Kaitieke or Kaitīeke is a rural community, located south of Taumarunui and 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) west of Raurimu, in the Ruapehu District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.
[3] The Spanish flu had a devastating impact on the community in November 1918, killing about 23% of the local Māori population.
By the mid-1930s about half the land cleared for farming had reverted to fern and scrub, and high rainfall caused soils to leach and lose their fertility.
It was not until the introduction of aerial fertiliser topdressing after World War II that farming conditions began to improve.
[5][3] The Kaitieke and Retaruke Valley sports contest took place annually during Easter Weekend from 1917 until 2017, before ending because of a dwindling local population.