Culture & Community
In 1981 Pahiatua celebrated its centennial with a weekend full of historical events, and in 2006 its 125th anniversary with a grand parade of 125 floats, vehicles and horses.
Pahiatua is the home of the Pahiatua Railcar Society, a non-profit railway heritage organisation based at the town's railway station, whose purpose is to preserve and restore to working order railcars formerly in revenue service on New Zealand's railway network. Some of the notable vehicles in their collection include a Standard class railcar (RM31), a Wairarapa class railcar (RM5), and a Twin Set railcar (RM121). The society leases the railway station from KiwiRail and opens their museum to the public once a month.
Fonterra's Pahiatua dairy factory, a manufacturer of milk products and milk powder for local and export markets, is a significant employer in the area. Other major employers include Betacraft and the Tui Brewery at Mangatainoka.
Pahiatua is one of several northern-Wairarapa towns to have experienced an increase in popularity as a place to live as evidenced by a 43% increase in average residential property prices between 2005 and 2008.
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