Mercer, New Zealand

Mercer railway station in Mercer, New Zealand, is 72 km from Auckland and 609 km from Wellington on the North Island Main Trunk line. It opened on 20 May 1875 and was closed to passengers about 1970 and to goods in the 1990s. It burnt down in 1879 and also in 1900. Until 1958 it was the first refreshment stop south of Auckland.

The Mangatāwhiri River is a river of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally southwest from its sources in the Hunua Ranges southeast of Clevedon before flowing through a system of irrigation canals at the northern edge of the Waikato Plains close to the town of Pōkeno. It reaches the Waikato River close to the township of Mercer. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "Tāwhiri tree stream" for Mangatāwhiri.The upper reaches of the Mangatāwhiri are dammed to form reservoirs to store water for use by Auckland City.

The Maramarua River is in the north-eastern part of the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is formed by the confluence of the Mangatangi River and the Ruaotehuia Stream just north of State Highway 2 between Mangatāwhiri and Maramarua. It flows through the northern part of the Whangamarino Wetland and joins the Whangamarino River shortly before that river flows into the Waikato River.

Queen's Redoubt is a fortification of the New Zealand Wars, located at Pōkeno, New Zealand. It was built to protect the southern end of a major supply route to Auckland. It subsequently served as the main British base during the early stages of the Invasion of the Waikato. Erected in June 1862, it was garrisoned until 1866 at which time it was abandoned. The majority of the site is now owned by the Queen’s Redoubt Trust, which has developed it as a visitor attraction.

The Whangamarino River is a lowland river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island, draining the Whangamarino Wetland and associated farmland catchment. The river converges with the Waikato River just north of Meremere. The main tributary is the Maramarua River, which starts in the Hunua Ranges and forms the northern catchment of the Whangamarino River. The natural Whangamarino River system, especially the main branch (the southern catchment), has been highly modified due to the lower flood protection scheme of the lower Waikato River. Prior to these floodworks, the Whangamarino Catchment was unconnected with Lake Waikare. However, due to the Lower Waikato-Waipa Flood Control Scheme, constructed in the 1960s, Lake Waikare was transformed and used for flood retention storage when the nearby Waikato River was in flood. During flood events, the Waikato River now overflows into the transformed Lake Waikato via the Rangiriri Spillway (and the redirected Te Onetea Stream). When the Waikato River conditions are suitable, the flood waters are discharged from Lake Waikare into the Whangamarino River catchment through the artificial Pungarehu Canal. While the flood scheme has permanently changed the ecology of Lake Waikare, it has also provided broader benefits for the community.

Meremere Power Station is a former coal-fired power station on the Waikato River at Meremere, approximately 64 kilometres (40 mi) south of Auckland, New Zealand. Meremere was the first major coal-fired power station in New Zealand, and was commissioned to help meet the increasing electricity demands of New Zealand, and especially Auckland, after World War II. The first six 30MW units were commissioned in 1958. The commissioning of Meremere, and Atiamuri Dam further upstream on the Waikato River, meant post-war electricity restrictions were finally lifted in December that year. An additional seventh unit commissioned in April 1967. Two-thirds of Meremere's annual 800,000-tonne coal requirements was met by the nearby Maramarua coalfield, with coal delivered to the power station by a twin aerial ropeway. The remaining one-third of coal came from other mines, and was railed to Meremere via a private siding off the North Island Main Trunk. Meremere last produced power in December 1990 and was decommissioned in March 1991 after 33 years in service.

Amokura railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk in the Waikato region of New Zealand, 604.62 km (375.69 mi) from Wellington. It is at the north end of a 13 km (8.1 mi) single line section extending to Te Kauwhata. Doubling of that section is being investigated in a business case from July 2021.Sources differ as to the opening date. One says opening was on 20 October 1929 for goods and 11 November 1929 for passengers. Another says 13 August 1877 and that the line was doubled from 1 July 1956. A siding was gazetted with the name Amokura in January 1929 and a 1930 article implied it was new. It was also known c.1929 as Ngatikoi or Raumoa. A crossing loop was closed on 13 May 1963. at that time there was a proposal to combine it with Meremere station, as they were only a chain (22 yd (20 m)) apart and Meremere was larger and better known.

The Pokeno railway station is a former railway station in Pokeno, New Zealand on the North Island Main Trunk line. It opened for passengers on 20 May 1875, and for goods on 6 April 1879. It was 39 mi 36 ch (63.5 km) south of Auckland (via Newmarket) and 41 mi 52 ch (67.0 km) (via Orakei).The station closed to passengers on 24 June 1973, and to goods on 30 March 1980.Work on the proposed Paeroa–Pokeno Line commenced in 1938, and whilst approximately 13 km of earthworks were completed at each end, the proposal was halted due to the Second World War. Work was still making slow progress in 1950. The line was to be the first part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway.

Meremere is a small town in the northern Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the east bank of the Waikato River, 50 kilometres north of Hamilton and 63 km south of Auckland. Meremere was the site of fighting in 1863 during the New Zealand Wars, at which time the settlement (then known as Mere Mere) was the site of a Māori defensive outpost. For a number of years a coal-fired power station operated in Meremere, and much of the workforce lived in the town. The station was the first government-built large scale thermal power station, opening in 1958 and was a notable landmark for travellers along State Highway 1, which runs past the town. An aerial ropeway carried buckets of coal to the station from the Maramarua coal mine. The station closed in 1991 and there were plans during the 1990s to convert the station into a waste to energy plant, using waste from Auckland. These plans, known as the Olivine project, did not eventuate. The site was used as a recycling centre from 2007 to at least 2017.

Pōkeno (spelled Pookeno in Waikato-Tainui dialect) is a small town in the Waikato District of the Waikato region in New Zealand, 53 km (33 mi) southeast of Auckland, 9 km (5.6 mi) from Tuakau and 5 km (3.1 mi) from Mercer. State Highway 1 originally ran through the town, but the upgrading of the highway in 1992 to expressway standards mean that the town has been bypassed.

Franklin District was a New Zealand territorial authority that lay between the Auckland metropolitan area and the Waikato Plains. As a formal territory, it was abolished on 31 October 2010 and divided between Auckland Council in the Auckland Region (39.82 percent by land area) to the north and Waikato and Hauraki districts in the Waikato region (60.18 percent) to the south and east. The Auckland portion is now part of the Franklin Ward, which also includes rural parts of the former Manukau City. Before its abolition, it was administered from the town of Pukekohe. Out-going Franklin District Mayor Mark Ball had proposed that Franklin District become an independent unitary authority, fulfilling both the functions of a local and regional council. However, this was rejected by Minister Rodney Hide.