PALMERSTON NORTH

city, Manawatu-Wanganui local government region, southern North Island, New Zealand, overlooking the Manawatu River. The settlement, named after Lord Palmerston, prime minister of England, was founded in 1866 and declared successively a town (1868), a borough (1877), and a city (1930). It lies at the junction of road and rail lines to Wellington (87 miles southwest) and Auckland (339 miles northwest) and is a commercial and service centre for the pastoral and mixed-farming Manawatu Plain and its bordering hills. The city's industries include food processing, printing, brewing; the manufacture of brick, tile, footwear, clothing, fertilizer, and pharmaceutical supplies; general and electrical-engineering works; and motor- and tractor-assembly plants. The Royal New Zealand Air Force has extensive facilities in Palmerston North, which is the site of Massey University (founded 1926; university status 1963). Pop. (1991) city, 70,318; (1992 est.) urban area, 72,900.