JOURNEY TO THE HEART OF MANAWATU
The region includes the towns of Feilding, Kimbolton, Apiti, Himatangi and Linton to name a few and at the centre is Palmerston North city, the multi-cultural heart of Manawatu.
Palmerston North is an unusual provincial city because it includes a broad mix of public organisations, private businesses, two defence force bases at Ohakea and Linton and a range of cultural organisations all nestled within an established agricultural hinterland.
The wider Manawatu region was the first refugee resettlement area for the country, with Pahiatua welcoming Polish refugees in the 1940s.
Since then, the region has welcomed thousands of refugees who have enriched the city with their culture and sense of community and Palmerston North was also the destination for a quarter of the emergency intake of Syrian refugees and several Afghan interpreters.
Palmy, P Town or Swamp City, as many know it by, may get a bad rap for having dreary weather and being a bit boring, but it is not without its charms.
Though it doesn't have the big city excitement of Auckland or the style of Wellington, Palmerston North has several attractive attributes that might surprise those who have thrown stones at the city without having visited.
It is a leading light in agriculture research and is home to more than 70 research and educational institutions. Among them are AgResearch, FoodHQ,
