WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE: The creators of a Facebook page called 'S...t Towns of New Zealand' have received death threats, but many others are laughing. It comes down to your sense of humour.

The mayor of the Central Otago District Council may have a laugh at the insults to his region on the "S... Towns of New Zealand" Facebook page, but other local authorities are not amused.

"Social media means anyone can publish any opinion," said Jason Dawson, CEO of Hamilton & Waikato Tourism.

The page describes Waikato towns Huntly as "basically a Deka sign where people wind the windows up and drive through as fast as they can" and Putaruru as existing solely "to make Tokoroa to fell better about themselves".



However, Dawson said Waikato residents are "really proud" of the region, including those from Huntly and Putaruru.



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MIKE CREAN/THE PRESS The site's creators have called Cromwell "the mistake by the lake" and "the toilet bowl of the South".

"Every one of our communities within our region has an array of tourism attractions, cycleways, artisan producers and more. Putaruru and Huntly are no exception, he said."

Setting up the page two years ago, its co-creators, who prefer to remain anonymous, thought Kiwis would appreciate their cheeky brand of humour.

But they quickly ended up with threats of violence and even death, driving them to conceal their identities and where they live.



"We've been receiving threats since the page started to gain attention around the middle of the year," said one of the page's creators, who goes by the pseudonym of Hillary Maclary - a mashup of Kiwi icons Edmund Hillary and Hairy Maclary.

STEPHEN RUSSELL/FAIRFAX The page describes Rotorua as "probably the only town in the world where smelling like a toilet is a tourist attraction".

"They range from graphic death threats against us and our families (the most disturbing was one from Rotorua threatening to slit my mother's throat) to - more commonly - people promising to find out who we are and beat us up."

While the pair, who live in a major New Zealand city, don't think these "keyboard warriors" will actually hurt them, they don't want to take the risk, hence their anonymity.

They set up the page about two years ago "as a joke between a couple of mates.



"We're big fans of New Zealand's great tradition of self-deprecating humour and there's a lot to make fun of about small towns."



They take aim at cities and towns up and down the country - "from the s...opolis of Auckland to the bubbling s... pit of Rotorua" - describing the page as a guide to where not to go on holiday.



Cromwell is described as "the mistake by the lake"; Rotorua as "probably the only place in the world where smelling like a toilet is a tourist attraction"; Inglewood as "a centre for psychopaths" and Timaru is "just like herpes, the gift that keeps on giving".

ANDY JACKSON New Plymouth has been described as "a great place to live if you hate yourself".

A post labelled "New Plymouth starter pack" is illustrated with a pipe for smoking drugs and a group of pregnant schoolgirls, while Timaru is billed as the top NZ town for "weird s...".

"When it comes to crime, no town is stranger than Timaru," one post reads. "In the last couple of years alone, Timaruvians have hit the headlines for throwing eels at houses, kidnapping cats, fornicating in cars in the Warehouse parking lot, swiping a pet turtle from a cafe, and most recently, stealing an entire public toilet block."

The page's number of followers has ballooned from less than 100 to 26,000 in a few months, partly thanks to its detractors commenting and sharing posts.



Maclary said most followers enjoy the humour and tagging mates in posts disparaging their towns.



They think the detractors simply don't get, or appreciate, the humour.

SUPPLIED The page said the recent naming of Masterton as NZ's most beautiful town "met with bemusement by outsiders and Mastertards alike".

"I can only assume that most angry people don't realise that our posts are jokes which, when combined with the tribal culture that exists in small town NZ, results in angry reactions.

"We believe that anything should be able to be made fun of, and anyone who is unable to ignore things that they don't like should not be on social media."

The pair, who say they have travelled extensively, believe that NZ is a good place to live overall but think it could be improved with different leadership and more focus on issues such as sustainable living, environmental protection, house prices and child poverty.

"We have a lot to be proud of in NZ, but we have a tendency as a nation to see ourselves as perfect, which can prevent action on some of the serious problems that our nation faces."

Central Otago District Council mayor Tim Cadogan said the site has been on his radar for a while and that he finds it "really good satire".

Those who have threatened its creators "need to get a bit of a grip", he said.

"Some people get a bit over-passionate about it but I don't think it's intended to be serious. I've certainly had some good laughs at it."

Ten NZ towns that have made it to the s... list

Cromwell: "The toilet bowl of the South"

Rotorua: "The only place where smelling like a toilet is considered a tourist attraction."

Morrinsville: "One of those small Waikato s...holes that seemingly only exist so that people can get them confused with each other."

Masterton: "Keep New Zealand Beautiful's naming of Masterton as New Zealand's Most Beautiful City – despite it being neither a city nor beautiful – has been met with bemusement by outsiders and Mastertards alike."

Oamaru: "An economically depressed s...hole in fancy dress."

Dargaville: "If you like dry, mudbottomed rivers and blobby, discoloured gum digger statues, you'll love Dargaville."

Queenstown: "Originally a village of about 12 inbred Southerners, Queenstown's resident population has exploded thanks to an influx of Aucklanders who were such big w...... that they were exiled from a bastion of wankiness."

Wairoa: "If you are looking for somewhere that celebrates the six o'clock swill, casual racism and institutionalised misogyny, Wairoa is your place."

New Plymouth: "A great place to live if you hate yourself."

Dunedin: "Populated almost entirely by impoverished and perpetually inebriated students, who... burn their furniture in the street to keep warm."