Kaitaia | |
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Coordinates: 35°6′45″S173°15′46″E / 35.11250°S 173.26278°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Island | North Island |
Region | Northland |
Territorial authority | Far North District |
Ward | Te Hiku (General) / Ngā Tai o Tokerau (Māori) |
Community | Te Hiku |
Subdivision | Kaitāia |
Electorates | |
Government | |
• Territorial Authority | Far North District Council |
• Regional council | Northland Regional Council |
• Mayor of Far North | Moko Tepania |
• Northland MP | Grant McCallum |
• Te Tai Tokerau MP | Mariameno Kapa-Kingi |
Area | |
• Total | 8.48 km2 (3.27 sq mi) |
Population (June 2024) [2] | |
• Total | 6,380 |
• Density | 750/km2 (1,900/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
Postcode(s) | 0410 |
Area code | 09 |
Kaitaia (Māori : Kaitāia) is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupōuri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē / Ninety Mile Beach, is 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) west.
The main industries are forestry and tourism. The population is 6,380 as of June 2024, [2] which makes it the second-largest town in the Far North District, after Kerikeri.
The name Kaitāia means 'ample food', kai being the Māori word for food. [3]
The Muriwhenua are a group of six northern Māori iwi occupying the northernmost part of the North Island surrounding Kaitaia.
The Kaitaia Mission Station was established between 1833 and 1834 after a series of visits by Church Missionary Society (CMS) representatives including Samuel Marsden, and at different times, Joseph Matthews and William Gilbert Puckey. [4] Puckey and Matthews had married two sisters, Matilda and Mary Ann Davis respectively, (daughters of Richard Davis, a lay missioner based at Waimate North). They formed a tight band, initially living together in raupo huts, and then in houses they built.
As Puckey and the sisters were fluent in Māori, (Puckey having arrived in New Zealand in 1819 with his father, William Puckey, and the Davis family in 1823), they spoke Māori when together, to help Joseph Matthews pick up the language. Both families grew and intermarried, forming the basis of the early Pākehā settler community. At one point, the Church Missionary Society decided that either Puckey or Matthews should move to a new location to the south to facilitate the spread of the word, but Nōpera Panakareao wrote a heartfelt letter to the CMS committee, pleading not to take away 'one of the two candlesticks'.
In February 1841, about 500 Māori were present at a CMS service. [5] In 1852 arguments developed between one chief and his tribe, however the impact of the missionaries meant that the old ways of settling disputes had passed. [6]
Richard Matthews, the brother of Rev. Joseph Matthews, arrived in the Bay of Islands in December 1835 and for a time, joined his brother in Kaitaia. Richard Matthews had been a lay missionary on the second voyage of HMS Beagle with Charles Darwin. [7] Richard Matthews served the CMS as a lay catechist at Kaitaia. In 1838 he married Johanna Blomfield, the sister of Mrs Martha Blomfield Clarke, whose husband George was a CMS missionary at Te Waimate mission. In 1840 Richard and Johanna Matthews helped set up a missionary station at Whanganui. [8]
There were plans to extend the Okaihau Branch railway to Kaitaia and construction was started in the 1920s, but with the line nearly complete to Rangiahua, a review in 1936 determined that the line would not be viable and construction was abandoned. The line terminated in Okaihau until it was closed on 1 November 1987. D 221, a steam tank locomotive, has been on static display at Centennial Park since 1967. [9]
There are five marae located within 10kms of Kaitāia
In October 2020, a fire occurred at the former Kaitaia Bowling Club on Matthews Avenue. [12] Alarms were raised at 6:01am on Friday. The fire was caused by an electrical fault that had sparked in the kitchen area on the upper floor, causing the northern half of the building to burn. The building, prior to the blaze, was used as a residential dwelling.
A few months later in March 2021, the building was set on fire again, [13] causing the entire building to set ablaze. Alarms were raised at around 2:30pm. Police suspected that the blaze was 'deliberately lit'. The building was demolished upon the closing of the property.
Statistics New Zealand describes Kaitāia as a small urban area. It covers 8.48 km2 (3.27 sq mi) [1] and had an estimated population of 6,380 as of June 2024, [2] with a population density of 752 people per km2.
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
2006 | 5,202 | — |
2013 | 4,887 | −0.89% |
2018 | 5,868 | +3.73% |
2023 | 5,955 | +0.29% |
Source: [14] [15] |
Kaitāia had a population of 5,955 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 87 people (1.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 1,068 people (21.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 2,871 males, 3,069 females and 18 people of other genders in 1,962 dwellings. [16] 2.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 33.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,506 people (25.3%) aged under 15 years, 1,239 (20.8%) aged 15 to 29, 2,250 (37.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 960 (16.1%) aged 65 or older. [15]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 48.2% European (Pākehā); 70.4% Māori; 9.3% Pasifika; 4.1% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.6%, Māori language by 22.1%, Samoan by 0.9% and other languages by 4.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.4% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 9.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 38.3% Christian, 0.7% Hindu, 0.1% Islam, 10.6% Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.7% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 41.2%, and 8.6% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 330 (7.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,478 (55.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,566 (35.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $28,500, compared with $41,500 nationally. 105 people (2.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,746 (39.2%) people were employed full-time, 471 (10.6%) were part-time, and 372 (8.4%) were unemployed. [15]
Name | Area (km2) | Population | Density (per km2) | Dwellings | Median age | Median income |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kaitāia East | 5.27 | 2,478 | 470 | 807 | 31.5 years | $28,800 [17] |
Kaitāia West | 3.20 | 3,477 | 1,087 | 1,155 | 34.0 years | $28,400 [18] |
New Zealand | 38.1 years | $41,500 |
Kaitaia has a humid subtropical climate (Cfbl) according to the Trewartha climate classification system or an oceanic climate (Cfb) according to Köppen system. Summers are usually warm, while winters are usually wet and mild. Precipitation is heavy year round in the form of rain, which peaks during the months of May – September. [19]
Climate data for Kaitaia (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1948–present) | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.0 (87.8) | 29.1 (84.4) | 29.6 (85.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 21.6 (70.9) | 20.5 (68.9) | 21.5 (70.7) | 23.0 (73.4) | 24.4 (75.9) | 26.4 (79.5) | 28.3 (82.9) | 31.2 (88.2) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.6 (74.5) | 24.5 (76.1) | 23.0 (73.4) | 20.9 (69.6) | 18.4 (65.1) | 16.2 (61.2) | 15.4 (59.7) | 15.6 (60.1) | 16.7 (62.1) | 17.9 (64.2) | 19.4 (66.9) | 21.7 (71.1) | 19.4 (66.9) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 19.2 (66.6) | 20.0 (68.0) | 18.6 (65.5) | 16.9 (62.4) | 14.8 (58.6) | 12.8 (55.0) | 12.0 (53.6) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.1 (55.6) | 14.2 (57.6) | 15.6 (60.1) | 17.7 (63.9) | 15.6 (60.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.8 (58.6) | 15.6 (60.1) | 14.3 (57.7) | 12.9 (55.2) | 11.2 (52.2) | 9.4 (48.9) | 8.5 (47.3) | 8.8 (47.8) | 9.6 (49.3) | 10.6 (51.1) | 11.7 (53.1) | 13.8 (56.8) | 11.8 (53.2) |
Record low °C (°F) | 7.0 (44.6) | 7.3 (45.1) | 6.2 (43.2) | 3.8 (38.8) | 0.3 (32.5) | −0.9 (30.4) | −1.2 (29.8) | 0.3 (32.5) | −0.3 (31.5) | 2.6 (36.7) | 4.0 (39.2) | 5.0 (41.0) | −1.2 (29.8) |
Average rainfall mm (inches) | 75.0 (2.95) | 86.0 (3.39) | 84.7 (3.33) | 98.8 (3.89) | 130.5 (5.14) | 149.9 (5.90) | 168.1 (6.62) | 137.0 (5.39) | 121.7 (4.79) | 90.4 (3.56) | 76.3 (3.00) | 101.6 (4.00) | 1,320 (51.96) |
Average rainy days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 6.1 | 6.5 | 7.6 | 10.1 | 13.2 | 14.7 | 15.9 | 15.5 | 12.8 | 10.4 | 9.2 | 9.9 | 131.9 |
Average relative humidity (%) | 80.1 | 83.5 | 83.3 | 82.0 | 85.3 | 87.0 | 87.1 | 84.3 | 81.4 | 82.0 | 78.9 | 79.5 | 82.9 |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 233.8 | 199.6 | 200.0 | 163.9 | 146.5 | 127.4 | 139.5 | 161.3 | 169.7 | 194.7 | 193.7 | 202.2 | 2,132.3 |
Mean daily daylight hours | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.2 | 10.3 | 9.8 | 10.1 | 10.8 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 14.5 | 12.1 |
Percent possible sunshine | 53 | 53 | 52 | 49 | 46 | 43 | 45 | 48 | 48 | 48 | 46 | 45 | 48 |
Source 1: NIWA Climate Data [20] [21] | |||||||||||||
Source 2: Weather Spark [22] |
InterCity operates a daily bus service to and from Auckland via Kerikeri. [23] Community Business & Environment Centre (CBEC) runs a service called Busabout to Ahipara, Mangonui and Pukenui. [24]
Kaitaia Airport has services from Auckland and is the only airport in the upper Far North District. Air New Zealand discontinued their services in April 2015. [25] Barrier Air has since taken over services to Auckland. [26]
Kaitaia is one of the main centres in the Far North of New Zealand. It is near to popular tourist destinations such as Ahipara and is on State Highway 1 which leads up to Cape Reinga. The town's slogan is "Where journeys begin". [27]
An annual Snapper Surf Casting Competition is held in March, on Te Oneroa-a-Tōhē (Ninety Mile Beach) Snapper Bonanza Surf Casting Competition.
The Aupouri Forest, to the North of Kaitaia, provides pine logs which are processed at the Juken Nissho Mill in Kaitaia.
Extraction of ancient swamp Kauri (Agathis australis), is a contentious industry. [28]
Kaitaia lies within the Awanui River catchment. The area supports dairy and dry stock farming, predominantly sheep and beef. Further north of Kaitaia, the avocado industry flourishes, with orchards dispersed throughout the immediate area.
Wine is a growing commodity. One of the largest vineyards in the area is the Karikari Estate.
Mānuka honey is another industry experiencing growth. [29]
Kaitaia Primary School, Kaitaia Intermediate and Kaitāia College are the main primary, intermediate and secondary schools. The rolls are 302, [30] 196, [31] and 810, [32] respectively. Kaitaia Primary opened in 1875 on the site of the 1834 Anglican mission, which had run its own mission school. [33] Kaitaia Intermediate separated from Kaitaia Primary in 1968. [34] Kaitāia College started as the Secondary Department of Kaitaia School, establishing its own site in the 1930s and becoming a separate school in 1951. [35]
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Pukemiro is a full primary (years 1–8) school [36] with a roll of 153. It is a Kura Kaupapa Māori school which teaches fully in the Māori language.
Pompallier School is a Catholic full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of 145. [37]
Kaitaia Abundant Life School was a Christian composite school (years 1–13). [38] It was established in 1988 as a private primary school, and extended to secondary students in 1992. It became a state integrated school in 1996. [39] The school closed and exited the state system at the end of Term 2, 2023. The school’s Trust believed that it was no longer possible to offer an education determined by their beliefs due to government and Ministry legislation, policy, and curriculum initiatives. These include: Gender neutral requirements, the Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Act 2022, and the curriculum’s requirements around relationship and sexuality guidelines. [40] [41]
Oturu School is a primary school to the north east serving years 1–8, with a roll of 131. [42]
All these schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of August 2024. [43]
Notable people who have lived in Kaitaia:
Taipa-Mangonui or Taipa Bay-Mangonui is a string of small resort settlements – Taipa, Cable Bay, Coopers Beach, and Mangōnui – that lie along the coast of Doubtless Bay and are so close together that they have run together to form one larger settlement.
Ōhaeawai is a small village at the junction of State Highway 1 and State Highway 12 in the Far North District of New Zealand, some 250 km (160 mi) from Auckland. The town of Kaikohe is 10.4 km (6.5 mi) to the west, and the Bay of Islands is a short drive to the east.
Kaeo is a township in the Far North District of New Zealand, located some 22 km (14 mi) northwest of Kerikeri. The town's name comes from the Māori-language name of the New Zealand freshwater mussel, which is found in nearby rivers.
Waimate North is a small settlement in Northland, New Zealand. It is situated between Kerikeri and Lake Ōmāpere, west of the Bay of Islands.
Ahipara is a town and locality in Northland, New Zealand at the southern end of Ninety Mile Beach, with the Tauroa Peninsula to the west and Herekino Forest to the east. Ahipara Bay is to the north west. Kaitaia is 14 km to the north east, and Pukepoto is between the two.
Herekino is a locality in Northland, New Zealand. It lies 26 km south west of Kaitaia. The Herekino Harbour, also called the Herekino River, is an estuary and inlet from the Tasman Sea to the west. The Herekino Forest, which contains a stand of large kauri, is to the north, and the Tauroa Peninsula lies to the north west.
Peria is a locality in Northland, New Zealand. It lies south of Taipa and east of Kaitaia. The area was once known as Oruru Valley.
Tautoro is a locality about 8 km (5.0 mi) south-southeast of Kaikohe in Northland, New Zealand. Further to the south is the Awarua rural community. The eastern part of the locality has a hill Tautoro at 463 m (1,519 ft) in height, and Lake Tauanui which has sometimes also been given the locality's name.
Te Kao is a village on the Aupouri Peninsula of Northland, New Zealand. Te Aupōuri are mana whenua over Te Kao and the surrounding district, and it is the principal settlement of the iwi (tribe). Te Aupōuri's Post-Settlement Governance Entity, Te Runanga Nui o Te Aupōuri, has an office at Te Kao, along with the iwi's marae and urupa. State Highway 1 passes through the district. Cape Reinga is 46 km to the north, and Houhora is 24 km to the south. The Aupouri Forest and Ninety Mile Beach are to the west.
Pukepoto is a town in Northland, New Zealand. It lies south west of Kaitaia and north east of Ahipara. The Herekino Forest lies to the south east.
Whangape Harbour is a harbour on the west coast of Northland, New Zealand. There is a settlement called Whangape on the northern side of the harbour. Another, called Pawarenga, is located on the southern side. Kaitaia is 42 km north east.
Waikare is a locality in Northland, New Zealand. The Waikare River flows from the Russell Forest past Waikare and into the Waikare Inlet, which leads into the Bay of Islands.
Purerua Peninsula is a peninsula on the northwest side of the Bay of Islands in Northland, New Zealand. Te Puna Inlet lies to the south of the peninsula. Communities on the peninsula are Purerua, Te Tii and Taronui Bay. Rangihoua Bay is at the southern end of the peninsula.
Waiharara is a community at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through the community. To the west is Aupouri Forest, and beyond that Ninety Mile Beach. To the east is Rangaunu Harbour. Houhora is 22 km north west, and Awanui is 16 km south east. Lake Waiparera, 35 metres above sea level, is immediately to the north west.
Tinopai is a settlement on the Komiti Bay, part of the Hukatere Peninsula in the northern Kaipara Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. The Otamatea River flows from the north east past Tinopai and into the harbour. Matakohe is 23 km (14 mi) to the north.
Motatau or Mōtatau is a locality in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Maromaku is to the east. The Taikirau Stream flows from east through Motatau and then runs northwest to join the Waiharakeke Stream. The North Auckland Line runs through Motatau.
Glenbervie is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The city of Whangārei lies to the southwest, and the localities of Kiripaka and Ngunguru to the northeast. The Glenbervie Forest is north of the settlement.
Whangaruru is a rural community and harbour on the east coast of Northland, New Zealand. Mokau, Helena Bay, Whakapara, Hikurangi and Whangārei are to the south and the Bay of Islands is to the northwest.
Mangōnui is a settlement on the west side of Mangōnui Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 10 runs through it. It is the easternmost of the Taipa-Mangonui string of settlements, separated from Coopers Beach to the northwest by Mill Bay Road.
Takahue is a rural community in the Far North District and Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island, south of Kaitaia.