Editing Feilding (section)

==History==

===European settlement===

The town was named after Colonel [[William Henry Adelbert Feilding|William H. A. Feilding]], a director of the Emigrants and Colonists Aid Corporation Ltd. who negotiated the purchase of a 100,000 acre (400&nbsp;km²) block of land from the Wellington provincial government in 1871. The first European settlers arrived from [[Great Britain]] on 22 January 1874. <ref>{{cite web |url=https://feilding.co.nz/history |title=History |access-date=29 December 2021}}</ref> 

The Feilding Edwardian Project Inc. was established in September 1993 by local businesses with the aim of revitalising the central business area of Feilding. Many of the commercial buildings were built in the 1900s (Edwardian era) and have been restored and preserved over time. Feilding is home to a number of historic collections, buildings, monuments, and museums, including The Coach House Museum, St Johns Church, Feilding Club, Feilding Hotel, and Feilding & Districts Steam Rail Society.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.steamrail.org.nz |title=Feilding & Districts Steam Rail Society |access-date=30 June 2016}}</ref>

===Marae===

Feilding has two [[marae]], connected to the [[iwi]] of [[Ngāti Kauwhata]]: Aorangi Marae and its Maniaihu meeting house; and Kauwhata Marae or Kai Iwi Pā and its Kauwhata meeting house.<ref name="tkmentry">{{cite web|title=Te Kāhui Māngai directory|url= http://www.tkm.govt.nz/ |website=tkm.govt.nz|publisher=[[Te Puni Kōkiri]]}}</ref><ref name="maorimaps">{{cite web |title=Māori Maps |url=https://maorimaps.com/map |website=maorimaps.com |publisher=Te Potiki National Trust}}</ref>

In October 2020, the Government committed $1,248,067 from the [[Provincial Growth Fund]] to upgrade Kauwhata Marae and 5 others, creating 69 jobs.<ref name="maraepgf">{{cite web |title=Marae Announcements |url=https://www.growregions.govt.nz/assets/funding-announcements/marae-announcements.xlsx |website=growregions.govt.nz |publisher=[[Provincial Growth Fund]] |format=Excel |date=9 October 2020}}</ref>