Manaia is a rural town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand.

[6] Orangi-tuapeka Pā was occupied by Wiremu Kīngi Moki Te Matakātea in 1833 and 1834, where he defeated Waikato Tainui forces led by Pōtatau Te Wherowhero, ending Waikato raids into Taranaki.

[6] In October 1834, the area was bombarded by British troops aboard HMS Alligator, in an attempt to rescue Betty Guard, a whaler's wife.

[6] After the ceasefire at the end of the First Taranaki War, a hui of over 1,000 Māori was held on 3 July 1861 at a meeting house called Aotearoa, close to Waimate Pā.

Built around 1880 on the site of a former pā (Te Takahe) during peacetime, this redoubt and wooden watchtower was created for the passive resistance of the Parihaka chief, Te Whiti o Rongomai, and his followers.

The wooden watchtower (35 feet high) was blown down in a storm and replaced in 1912 by a concrete one still standing today amidst the 18-hole golf course surrounded by two original blockhouses.

The complex could house 160 men and all the timber used for the construction was pit sawn locally by the constables.

When driving into Manaia from Hāwera the remains of the old flour mill can be seen on the left hand side.

The local Waiokura River powered the mill by a 15-foot (4.6 m) water wheel which developed 15 horsepower (11 kW).

[11] In 2007, a 9-year-old Jack Russell terrier called George (dog) died protecting 5 local children from an attack by two pit bulls .

He was given a posthumous PDSA Gold Medal, the animal equivalent of the George Cross, at a special ceremony in Manaia in February 2009.

Before the 2023 census, Manaia-Kapuni statistical area did include Manaia, with a boundary covering 109.38 km2 (42.23 sq mi).