What is "maketu"

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New Zealand

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Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand. Maketu is located on Okurei point and has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow out of, it is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei point. Maketu's population is dropped from 1176 in 2006 to 1047 in 2013. It was the traditional landing site of the Te Arawa canoe. Maketu is named after an ancient kumara ( sweet potato) pit in Hawaiki, the mythical place where, according to Māori oral tradition, the Māori sailed from.

Maketu has a predominantly Māori population.

In 2011, Maketu was one of many areas along the Bay of Plenty Coast affected by the grounding of the MV Rena and the subsequent oil spill.