The names of two men who were killed in separate crashes in the Waikato over the weekend have now been released.

Police say Hamilton man Anthony Tony Taki Pihema, 47, was killed following a head-on collision which occurred on State Highway 3 just south of Te Kuiti at 5.30am on Saturday, June 4.

The scene of the fatal crash in Huntly which killed Australian motorcyclist Mark Anthony Taylor, 47. Photo: Christel Yardley/Fairfax

While Australian man Mark Anthony Taylor, 47, was killed after his motorcycle collided with a car on Harris Street in Huntly at about 3pm on Monday, June 6.

On behalf of police, Waikato Road Policing manager Inspector Freda Grace extends their sympathy to both families.

'These are two of 11 people who tragically died on the roads over the weekend and our thoughts are with all those who are grieving after losing loved ones,” she says.

'Like so many others, both of these crashes could have been prevented. Police cannot emphasise enough to drivers the importance of following the road rules and driving to the conditions to ensure that all road users are safe.”

It was a horrific Queen's Birthday Weekend on the roads with the provisional road toll standing at 11 deaths. Those deaths were a result of eight crashes which occurred in the Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Otago, Canterbury, Wellington, Auckland and Northland regions.

According to provisional Ministry of Transport data, of those deaths six were the drivers of vehicles, three were passengers and two were motorcyclists.

National Road Policing manager Superintendent Steve Greally says the sad part is crashes like these are preventable, and to see another 11 families left devastated in this way 'is incredibly sad”.

'As far as Police is concerned, any death or injury is one too many, and everyone needs to be doing their part to reduce deaths and injuries on our roads.

'Police will continue to do everything we can to ensure the message gets to those who need to hear it – if only to prevent another crash from occurring – but this responsibility also lies in the hands of every road user.”

Last year on Queen's Birthday weekend five people were killed in five crashes – three drivers, one passenger and one motorcycle pillion passenger.

New Zealand's worst ever Queen's Birthday Weekend on the roads was in 1973, when 24 were killed.

The official Queen's Birthday weekend period began at 4pm on Friday, June 3, and ended 6am on Tuesday, June 7.