Taneatua is a small town in the Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...

 region of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

. It is officially defined as a "populated area less than a town". The 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

The New Zealand government department Statistics New Zealand conducts a census of population and dwellings every five years. The census scheduled for 2011 was cancelled due to circumstances surrounding the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, however, and legislation introduced to hold the next...

 found its population to be 750, a 14.7% decline since the previous census in 1996. The town is located southeast of Pekatahi

Pekatahi

Pekatahi is a small locality south of Whakatane in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. The Whakatane River passes through Pekatahi as it flows northwards to its mouth on the Pacific Ocean...

, a similarly small settlement; Whakatane

Whakatane

Whakatane is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region, in the North Island of New Zealand, and is the seat of the Bay of Plenty Regional Council. Whakatane is 90 km east of Tauranga and 89 km north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatane River.The town has a population of , with...

 is the nearest significantly sized town. Just to the southwest of Taneatua, the Whakatane River

Whakatane River

The Whakatane River is a major river of the Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand.It flows north from near the small town of Ruatahuna through Te Urewera National Park, reaching the Bay of Plenty through the town of Whakatane. The river is 95 kilometres in length....

 and Waimana Rivers meet. The Whakatane River itself flows to the west of Taneatua, while the Waimana River is south of the township.

State Highway 2

New Zealand State Highway network

The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...

 passes through Taneatua on its route from Opotiki

Opotiki

Opotiki is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Opotiki District Council and comes under the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.-Population:* of the town: 4176 - Male 1,989, Female 2,187...

 to Edgecumbe. The Taneatua Branch railway, now mothballed, terminates in Taneatua. Formerly considered part of the East Coast Main Trunk Railway, it is now a branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 off the main line from Hawkens Junction, northwest of Edgecumbe.

Plans existed in the first half of the twentieth century to extend the railway through to Gisborne

Gisborne, New Zealand

-Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...

 to meet the Palmerston North - Gisborne Line

Palmerston North - Gisborne Line

The Palmerston North – Gisborne Line is a secondary main line railway in the North Island of New Zealand. It branches from the North Island Main Trunk Railway in Palmerston North and runs east through the Manawatu Gorge to Woodville, where it meets the Wairarapa Line, and then proceeds to...

, and although some formation was established to Opotiki, the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

 and World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 caused the project to be abandoned and the line terminated in Taneatua. The line to Taneatua opened in 1928 and a daily passenger train known as the Taneatua Express

Taneatua Express

The Taneatua Express was an express passenger train operated by the New Zealand Railways Department that ran between Auckland and Taneatua in the Bay of Plenty, serving centres such as Tauranga and Te Puke...

 was established to provide a link between the Bay of Plenty and Auckland. By the early 1950s, the train operated just thrice weekly - sometimes only twice weekly - due to coal shortages and this infrequency helped to seal the fate of the express. It nonetheless survived to be the second-last steam-hauled

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 provincial express in New Zealand, with the final service operated on 7 February 1959. This was the permanent end of passenger trains to Taneatua; subsequent railcar

Railcar

A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...

 services terminated in Te Puke

Te Puke

Te Puke is a town located 28 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand. It is particularly famous for the cultivation of kiwifruit...

 or Tauranga

Tauranga

Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...

due to low passenger volumes beyond those points.