Pōkeno

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.

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.

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.

The Bombay Hills are a range of hills to the south of Auckland, New Zealand. Though only a small and seemingly insignificant range of hills, they lie at the southern boundary of the Auckland region, and serve as a divide between Auckland and the Waikato region. There is a 19th-century settlement, Bombay, on the old main road south of Auckland, the Great South Road. Aucklanders and other New Zealanders have a mostly light-hearted "love-hate" relationship. Stereotypically, Aucklanders view parts of the country "south of the Bombay Hills" as provincial and unsophisticated, while the rest of the country sees Aucklanders as brash and arrogant. For this reason, the boundary between Auckland and its southern neighbours bears great significance. People on both sides of the boundary are as likely to use the phrase "New Zealand stops at the Bombay Hills". The term was adopted by 1990s New Zealand reggae band Southside of Bombay.

The South Auckland volcanic field, also known as the Franklin Volcanic Field, is an area of extinct monogenetic volcanoes around Pukekohe, the Franklin area and north-western Waikato, south of the Auckland volcanic field. The field contains at least 82 volcanoes, which erupted between 550,000 and 1,600,000 years ago.

Whangarata railway station was a station on the North Island Main Trunk, and in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It was originally known as Wangarata. The station was opened on 20 May 1875, and was closed on 3 October 1966.Whangarata was a flag station, 37 mi (60 km) south of Auckland. It was on a steep gradient, 618.4 km (384.3 mi) north of Wellington, 3.17 km (1.97 mi) east of Tuakau, 4.28 km (2.66 mi) west of Pokeno and 60 m (200 ft) above sea level. A deviation in 1914 allowed for an easier curve and gradient.

Bombay is a rural community in the Bombay Hills at the southern boundary of Auckland Region of New Zealand. The Auckland Southern Motorway runs through Bombay.Bombay is named for the ship Bombay, which transported settlers from England to the area in 1863. At the beginning of the 20th century, a community of Indian New Zealanders also settled in the area. A Sikh temple was opened in 2004.

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.

Mercer is a village in the Waikato District Council area of the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 70 km north of Hamilton and 58 km south of Auckland, on the east bank of the Waikato River, 2 km south of its confluence with the Mangatāwhiri River. Prior to the creation of the Auckland supercity in 2010, Mercer was in Franklin District, part of the Auckland Region.

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.