Temuka is a town on New Zealand's Canterbury Plains, 19 km north of Timaru and 142 km south of Christchurch on State Highway 1. Temuka has a population of around 4000 people, it is located at the centre of a rich sheep and dairy farming region, for which it is a service town.

Originally known as Arowhenoa, Temuka has long been the home of the Ngai Tahu Maori tribe. Their Marae(meeting house) has been the traditional meeting place for centuries, dating back to an old fortified Pa(fortified village or redoubt) at Milford near the coast. The name Temuka comes from "te umu kaha"(strong earth oven) of these there are plenty of ruminants, scattered around the district, from pre European times.

Temuka is world famous in New Zealand for its Earth ware or pottery. In the 1930’s, Arthur Toplis factory manager for the National Electric and Engineering Company which produced ceramic insulators for the new nations power lines, started producing small items such as tobacco jars for Christmas presents for New Zealand Insulators customers, Temuka Pottery took off from there and today almost every Kiwi household has some Temuka pottery in the kitchen, Today you can visit the factory shop is located on Vine Street, Timuka.

Temuka was the home of pioneer aviator and inventor Richard Pearse. Pearse, an emigrant from Cornwall England, a farmer and inventor, experimented with flying machines in the early 20th century, he reputedly flew a powered aviation device on 31 March 1903, some nine months before the Wright brothers. The evidence to support such a claim remains open to interpretation, however, and he did not match the Wrights achievement of photographing flights. Pearse later claimed his experiments were made in 1904 and were unsuccessful. Debate has raged about this for decades, visitors can stop at the monument marking the spot of the event, study the replica of his aircraft and make up their own minds.

The fishing in the rivers around are second to none, they are teeming with Trout and Salmon and that rare New Zealand delicacy the infamous white bait. You can also go horse riding or mountain biking, or enjoy a game of golf at the picturesque local course.

There is accommodation here. Come and taste our local hospitality.