Longbush was established as a settlement in 1902, under the Land For Settlements Consolidation Act 1900, at the same time as nearby Table-lands. Together Longbush and Table-lands had a combined land area of 27,000 acres.[1] In 1904, an application for a school was approved by the Education Board, it opened in 1905.[2] The school closed in 1968 and consolidated with nearby Gladstone School. Today the school is used as a children's play centre and occasional community hall.
The Longbush area includes a valley enclosed by the Ponatahi Hills (440 metres (1,440 ft)) to the west and the slopes at the southern end of the Maungaraki Range (500 metres (1,600 ft)) that skirt around the back of the Windy Peak Ridge. The hill/valley area is a transitional area between the plains and the more rugged hill country to the east. The Gladstone, Central Plains and Martinborough areas wrap around the north and west sides of the Longbush area and the Hinakura, Tuturumuri, and Huangarua areas bound the eastern and southern sides.[3]
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