Small service town between southern and northern Wairarapa, set on terraces above the Makakahi River. Sited towards the southern end of the heavily forested Forty Mile Bush, Eketāhuna was originally named Mellemskov (heart of the forest) by the Scandinavian settlers who founded the town in 1872. These government-assisted migrants were contracted to fell the bush and build roads. As the land was cleared, dairying and sheep farming developed.