Manawatu Road Board

The Manawatu Highway Board was one of eight formed in 1872 by the Wellington Provincial Government to cover the whole of the province. It was the first unit of local government in the inland Manawatu district. Its territory originally included the Foxton, Sanson and Feilding districts, but during the 1870s and 1880s these districts formed their own road boards and the territory of the Manawatu Road Board was confined to the land between the south bank of the Oroua River and the crest of the Tararua Range.

In 1876 the Provincial Government was disestablished and replaced by a system of counties. The Manawatu Highway Board came under the Manawatu County Council. With the passing of the 1882 Road Boards Act, the Highway Board was renamed as a Road Board.

In 1883 half of Manawatu County separated to form the Oroua County Council, which the Board now came under. In 1884 the Board assumed the powers of a county when the operation of the Counties act was suspended within the boundaries of Oroua.

In 1889 the Board's territory was further divided, with the Fitzherbert Road Board being established to control the land between the south bank of the Manawatu River and Tararua Range, leaving the Manawatu Road Board the land between the south bank of the Oroua River and the north bank of the Manawatu River. The Manawatu Road Board remained as a separate administration until 1902, when it was amalgamated with the Fitzherbert Road Board to form the new county of Kairanga.