Hāwera, town, southwestern North Island, New Zealand. The original settlement, situated on the east Waimate Plain 2 miles (3 km) from the coast of South Taranaki Bight of the Tasman Sea, grew around a blockhouse built in 1870 for protection from hostile Māori. The settlement became a borough in 1882, and in the late 1970s the borough was amalgamated with the surrounding county to form a district. The name, a Māori word meaning “burned place,” refers to a tale of intertribal warfare.
Hāwera has fat-lamb freezing works and dairy, confectionery, soap, furniture, stock-foods, engineering, clothing, coal-gas, farm-equipment, and motor-body plants. It is on the highway and rail line between Wellington and New Plymouth. Pop. (2013 est.) 9,430; (2018 est.) 10,100.