Back in 1910, life in marton town moved at the pace of a horse-drawn van, not a rush of cars, and my Dad, Mother, brother, and I rode together with the tail board creaking beneath us as we crossed the bridge over the river Sowe. Dad stood waiting outside a small cottage wrapped in scarlet nasturtiums, and getting through the door meant literally cutting a path through the blooms. Inside, the ground floor held one plain room, with a kitchen or pantry tucked down two steps, and a bedroom sitting just above.
Outside stood a closet built over a midden, fitted with a double seat so each user could pick a hole to match their size. Fetching water meant working the pump, and now and then a stray worm or frog rose up with the bucket. That was simply how many villages carried on for a long time after 1910.
Memories of the 1910 Flood in Marton Town
The flood of 1910 taught our family a hard lesson about the river near marton town. One of the few villagers who ever spoke to Mother warned us that the water was rising fast, so she rushed everything upstairs before the muddy water climbed halfway up the stairs. Across the road stood a blacksmith’s shop, its walls covered in old advertising plates.
Mother used those signs to teach me my letters, and I soon learned to read the words Lipton Tea printed there. The same letters turned up again in my books, and that little discovery gave me my very first taste of reading on my own in it.
Schooling Days with Mr. and Mrs. Elliot
I began school in Marton, where Mr. Elliot and Mrs. Elliot made up the whole staff. Since it was a church school, that came as no surprise, because state schools stayed rare outside larger towns and almost unheard of in small villages. The only lesson that stuck with me was how to lace up a pair of boots.
That lesson turned out fairly useless in my case, since I always wore button-boots instead of laced ones. Still, the school gave me a small window into learning beyond what Mother taught at home. Looking back, that one odd lesson says a lot about how simple village schooling really was.
Marton, New Zealand The Strangest Town You’ve Never Heard Of
A quick search on Google Maps confirms that Marton is a real place, and its Wikipedia page reads like any other small-town entry, listing the North Island location inside the Manawatū-Whanganui region and its position within the Rangitīkei District. Founded in 1866, the town first carried the Māori word Tutaenui, named after a nearby stream, before settlers renamed it to honor James Cook’s birthplace three years later. Locals often point out that the mispronunciation of Tutaenui as something close to Big Dung pushed the name change along.
What made this quiet corner of New Zealand turn viral was the r/Marton subreddit, run by a handful of moderators who post about daily town life alongside stranger stories. Alongside ordinary chatter about garbage cleanups, items for sale, and gardening advice, the page fills up with talk of hauntings, shadow people, and a pet food factory tied to rumors of poisoned water. Threads mention missing persons, dead cats, strange lights in the sky, insect plagues, chemtrails, a hidden spy base, and even mind control behind unexplained deaths.
Skeptics call the whole thing internet trolling or an alternate reality game (ARG), and plenty of readers treat it as pure humor rather than fact. Yet the claim about tainted water supply has some backing, since newspaper reports going back to 2017 describe quality problems that locals say have lasted decades. The Rangitīkei District Council has blamed heavy rainfall, over-logging, and industrial pollution, while the subreddit points fingers at the Purina factory instead.
The strangest posts describe paranormal activity rooted in local lore, where shadow figures supposedly call out in the voices of family and friends. Residents say hanging fidget spinners, old CDs, and other reflective objects around the home keeps trouble away, especially around the summer solstice and winter solstice. Activity spikes during DST, or daylight savings time, when a strict curfew and warnings of reconditioning take hold.
One post from u/chalky-leary, shared 1 year ago around April 2021, described heavy traffic at night and told neighbors to shut their curtains and doors tight. The writer warned of odd movement, inertia, disorientation, and nausea, insisting nothing could be done except waiting it out. After such nights pass, the community usually holds a potluck with music to celebrate, though a recent moratorium stopped these gatherings.
The ban followed a disturbing night involving a karaoke DJ known as Dick P, who reportedly ate a piece of tainted strudel supposedly poisoned by Freemasons connected to their lodge. He grabbed a ceremonial sword off the wall, threatened people nearby, and then threw himself onto a bonfire, suffering burns across 90% of his body; he did not survive.
Online Attention and Local Leadership Mysteries
Naturally, curious outsiders flooded the page with questions, and comedian Guy Williams, a mock journalist, made a mockumentary poking fun at the town’s reputation. In one scene, he sat down with eight women calling themselves paranormal investigators during a séance involving chicken and chips, and they did not appreciate his jokes. The ongoing harassment pushed core members to start a private subreddit, only open to those who attend a community meeting in person.
Digging into the town’s leadership adds another twist, since mayor Andy Watson currently governs the district, yet an older mayoral election record lists a previous mayor named Robert “Chalky” Leary”, raising questions about whether he is the same person as u/chalky-leary or simply an imposter. This small mystery keeps outsiders guessing about a town of only 5,500 residents. Whether it counts as a genuine tourism stunt, an elaborate troll, or the kind of dry humor New Zealanders are famous for, in the style of Flight of the Conchords, nobody outside Marton seems entirely sure.
LOST POETRY, LOST HISTORY
Marton carries the kind of name change story that fits its identity as a pleasant tree-lined town, since its name honors Captain James Cook’s birthplace at Marton-in-Cleveland in the North Riding of Yorkshire. Back in the 1860s, though, the town went by its Maori name, Tutaenui, and once settlers learned it roughly meant big faeces, they launched a campaign to change it. That effort succeeded in 1869, exactly one century after Cook’s voyage first reached New Zealand, with Cooktown floated as an option before Yorkshiremen happily settled on Marton instead.
This single swap was only one entry in a long list of place names reworked during the founding days of the country, and some of those arguments still haven’t been settled. NZGeo, a family-owned media company covering New Zealand society and environment, has told these stories for years, picking up the Canon/Voyager Magazine of the Year award in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020 along the way. Readers can support that work through subscriptions, and new visitors can try a two-week trial for just $1.
Egmont stands as another example of a mountain name shaped by outside influence, since Cook described the peaked mountain rising through clouds at a prodigious height, its peak wrapped in snow. He named it for the Earl of Egmont, the First Lord of the Admiralty, a man who dreamed of British control over the Pacific through both the Magellan Strait and an undiscovered northwestern passage, and Cook understood the value of that kind of patronage.
Historical Renaming Disputes of Taranaki and Wanganui
Not long after, Marion du Fresne, sailing under the flag of France, looked at the same peak that Sir Joseph Banks had simply called a great hill and instead named it after his ship, the Mascarin, giving it the label le Pic de Mascarin, though that name never really stuck around. Nearly two centuries passed before anyone seriously pushed to bring back the name Taranaki, and even now the mountain sits recognized under both Mt Taranaki and Mt Egmont according to the NZ Geographic Board.
Wanganui tells a different kind of story, since the Maori name existed long before settlers arrived, yet the New Zealand Company still renamed the settlement Petre to honor Baron Petre, the Colonial Treasurer back in England. By 1884, the township’s residents filed a petition with the provincial superintendent, arguing that almost no one in the community actually used that designation, and that personalities aside, they saw no reason to honor a noble lord with no real claim to such standing, since the name Petre made no sound or sense for their home.
Regional Name Restoration Beyond Marton Town
Locals eventually got their wish and returned to Whanganui, meaning river of great waiting, though the exact spelling stayed contested for years, as New Zealand Geographic, Issue 3, once explained. Today, the original spelling applies to the river and its national park, while the city itself keeps the older form, and Wanganui’s coat of arms still displays the old Petre crest as a reminder of that history, echoing similar heritage shifts seen across areas like marton town.
Down in the South, similar changes played out, since the Maori name Waitohi for what later became Picton was pushed aside entirely, and the small mark on the map was instead labeled Homes Bay by Captain Steinel aboard the barque William IV.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Where is Marton town located?
A: Marton town is located in the Rangitīkei District of the Manawatū-Whanganui region on New Zealand’s North Island, about 30 minutes northwest of Palmerston North.
Q2: What is the area best known for?
A: It is known as a historic agricultural hub featuring heritage architecture, peaceful public parks, and a friendly rural community atmosphere.
Q3: What amenities are available in the area?
A: The center offers supermarkets, cafes, medical facilities, a public library, sports fields, and local schools.
Q4: How far is it from major cities?
A: It is a 30-minute drive (35 km) from Palmerston North and about 35 minutes (40 km) from Whanganui via State Highway 1.
Q5: What is the best time to visit Marton town?
A: The best time to visit Marton town is from October through March for warm weather, local weekend markets, and outdoor activities.