One of New Zealand’s fastest growing secondary urban areas, Pukekohe is the largest town in the Franklin district.

Primarily rural, Pukekohe combines city savvy with country charm with boutique-style shopping in a busy central business district.

Many of the businesses in the centre of town are family owned and can lay claim to having been a part of the town’s vibrant main street for twenty years or more.

During that time, Pukekohe has grown from a small country town to a boutique shopping destination with cafes, businesses and retailers offering the latest in products and services.

Located approximately 45 minutes south of Auckland city, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River, the hills of Pukekohe and nearby Bombay Hills form the natural southern limit of the Auckland region.

The town is on the North Island Main Trunk Railway and is the southernmost station of the Auckland suburban rail network, at the end of the Eastern and Southern Lines.

The fertile volcanic soil and warm moist climate of the area help support a large horticultural and dairy farming industry.

The locals make the most of Farmers’ Market in the town square that promotes fresh local produce; while the Franklin Market, a family run market that has been operating in Pukekohe for almost 9 years, provides a colourful array of handcrafted goods, antiques and collectables, and tasty food.

Pukekohe offers business owners the advantage of relatively lower set-up costs, with the growing population providing a ready market. The Pukekohe Business Association represents the commercial businesses of Pukekohe and is actively involved with the development, support and promotion of business in Franklin.

Formed in 1992, the Association also ensures that the district provides a clean, safe and secure environment in which to live and do business, and aims to achieve increased vibrancy and economic vitality within Pukekohe.

Manukau Road, a short drive from the centre of town,  provides another prime retail area with over 100 businesses offering top quality products and services. Counties Toyota, on this road, offer locals a good selection of new and demonstrator vehicles on display, as well as quality used vehicles.

The Pukekohe Park Raceway, primarily a horse racing circuit, is famous internationally, and held an annual round of the popular V8 Supercar race from 2001 until 2007, when the New Zealand round moved to Hamilton.

Pukekohe’s tiled town centre provides everything from sporting goods and sewing shops, banks and book stores, home wares, cafes and restaurants to fashion and furniture.

Visitors can enjoy their shopping in leisure without worrying about parking fees, as there is plenty of parking and not a parking meter in sight.

With a wonderful mix of progressive rural and urban areas, excellent residential options, recreational opportunities, easy access to amenities, and some undulating stunning landscape, Pukekohe is also considered to be a desirable lifestyle destination for people seeking an alternative to city living.

Such a thriving and vibrant centre, it is rightly called ‘the heart of Franklin’.