Aspects of rural-urban relationships: (examples from the south Taranaki area)

Abstract

The interplay of economic and social forces between town and country is one of the elementary geographic elements shaping the New Zealand scene. Smaller country towns have an overwhelmingly important part to play in both the economic and social welfare of the country, and as long as New Zealand depends on the agricultural products of her countryside, the role of these towns, and the relationships of the town to the country, are of extreme practical interest to the geographer. As with most small towns and villages in New Zealand, the settlements of South Taranaki exist primarily to provide basic connections between the dispersed agricultural population and the agglomerated urban population of the larger cities. Generally, any direct connections that do exist are through the goods and services which are provided in these small towns for the agricultural population that surrounds them. The settlements act, therefore, as focal points of rural society, and reflect the prosperity and maturity of the cultural landscapes; they depend on the surrounding farms for their well-being, yet provide employment for some people not directly or solely concerned with farming needs and activities.