Central and Southern Hawke’s Bay has proved a rich seedbed for New Zealand music; this map takes a musical road trip through the district. It travels from a legendary commune at Waimarama to the hallowed grounds of Te Aute College; to a small Anglican church in Ōtāne. Motor south on State Highway 2 to Waipawa, then a few kilometres further to the Leopard Hotel in Waipukurau to that town’s long-demolished Municipal Theatre. In the Takapau Plains are scattered a wealth of community halls, and Dannevirke once featured a home studio that launched musical careers.
Since 1989, Dannevirke has been at the heart of the Tararua District, but before that it was considered Southern Hawke’s Bay; Hawke’s Bay Today and, before that, The Hawke’s Bay Herald-Tribune were the town’s newspapers of choice. Therefore, Dannevirke has been included in this jaunt south from the Heretaunga Plains to the tiny locality of Tahoraiti.
AudioCulture’s tour guide is Hastings-born musician Glen Moffatt.
Click here to see a full-sized version of the map. The map on this page is best viewed on a desktop/laptop/tablet; if you wish to zoom in on any particular location then double-click.
Waimarama sunset, January 2026. - Photo by Robert Sarkies
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