the Whakatōhea hapū of Te Ūpokorehe. In October 2020, the Government committed $364,597 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae, creating 16 jobs. Te Rere Marae and Te Iringa meeting house is a meeting place of the Whakatōhea hapū of Ngāti Ngahere. In October 2020, the Government committed $744,574 to upgrade it and two other marae, creating 30 jobs. Rongopopoia Marae, also known as Te Kahikatea Marae, is a meeting place of the Tūhoe hapū of Upokorehe. Museum Opotiki Heritage and Agricultural Society runs a museum in Ōpōtiki. It opened in 2001. Transport and infrastructure Ōpōtiki is situated at the northern junction of State Highway 2 and State Highway 35. To the west, State Highway 2 connects Ōpotiki to Whakatāne, Rotorua and Tauranga. To the south and east, State Highway 2 provides a direct inland route to Gisborne, while State Highway 35 follows the coast via Te Araroa. Horizon Networks owns and operates the electricity distribution network in Ōpōtiki, with electricity fed from Transpower's national grid at its Waiotahi substation. Natural gas arrived in Ōpōtiki in 1984, as part of the construction of the Kawerau to Gisborne high-pressure pipeline. Today, First Gas owns and operates both the high-pressure pipeline and the local distribution network supplying the town. Education Opotiki College is a co-educational state high school for Year 9 to 13 students, with a roll of as of . Ōpōtiki has three co-educational primary schools for Year 1 to 8 students: Opotiki School, with a roll of ; Ashbrook School, with a roll of ; and Woodlands School, with a roll of . St Joseph's Catholic School is a co-educational state-integrated Catholic primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . Notable people James Rolleston, an actor known for his role in Boy and Vodafone NZ advertisements, lives and was raised in Ōpōtiki. Notes References M. Heginbotham & A.E. Esler, "Wild vascular plants of the Opotiki-East Cape region, North Island, New Zealand". NZ Journal of Botany, 1985, vol. 23: 379–406. External links The council's site Ōpōtiki Information Centre Photo of Ōpōtiki-Gisborne Road c1928 Photo of Captain Porter and Maori auxiliaries at Ōpōtiki 1871 Ōpōtiki District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region Territorial authorities of New Zealand