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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Eva Corlett in Ohakune

The rural towns fighting for survival as New Zealand grapples with a growing exodus

Mount Ruapehu at sunrise as seen from Ohakune, New Zealand
Mount Ruapehu at sunrise as seen from Ohakune, New Zealand. Photograph: Becki Moss/The Guardian

For generations, two centres of gravity in New Zealand’s central Ruapehu region had enough pull to entice people to the area and keep them there: the mountains and the mills.

Mount Ruapehu, the country’s largest active volcano, lured people to its snowy slopes for work and play, while the local mills – run by the region’s largest employer, Winstone Pulp International – kept generations of families in employment.

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