Hiwinui is a settlement in Manawatū District, in the Manawatū-Whanganui region in New Zealand's central North Island.

"Hiwinui" means "big ridge" in the Māori language.

[4] The Hiwinui area was originally settled by the Rangitāne iwi.

Land was purchased by the government in the 1860s and resold to pākehā settlers, who converted the forest to farmland.

[2]: 4 Hiwinui is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement.

The percentage of people born overseas was 11.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.