form the natural southern limit of the Auckland region. The Māori word puke-kohe means “hill of the kohekohe”, New Zealand’s native mahogany. During the New Zealand Wars, a battle was fought in Pukekohe known as the Defence of Pukekohe East 1863. Function Pukekohe is the main rural service town for Franklin district. It has a population of mainly of European descent, with significant indigenous Maori and ethnic Indian and East Asian communities. There are also a notable… (More on Pukekohe)