Ramarama, previously known as Sheppards Bush, is a small community at the far south of the Auckland Region in New Zealand's North Island, located just to the north of the Bombay Hills (a point commonly regarded as the most southern part of the Auckland region). Ramarama has an off-ramp at exit 466 on the motorway south of Auckland. The suburb is effectively sliced in two by the motorway, this section of which was constructed in 1978.
The main settlement of Ramarama contains a convenience store and several small businesses. Most of the land in the area is made up of market gardens, farms and lifestyle blocks as would be expected from the entirely rural region in which it is located. There are several floral/garden/nursery businesses with large glasshouses and a number of poultry/egg producing farms in the surrounding area. [3]
Ramarama is named after ramarama, a small tree with leaves that can cure bruises if crushed.[4]
History
Ramarama was originally only bushland and also there was a pā site inhabited by the Ngāti Pou tribe of the Māori. It also hid pathways between Tamaki, Hauraki and the Waikato.
In the 1850s, the British built the Great South Road through the land. At the time of the Waikato War, the area was known as Sheppards Bush.[4]
Reverend McDonald, a famed priest at the time, decided to build a church, where the Pratts Road Cemetery stands now. The church was called Saint Brigids and also functioned as a school. The church itself was moved to Selwyn Oaks, but the school was called Maketu School and henceforth Ramarama School. [5]
The Te Maketu Waterfall is hidden behind the Pratts Road Cemetery. Reverend McDonald wrote a book on it called “The Well Known Secret of the Waterfall”.
Country Women's Institute
Country Women's Institute (CWI), Ramarama branch banner
The Ramarama branch of the Country Women's Institute, like many women's CWI groups across New Zealand supported the women and their families in the area. First formed in Ramarama on 10 May 1933, it took a very active part in raising money for the building of the Ramarama Hall. They held a Queen Carnival and took an active part in all other fund raising for the project.
Raventhorpe hospital in 1962
The Northern Military District Convalescent Depot, opened in December 1942 as a place for troops to recover.[6] It was between Ramarama and Bombay.[7] In late 1945 ash from Ruapehu polluted the water supply of the Chateau and patients who had been housed there were evacuated to what then became Raventhorpe psychiatric hospital.[8] At the 1951 Census 278 people were living at the hospital.[9] The hospital closed about 1991 and the land was sold,[10] to become what is now Martyn Farm Estate.[11]
Demographics
Ramarama statistical area, which also includes Paerata, covers 39.69km2 (15.32sqmi)[1] and had an estimated population of 2,580 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 65 people per km2.
Before the 2023 census, Ramarama had a larger boundary, covering 43.62km2 (16.84sqmi).[1] Using that boundary, Ramarama had a population of 1,977 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 48 people (2.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 60 people (3.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 663 households, comprising 1,011 males and 966 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.05 males per female. The median age was 45.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 351 people (17.8%) aged under 15 years, 348 (17.6%) aged 15 to 29, 996 (50.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 285 (14.4%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 86.0% European/Pākehā, 11.8% Māori, 5.0% Pacific peoples, 6.8% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 18.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 53.7% had no religion, 36.6% were Christian, 0.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.2% were Hindu, 1.1% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 378 (23.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 276 (17.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $42,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 453 people (27.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 906 (55.7%) people were employed full-time, 267 (16.4%) were part-time, and 36 (2.2%) were unemployed.[12]
Education
Ramarama School is a coeducational full primary school (years 1–8) with a roll of 205 as of August 2024.[13][14] The school was founded in 1867.[15]
Places of interest
Maketu Stream
Te Maketu Falls - This is a tranquil waterfall about five minutes' walk from Pratts Rd Cemetery. With a large swimming hole at the base of the waterfall, it is an awe-inspiring place to walk to, have a swim or photograph.
Pratts Road Cemetery - A place to remember the dead, especially soldiers who fought in the war
St Brigid’s Church site - This is the site of the Catholic Church that was closed down in 1969, 45 years after it was opened in 1924. As most of the English and Irish immigrants were Catholic it was decided that a church be opened for bible and Sunday school sessions. [16]
Notable people
Jane Mander, novelist, was born in Ramarama on 9 April 1877.
Related Research Articles
Richmond is a town and the seat of the Tasman District Council in New Zealand. It lies 13 kilometres (8 mi) south of Nelson in the South Island, close to the southern extremity of Tasman Bay. The town, first settled by Europeans in 1842, was named in 1854 after the town of Richmond on Thames near London. The town has an estimated population of 19,200 as of June 2023.
Ruakura is a semi-rural suburb of Hamilton City, in the Waikato region of New Zealand. The University of Waikato is nearby.
Te Puke is a town located 18 kilometres southeast of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for the cultivation of Kiwifruit.
Matakana Island is located in the western Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. A long, flat barrier island, it is 20 kilometres (12 mi) in length but rarely more than 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) wide. The island has been continuously populated for centuries by Māori tribes that are mostly associated with Ngāi Te Rangi.
Ōpunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway 45 passes through the town. The town has a population of 1,440.
Flaxmere is a township in the Hastings District and outlying suburb of Hastings City, in the Hawke's Bay Region of New Zealand's North Island.
Moerewa is a small town in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the Bay of Islands five kilometres to the west of Kawakawa.
Ōtaki is a town in the Kāpiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated halfway between the capital city Wellington, 70 km (43 mi) to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 km (43 mi) to the northeast.
Maketu is a small town on the Western Bay of Plenty coast in New Zealand.
Wattle Downs is a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand.
Onekawa is a suburb of the city of Napier, in the Hawke's Bay Region of the eastern North Island of New Zealand. Development of the suburb began in the late 1940s, after the land was acquired from then-Harbour Board.
Kennedy Bay is a locality in the north eastern Coromandel Peninsula of New Zealand. The Harataunga and Omoho Streams flow from the Coromandel Range past the settlement and into the bay to the east.
Deanwell is a suburb in south-western Hamilton in New Zealand. It is named after Deanwell Properties, the developers who subdivided the area. It was defined as a suburb of Hamilton in 1974.
Clendon Park is a suburb of Auckland in northern New Zealand. It is located to the west of Manurewa and north of Weymouth. The suburb is in the Manurewa-Papakura ward, one of the 21 local boards of Auckland Council.
Waioeka is a rural community in the Ōpōtiki District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. Its name was officially changed to Waioweka in 2024. The community is on the east bank of the Waioeka River.
Paerata is a small settlement immediately to the north of Pukekohe, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 22 some 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of the Manukau Harbour. Wesley College is located close to the northern edge of Paerata.
Rosedale is a suburb on the North Shore of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located 12 kilometres north of the city centre, to the south of the suburbs of Pinehill and Albany. It is under the local governance of the Auckland Council. Northern Rosedale is also known by the name Upper Harbour.
Weymouth, also known as Weymouth by the sea, is a southern suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. It is located adjacent to Clendon Park and Manurewa, some 25 kilometres (16 mi) southeast of Auckland city centre, and is sited on a peninsula between the southeastern shore of the Manukau Harbour and that Harbour's Pahurehure Inlet.
Mangakakahi is a suburb of Rotorua in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island.
Castlecliff is a suburb of Whanganui, in the Whanganui District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. The name was given by the Harbour Board, on the suggestion of the future Prime Minister, John Ballance, when it established the township on what were described as "barren sandhills" in 1882. Many of the streets were named after Harbour Board members. The northern harbour breakwater extended 900 ft (270 m) by 1885. The freezing works was built in 1891.
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.
