua, Taupo, Tauranga are all just an hours drive away.

Tok. folk love the outdoors: hunting, fishing, hiking, boating, and camping all there on the doorstep, with native and exotic forests, the Waikato River and various mountains and lakes.

Tokoroa: Clean, green & friendly.