Bulls (Māori: Pūru)^[3] is a small town north west of Palmerston North on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is in a fertile farming area in the Rangitikei District at the junction of State Highways 1 and 3 about 135 kilometres (84 mi) north of Wellington. According to a June 2022 Statistics New Zealand estimate, Bulls has a population of 2,190 inhabitants.^[2]

Recent marketing makes puns with the name, for example, « New Zealand gets its milk from Bulls » or the sign for the local police station « Const-a-bull ».

History and culture

The eastern end of the State Highway 1 bridge over the Rangitikei River south-east of the town collapsed suddenly in 1973 while being crossed by a bus. No-one was killed and the collapsed part was rebuilt.^[5]

The former Lake Alice Psychiatric hospital is 7 km (4 mi) north of Bulls, the hospital closed in 1999. Lake Alice was a large contributor to the Bulls and Marton economy.

Bulls is covered by the Whanganui Chronicle, a daily paper part of the NZ Herald network that serves the Whanganui, Ruapehu and Rangitīkei regions.

Marae

The local Parewahawaha Marae is a traditional meeting ground for the Ngāti Raukawa hapū of Ngāti Parewahawaha.^[6][7] It is on land known as Ohinepuhiawe.

The marae features the Parewahawaha meeting house, a whare tupana opened on 15 April 1967 by Maori Queen Te Atairangikaahu. At the time it was opened, Te Rangi Pumamao was the rangatira at Parewahawaha. He had finished construction of the house, as previous builders had died.^[8]

In October 2020, the Government committed $1,248,067 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae and 5 others, creating 69 jobs.^[9]