Tīrau is a small town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand, 50 kilometres southeast of Hamilton. The town has a population of 804 (2018 census). In the Māori language, "Tīrau" means "place of many cabbage trees." Tīrau is a major junction in the New Zealand state highway network. Just south of the township is the intersection of State Highway 1 and State Highway 5, where traffic from Auckland and Hamilton on State Highway 1 split to go either to Rotorua on SH 5, or continue along SH 1 to Taupō and beyond to Napier, Palmerston North and Wellington. State Highway 27 splits off State Highway 1 in the north of the town, providing a route north to the Coromandel Peninsula and an alternative route to Auckland, bypassing Hamilton. Tīrau is primarily a farming town but in recent years has begun to exploit the income that comes from being at a major road junction. The small community of Okoroire (with hot springs) is located just north of Tīrau. Okoroire railway station was over to the west of the springs. History and culture European settlement In the 19th century, Tīrau, then known as Oxford, was originally planned as a township. However plans were changed after the entrepreneurial Rose family bought up large areas of land in the region, with the intention of making large returns when it came of high demand. Oxford later became a rural service town. Oxford Royal Hotel opened on 15 April 1881. A store followed in June, but by September 1881 Oxford still only had the hotel and store. 94 lots in the township, which it had been planned to sell in 1891, were offered for sale in 1882. In the 1886 census, Oxford had a population of 48 in the 1896 census, 27 in 1891 and 127 in 1911. Name Oxford was a name given to the proposed township when it was sold by McLean & Co in 1881. It may have been to identify it as a sister town to Cambridge. Oxford changed its name to Tirau on 23 May 1896. To avoid confusion with Oxford in Canterbury, Piako County Council had been asked for a new name. They chose Tirau, which is the name of the hill to the south. The name was spelled without a macron until 2019, when the New Zealand Geographic Board made Tīrau the official name.