Tākaka, Golden Bay’s main town, arose in the 1880s. It was never surveyed and just grew organically. Sawmilling was the main early industry. Dairying was established in the district from the early 1900s and became an important part of the economy. Tākaka is just 57 km from Motueka, but the winding road over Tākaka hill or ‘marble mountain’ makes the trip take almost an hour. The vistas from Tākaka hill inspired artworks by Toss Woollaston and Colin McCahon.
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Meaning of place name
Lit: bracken. Either transferred from the Polynesian place name of Tahaa, the island next to Raiatea, or short for Te Toka-o-Tākaka, 'the stone of Tākaka'. Tākaka was a slave aboard the Kurahaupō canoe who was turned to stone when he searched for greenstone because such work was tapu.
