The 2001 census population was 4,617 people [1] (http://www.stats.govt.nz/domino/external/web/CommProfiles.nsf/FindInfobyArea/260-ua).
Foxton was named after Sir William Fox, and has a history of flax stripping, which was used to make rope, baskets and other tools.
There is now a large Dutch windmill that makes stone-ground flour.
wikipedia.org dumped 2003-03-17 with terodump