It is on State Highway 30, approximately 35 km (22 mi) southeast of Te Kūiti.

[3] Coal was discovered in the area in 1931, and a mine was built at the town's present location.

[3] At its peak the town had a population of 2000 with a butchery, bakery and picture theatre.

[3][4] There were jobs in the coal mine until the early 1990s, but like many other rural areas in New Zealand the town has slowly declined.

[4] Bush United is the town's local rugby union club, the clubhouse was built at Pureora in 1960 and was moved to Benneydale.

The town has a police station, volunteer fire brigade, a garage, a corner store that sells hot food and basic groceries, a cafe with accommodation, and a primary school.

In 2018 the Maniapoto Māori Trust Board lodged an application to the New Zealand Geographic Board to change the name to Maniaiti, which means "a small slide, slip"[6] and is the name of a hill behind the township.

The settlement is part of the larger Waipa Valley statistical area.

It is a meeting ground for the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Ngāti Matakore, Ngutu, Pare, Raukawa, Rereahu and Te Ihingarangi, and features the Rereahu meeting house.