As early as 1839 the New Zealand Company had resolved to "take steps to procure German emigrants" and appointed a Mr Bockelman as agent of the Company in Bremen. In September 1841 the Company made an agreement in principle to sell the Chatham Islands to the Hamburg-based Deutsche Colonisation-Gesellschaft, but the British Government thwarted this move.
Most of the 140 German immigrants who arrived on the ship St Pauli in 1843[4] and formed the nucleus of the villages of Sarau (now known as Upper Moutere) and Neudorf were Lutheran Protestants with a small number of Bavarian Catholics.
The trip had lasted 176 days, during which time four young children had perished, seven couples had been joined in Holy Matrimony, one baby had been born and two passengers had jumped ship at a re-provisioning harbour. After a brief initial period of prosperity the inherent problems of lack of land and capital caught up with the Nelson settlements and they entered a prolonged period of relative depression. Organised immigration ceased until the 1850s and labourers had to accept a cut in their wages by one third. By the end of 1843 artisans and labourers began leaving Nelson and by 1846 a quarter of the immigrants had moved away.
Charles Kelling was in charge of the second German immigration ship to the Nelson region, the Skjold, which arrived in 1844. He moved to Sarau after first having established the village of Ranzau with his brother Fedor. Charles Kelling became a community leader in Sarau.[5] He represented the Moutere (1862–1869) and then the Waimea West (1869–1873) electorates on the Nelson Provincial Council.[6]
Sarau was renamed Upper Moutere as a result of the anti-German feeling aroused by the First World War.[7]
Demographics
Upper Moutere village is in an SA1 statistical area which covers 30.23km2 (11.67sqmi)[1] The SA1 area is part of the larger Upper Moutere statistical area.
Historical population of the village and its surrounds
Upper Moutere and its surrounds had a population of 216 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 36 people (20.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 30 people (16.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 81 households, comprising 114 males and 105 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.09 males per female. The median age was 52.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 36 people (16.7%) aged under 15 years, 18 (8.3%) aged 15 to 29, 123 (56.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 42 (19.4%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 97.2% European/Pākehā, 4.2% Māori, 0.0% Pasifika, 1.4% Asian, and 2.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 59.7% had no religion, 27.8% were Christian, 4.2% were Buddhist and 2.8% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 48 (26.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 21 (11.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 30 people (16.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 96 (53.3%) people were employed full-time, 36 (20.0%) were part-time, and 3 (1.7%) were unemployed.[2]
Upper Moutere statistical area
Upper Moutere statistical area covers 445.97km2 (172.19sqmi).[1] It had an estimated population of 2,070 as of June 2022,[8] with a population density of 4.6 people per km2.
Historical population of Upper Moutere statistical area
The statistical area had a population of 1,962 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 132 people (7.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 285 people (17.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 723 households, comprising 1,008 males and 957 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.05 males per female. The median age was 46.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 399 people (20.3%) aged under 15 years, 234 (11.9%) aged 15 to 29, 1,023 (52.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 306 (15.6%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 95.4% European/Pākehā, 7.3% Māori, 0.9% Pasifika, 1.2% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 23.2, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 67.4% had no religion, 20.8% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.6% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.8% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 360 (23.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 249 (15.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $25,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 177 people (11.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 726 (46.4%) people were employed full-time, 342 (21.9%) were part-time, and 36 (2.3%) were unemployed.[9]
Education
Upper Moutere School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[10][11] with a roll of 91 as of April 2023.[12] The first school in Upper Moutere opened in 1857. The current school opened in 1929, with the classroom from the first school moved to the current grounds in the 1940s. This classroom may be the oldest still in use in New Zealand.[13]
Related Research Articles
Murchison is a town in the Tasman Region of the South Island of New Zealand. It is near the western end of the "Four Rivers Plain", at the confluence of the Buller River and the Matakitaki River. The other two rivers are the Mangles River, and the Matiri River. It is a rural service town for the surrounding mixed farming district, approximately halfway between Westport and Nelson. Murchison was named after the Scottish geologist Roderick Murchison, one of the founders of the Royal Geographical Society.
Hope, previously known as Ranzau, is a small settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand. It lies south of Nelson city, between Richmond and Wakefield.
Hawarden is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located near Waikari, just off State Highway 7.
Wairau Valley is the valley of the Wairau River in Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley opens onto the Wairau Plain, where Renwick and Blenheim are sited. The Alpine–Wairau Fault runs along the length of the valley.
Ahaura is a town in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island, sited where the Ahaura River flows into the Grey River. State Highway 7 and the Stillwater–Ngākawau railway line pass through the town. Greymouth is 34 kilometres (21 mi) to the south-west, and Reefton is 44 kilometres (27 mi) to the north-east.
Upper Hutt Central is the commercial and geographic focal point of Upper Hutt city, located in the lower North Island of New Zealand.
Fernridge is a small rural settlement located 4 km northwest of Masterton, New Zealand. The area has a mixture of farms, horticultural smallholdings and lifestyle blocks.
The Wood is a suburb of the South Island, New Zealand city of Nelson. It lies just to the north-east of the city centre and adjoins it.
Wakefield is a settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand's South Island, located about 25km south west of Nelson.
Hira is a small settlement approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) northeast of Nelson, New Zealand. It sits in the valley of the Wakapuaka River.
Marybank is a suburb of Nelson, New Zealand. It lies on State Highway 6 close to the northern end of Nelson Haven, between Atawhai and Wakapuaka.
Washington Valley is a major inner suburb of Nelson, New Zealand. It lies to the west of Nelson city centre and south of Stepneyville and Beachville.
Annesbrook is an industrial suburb of Nelson, New Zealand.
Nayland is a suburb of Stoke, New Zealand. It lies to the north of Stoke, close to Nelson Airport, southwest of Nelson city centre.
Monaco is a small suburb of Nelson, New Zealand, west of town centre of Stoke. It lies on a narrow peninsula which extends into Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere immediately to the south of Nelson Airport, southwest of central Nelson.
Saxton is a suburb of Nelson, New Zealand, south of Stoke and northwest of Richmond.
Nelson South is an inner suburb of Nelson, New Zealand. It lies to the southwest of Nelson city centre, between it and Bishopdale, close to the foot of The Grampians. The main inland route to Stoke, New Zealand, Waimea Road, is Nelson South's main road.
Nelson Central is the central suburb and central business district of Nelson, New Zealand.
Tasman is a settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand's upper South Island. It is located between Māpua and Motueka, 45 kilometres (28 mi) from Abel Tasman National Park and 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Nelson.
Lower Moutere is a settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand's upper South Island. It is a farming community it the Lower Moutere valley, 6 km (3.7 mi) from Motueka close to the Moutere Inlet.
↑ Bade, James N. "Germans – Early settlements". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 16 November 2017. The first group of Germans arrived on the St Pauli in 1843, and founded the village of St Paulidorf in the Moutere valley, near Nelson. Bad flooding forced the abandonment of the village scarcely a year after it began, and now nothing remains but farmland. [...] Around 1850, some Germans returned to Moutere, this time settling further up the valley. Over the next 20 years, joined by a number of their compatriots, they established settlements at Sarau (now called Upper Moutere), Rosental (Rosedale) and Neudorf.
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.
