Apiti Cemetery is situated on Ridge Road, Apiti, in the Manawatu District of the North Island, New Zealand. Apiti is a Maori word meaning the narrows, or the gorges. At 457 metres above sea level, it's a high uplift of land between two river systems, the Oroua to the west, and the Pohangina to the east, 40 kilometres from Feilding. Its isolation meant it was settled by Europeans relatively late in New Zealand history; the first settlers arrived in July 1886, having been balloted 100-acre sections by the Feilding Small Farm Association. The Cemetery was originally situated on the Main Road in Apiti, with the first recorded interment on the 22nd May 1896 after the death of Albert Nix. There were only about 9 burials in this first cemetery however as it was closed on the 31st December 1899 as it was deemed “unsuitable in various ways as a burial ground”. The burials in the 1st Cemetery were: Giry Sullivan (burial date unknown) Albert Nix buried 22nd May 1896 Alice E. Prince buried 22 October 1896 Charles W. Gould buried 8th May 1897 Richard C. Field buried 27th October 1897 Margaret Mathers buried 3rd January 1898 Ernest I. buried 20th April 1898 Robert Stewart buried 1th November 1898 Harold B. Miller buried 17th April 1899 These people are believed to be re-interred in the 2nd Cemetery on Ridge Road. There are some headstones in the Ridge Road Cemetery of these original burials. The first interment of the 2nd Cemetery was that of Sarah Haynes who died aged 22 days on the 9th February 1901 and was buried on the 11th February 1901.