There are two recorded Māori toponyms for the area - Te Ara Taumaihi and Ō-hine-puhiawe. The origins of Te Ara Taumaihi have yet to be explicitly explored. Ō-hine-puhiawe, a land block where Parewahawaha marae is situated, acts as a synecdoche to refer to the current town area. The modern town name is named after James Bull who owned the first general store there. The town was originally called Bull Town, but this was changed to Clifton and then renamed back to Bulls at the urging of Sir William Fox.
History and culture
The eastern end of the State Highway 1 bridge over the Rangitikei River south-east of the town collapsed suddenly in 1973 while being crossed by a bus. No-one was killed and the collapsed part was rebuilt. The former Lake Alice Psychiatric hospital is 7 km north of Bulls, the hospital closed in 1999. Lake Alice was a large contributor to the Bulls and Marton economy. The local Parewahawaha Marae is a traditional meeting ground for the Ngāti Raukawa hapū of Ngāti Parewahawaha. It is on land known as Ohinepuhiawe. The marae features the Parewahawaha meeting house, a whare tupana opened on the 15April 1967 by Maori Queen Te Atairangikaahu. At the time it was opened, Te Rangi Pumamao was the rangatira at Parewahawaha. He had finished construction of the house, as previous builders had died.
Government and politics
Local government
As part of the Rangitikei District, the current Mayor of Rangitikei since 2013 is Andy Watson. Bulls is the main town in the Southern ward of the Rangitikei District Council, which elects three of the eleven district councillors. The three councillors of the Southern ward are Brian Carter, Jane Dunn and Waru Panapa. The mayor and councillors are all due for re-election in October 2022.
Many Air Force personnel from RNZAF Base Ohakea live in Bulls. In recent years several defence houses have been sold to civilian buyers which has seen a steady decline of servicemen from the area, but a moderate presence remains nonetheless. In 2017 it was announced that the Republic of Singapore Air Force is looking at establishing a permanent F-15 fighter jet training base at Ohakea with an estimated presence of 500 Singaporean personnel. Ohakea and surrounding areas such as Bulls and Feilding would see a significant increase in military families and personnel to the area. In December 2018 it was announced that this would no longer go ahead. In 2018 the incumbent government announced the purchase of four Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft for maritime surveillance. This announcement came with the news that the current New Zealand Defence Force unit responsible for maritime surveillance, No. 5 Squadron RNZAF, would be required to move to RNZAF Base Ohakea. This move would see a further increase in the number of service personnel living in the area. RNZAF is expected to take delivery of these aircraft in 2023.
Education
Bulls has two co-educational state primary schools for Year 1-8 students. Bulls School was established in 1867 and is the oldest school in Rangitkei; it has a roll of as of. Clifton School, which opened more recently on the southern end of the township, has a roll of.
