Mangakino Lakeside Village is nestled on the shores of Lake Maraetai in the heart of the North Island. It is surrounded by lakes, forests, farmland, and wilderness areas. 

Mangakino and to a lesser extent Whakamaru and Atiamuri, owe their existence to the hydro schemes and the roads constructed gave access which allowed development of the land for farming in the 1960s. Mangakino also serviced the construction of Atiamuri and Ohakuri hydro schemes further upstream which were commissioned in 1959 and 1961 respectively. In 1952 the population exceeded 5,000, the current population is around 1300. The decline for Mangakino occurred after the hydro dams were commissioned and over time communities such as Maraetai and Waipapa disappeared altogether.

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Historic Background

An area of 30,486 acres was granted to the people of Ngati Kahungunu in 1915 in exchange for the bed of the Wairarapa lakes. The town of Mangakino was established in 1945 when the government leased a block of land from Ngati Kahungunu O Wairarapa for a service town for the construction of dams and power station (Maraetai and Whakamaru) along the Waikato River. During the late 1940s and 1950s several dams were constructed on the section of the Waikato River within a radius of 20 miles of Mangakino.

Maraetai I	built during the late 1940s and commissioned in 1952
Whakamaru	built during the early 1950s and commissioned in 1956
Waipapa	built in the late 1950s and commissioned in 1961
Maraetai II	commenced in 1959 and completed, after a break in construction, in 1970