Makarewa

Makarewa is a small community north of Invercargill (the southernmost city in the South Island within Southland of New Zealand).

History
Makarewa was formerly the junction of two branch line railways, where the Tuatapere Branch diverged from the Kingston Branch. A third line, the Ohai Branch, left the Tuatapere Branch in Thornbury. On 15 January 1978, the Tuatapere Branch closed beyond Thornbury, and on 13 December 1982, the Kingston Branch closed beyond Makarewa. The line through Makarewa has since been incorporated into the Ohai Branch and only freight services operate.

Food producer New Zealand Functional Foods has been building an oat milk factory in Makarewa. While Southland produces oats, the country lacks an oat milk processing facility and is forced to import the product from Australia. In July 2022, Economic and Regional Development Minister Stuart Nash confirmed the New Zealand Government had loaned the company NZ$6 million to building the factory. The NZ$50 million factory is due to be complete in late 2023 and can produce 80 million litres of oat milk per year.

Education
Makarewa School is a contributing primary school for years 1 to 6 with a roll of students as of  The school was established in 1887, replacing a previous school in Waikiwi. In 1904, there were about 100 children attending.