Otakeho, meaning place of Takeho,[6] is a locality in southern Taranaki, New Zealand, west of the Otakeho Stream (rising on Mount Taranaki and reaching the Tasman Sea at Otakeho.[7] It is on SH45.[8]
It has a hall (built in 1897 to celebrate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee),[9] a boarded up store[10] (taken over by H J Eaves in 1904,[11] when it sold a wide variety of groceries, ironmongery, drapery, boots,[12] farm, garden, sporting and household goods.[13][14] It burnt down in July 1927[15][16] and was rebuilt about April 1928)[17] a war memorial[18] and a few houses.
3.8km (2.4mi) west of Otakeho[19] is Ngāruahine's Tawhitinui Marae.[20] A kohanga reo has been run at the marae since the 1980s.[21]
Otakeho has a small sandy beach, beyond Dingle Road,[22] at the foot of 40m (130ft) high cliffs.[23] It is used for fishing[22] and has a poorly protected,[24]nationally threatened, variety of Craspedia, Craspedia Otakeho.[25]
The Ōpunake to New Plymouth bus runs through Otakeho daily in each direction, except at weekends.[26] A bus has run since 1915[27] and was preceded by Royal Mail coaches,[28][29] which changed horses there from 1881.[30]
History
Otakeho was, like Parihaka, a part of the Waimate Plainsconfiscated from Ngāti Ruanui under the Settlements Act 1863,[31] so that precautions were taken during the survey of the main road in 1878.[32] In 1880 there was a camp of No.1 Company of the Armed Constabulary at Otakeho, when the road was being built.[33][34] Later in the year the confiscated land was being sold,[35] for £16 to £24 per acre.[36] Otakeho may have been an area where ploughing protests occurred,[37] though it stopped on request.[38] A phone line to Manaia was built about 1883.[39] Otakeho Bridge was swept away by a flood in 1893.[40] Gravel was put on the mud roads around the period 1893[41] to 1913.[42]
Growth
Otakeho grew from the 1880s to the early decades of the twentieth century, becoming a much larger village than the current one, its first store, bakery and post and telegraph office being opened by Mr Blennerhasset in 1882 (his murder in a neighbours' dispute in 1901 briefly put Otakeho in the headlines).[43][44][45][46] In 1883 a butcher and smithy opened, a school in 1884, a tinsmith's and in 1896 a public hall. A debating society was formed in 1891.[47] The 1894 school[48] closed in 2003,[18] though the buildings remain.[49] An 1893 Category 2 listed church was designed by Frederick de Jersey Clere,[50] was extended with a vestry in 1954,[51] closed in 2015, deconsecrated in 2017,[52] sold in 2018[53] and moved to Pihama in 2021.[50] The churchyard wasn't used as a burial ground.[54] The village also had carriers,[55][56] a dairy factory,[57] which occupied several buildings[58] and three butchers.[59]
Hotel
Otakeho Hotel about 1890
Tenders for the hotel were invited in 1881,[60] building started in September 1881,[61] and the 20-room[62] Otakeho Hotel opened in January 1882.[63] It was rebuilt[64] after a 1907 fire[65] and burnt down again[66] in January 1980.[67]
Dairy
In 1888 Newton King together with R. Cook and J.C. George founded the Crown Dairy Company which started by taking over three unsuccessful co-operatives at Manaia, Otakeho and Opunake.[59][68]
Otakeho had a population of 177 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 21 people (−10.6%) since the 2018 census, and a decrease of 12 people (−6.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 93 males and 84 females in 66 dwellings.[74] 3.4% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 34.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 39 people (22.0%) aged under 15 years, 36 (20.3%) aged 15 to 29, 84 (47.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 18 (10.2%) aged 65 or older.[5]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 88.1% European (Pākehā), 23.7% Māori, 1.7% Pasifika, 1.7% Asian, and 3.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori by 5.1%, and other languages by 3.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.[5]
Religious affiliations were 28.8% Christian. People who answered that they had no religion were 57.6%, and 11.9% of people did not answer the census question.[5]
Of those at least 15 years old, 12 (8.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 84 (60.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 45 (32.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $46,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 18 people (13.0%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 78 (56.5%) full-time, 30 (21.7%) part-time, and 6 (4.3%) unemployed.[5]
Notable people
Margaret Jane Briggs (17 April 1892 – 5 November 1961) a show‑ring rider born in Otakeho
Frederick Arthur Lye (1881 – 3 October 1949) a Liberal and United MP (1922-35), who farmed at Otakeho from 1906 to 1918
William Sheridan (12 March 1858 – 16 November 1931) a Tasmanian Labour MP (1909-28), who ran a store at Otakeho, from 1900 until sold to his brother in law, H J Eaves in 1904
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
