Pukerua Bay 5.08

Pukerua Bay is a small seaside community at the southern end of the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand. In local government terms it is the northernmost suburb of Porirua City. It is 12 km north of the Porirua City Centre on State Highway 1 (SH1), and 30 km north of central Wellington.In Māori, the words puke rua literally mean two hills but it is not clear to which hills the name refers.The community's population was 1,722 people in 2006, and there were 89 businesses.FeaturesPukerua Bay has a kindergarten, a pre-school, and the Pukerua Bay School, which caters for ages 5–12 Pukerua Bay and houses the Pukerua Bay School Museum, a display of historical artefacts and artwork.Pukerua Bay has a branch of Porirua Library, a Returned Servicemen's Association, tennis club, scout hall, sports field, and several nature reserves and trails. Retail facilities include a convenience store, hairdresser and second-hand bookstore. There is one railway station, Pukerua Bay Railway Station, on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, with suburban services provided by Tranz Metro. The train journey to Wellington takes about 35 minutes, to Paraparaumu 20 minutes. A second station, Muri station, 1.2 km by road north of Pukerua Bay station, was closed on 30 April 2011.