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Wairarapa
is the region extending 65 km eastwards from the Tararua Range to the
shore of the Pacific Ocean, and 130 km northwards from Palliser Bay to a
line extending eastwards from the Manawatu Gorge. It was one of the
earliest settled parts of NZ, and the first region in which sheep farming
was undertaken on any scale. In 1844 a group of settlers, aware of the
affluence which was being achieved in Australia with flocks of sheep,
moved into the Wairarapa and leased large areas of land from the local
Maori. Although there were difficulties in gaining access, it was an open
plain, unlike most of the rest of the North Island which carried a heavy
covering of forest. The main town is Masterton.
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