Palmerston North (Māori: Te Papaioea) is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of 81,600 (June 2010 estimate) and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank of the Manawatu River. The city covers an area of 325.94 square kilometres (126 sq mi) and one million people live within a two-hour drive (200 km/120 mile radius). It is about 140 km (87 mi) north of the capital, Wellington. The city is 35 km (22 mi) from the river's mouth and 12 km (7 mi) from the end of the Manawatu Gorge.

The official limits of the city take in rural areas to the south and north-east of the main urban area, extending to the Tararua Ranges and including the town of Ashhurst at the mouth of the Manawatu Gorge. This is a rich and fertile agricultural area.


Name

The city was first named "Palmerston", in honour of Viscount Palmerston, a former Prime Minister of Great Britain. The suffix "North” was added in 1871 by the Post Office to distinguish the settlement from Palmerston in the South Island, though locals still widely refer to the city simply as Palmerston or "Palmy". Locals are known as Palmerstonians.

Māori name
The Māori transliteration of Palmerston is "Pamutana", but this is largely unused, with Papa-i-oea (commonly contracted to Papaioea) being the preferred option, e.g. Te Kura Kōhine o Papaioea (Palmerston North Girls' High School) and Te Hohipera o Papaioea (Palmerston North Hospital). Papa-i-oea is believed to mean "How beautiful it is".[5]


Climate
Palmerston North's climate is temperate with maximum daytime temperatures averaging 22 °C (72 °F) in summer and 12 °C (54 °F) in winter. On average temperatures rise above 25 °C (77 °F) on 20 days of the year. Annual rainfall is approximately 960 mm (37.8 in) with rain occurring approximately 5% of the time. There are on average 200 rain-free days each year.

In the ranges that flank the city there is often sustained wind, especially in spring. Much of this land is within the city boundaries and these ranges have the reputation of providing the most consistent wind in the country.

Close to the city is the largest electricity-generating wind farm in the southern hemisphere, with 158 turbines in the Tararua and Ruahine Ranges providing power for approximately 30,000 homes.


Parks and recreation

The Square

The city's main streets are arranged in a grid around The Square, a seven-hectare park of lawn, trees, lakes, fountains, and gardens in the centre of the city. This park contains the city's war memorial, a memorial to Te Peeti Te Awe Awe, the Rangitāne chief who was instrumental in the sale of Palmerston North district to the government in 1865, and a clock tower with an illuminated cross. The Māori name for the Square is Te Marae o Hine. Te Peeti Te Awe Awe was one member of a Māori contingent who gathered around 1878 to choose a Māori name for The Square. The meaning of the name is The Courtyard of the Daughter of Peace chosen in the hope that all people and all races would live together in enduring peace.

There are a number of parks in the city. The foremost is the Victoria Esplanade along the northern bank of the Manawatu River, to the west of Fitzherbert Avenue. The esplanade includes gardens, children's play areas, an aviary, a miniature railway, walking tracks, and sports fields (Ongley-Manawaroa Park).

The Plaza

The Plaza is the largest shopping centre in the Manawatu region and a key shopping centre in the lower North Island, boasting over 100 stores.

City promotion
The city has used many descriptions in advertising and promotion, including "Rose City" (referring to its international rose trial grounds) and "Knowledge City" or "Student City" (referring to the city's many academic institutions). The current slogan, "Young Heart, Easy Living", indicates that Palmerston North is a city of young people and people with a youthful attitude.



Transport
Road

The city is arranged in a grid pattern and is a significant road and rail junction. As such it is an important distribution hub for the lower North Island, with many freight distribution centres based here.

State Highway 3 is the main State Highway in Palmerston North. This enters the city from the north-west as Rangitikei Street before turning left into Grey Street, north of the Square. The highway continues along Princess Street to Main Street East, where it continues eastwards as it exits Palmerston North and Ashhurst as Napier Road.

State Highway 1, New Zealand's main highway, passes about 25 km (16 mi) to the west of the city.

Rangitikei Street is the main portal allowing inwards and outwards traffic to and from the north.

Main Street is the main east-west thoroughfare, broken only by The Square.

Fitzherbert Avenue is the main south portal, crossing the Fitzherbert Bridge, the only bridge over the Manawatu River close to the city. (The other bridge is Fitzherbert East Road in Ashhurst, 14 km (9 mi) away.) Massey University and International Pacific College (IPC), as well as some of the newly developed residential areas (Summerhill, Aokautere), are located east of the river.

Tremaine Avenue in the north of the city is the longest single road.

Bicycle

Palmerston North is perceived as being better for cycling than most New Zealand cities, with 2001 figures putting it a close second only to Blenheim in terms of bicycle modal share. However, there has been a large decline in bicycle use, falling steadily from 13% of all commuting trips in 1986 to 5.42% in 2006, significantly faster than any other transport mode.

Palmerston North has a fairly comprehensive 65km on-road bicycle lane network, particularly in high traffic areas, to make it safer for people to get around the city by bike.

The cycle lane network has been criticised for a number of reasons. Motor traffic is often too fast, and there is no physical barrier between bicyclists and motorists. Most bicycle lanes in the city are marked out with parking spaces for motorist parking, making those lanes 'pointless' and raising the risk of motorists opening car doors into the path of passing bicyclists.

Rebecca Oaten, the so-called 'Helmet Lady' who campaigned nationwide in the late 1980s for a New Zealand bicycle helmet law, is from Palmerston North.

Bus

Five urban buses and one campus bus leave the terminal in Main Street East (in front of Palmerston North Courthouse) at least every half hour. Services are coordinated by Horizons Regional Council and a Masterton-based bus company, Tranzit.


Occasional regional services run to the nearby towns of Linton, Ashhurst and Feilding.

Intercity routes are operated by Intercity and Nakedbus. Intercity's routes run south (to Wellington), north (towards Auckland, via Wanganui, Rotorua and Taupo, or Napier) and east (to Masterton) from a terminus at the intersection of Main and Pitt Sts. Naked Bus runs from outside the iSite in The Square.

Air

Palmerston North International Airport in the suburb of Milson is a secondary international airport. Domestic services are operated mostly by Air New Zealand. There have been no international services since Freedom Air ceased to operate in March 2008, and proposed replacement carrier OzJet cancelled its plans only four days before they were due to commence.

Palmerston North International Airport is the operational base of the Massey University School of Aviation, and by night is as a busy domestic freight hub.

Rail
Until 1964, the railway ran through the city centre, with Palmerston North Railway Station in The Square. The station was moved and the track diverted 2.5 km (2 mi) to the north by the Milson Deviation in 1959-1963; work on the deviation had started in 1926. There are only two passenger trains: the weekday-only Capital Connection commuter train once a day to and from Wellington, and the Overlander to Auckland and Wellington.

Near the current railway station, the North Island Main Trunk railway is joined by the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line, which runs through the Manawatu Gorge to Woodville and Hawke's Bay, with a connection to the Wairarapa Line at Woodville.