Waitetuna

Last updated
Waitetuna
Village
Puketapu and Waitetuna valley.jpg
Puketapu and Waitetuna valley
New Zealand location map.svg
Disc Plain red.svg
Waitetuna
Coordinates: 37°50′46″S175°01′50″E / 37.84611°S 175.03056°E / -37.84611; 175.03056 Coordinates: 37°50′46″S175°01′50″E / 37.84611°S 175.03056°E / -37.84611; 175.03056
Country New Zealand
Region Waikato Region
District Waikato District
Elevation
40 m (130 ft)
Population
 (2013 census)
  Territorial93
Time zone UTC+12 (NZST)
  Summer (DST) UTC+13 (NZDT)

Waitetuna is a rural community in the Waikato District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the valley of the Waitetuna River, upstream from the Raglan Harbour.

Contents

History

Pollen analysis in the sediments of the Waitetuna arm of the harbour shows that the original vegetation of the valley was kahikatea on the flats, and a mixed podocarp-hardwood forest on the slopes, with totara, maire, matai, rimu, rata, beech and tree ferns. Kauri was present, but not abundant. [1]

Waitetuna is part of the rohe of Ngāti Māhanga. [2]

In September 1864, after the invasion of the Waikato, the government bought the 20,840 acres (8,430 ha) Waipa–Waitetuna block, stretching from the summit of Pirongia to Te Uku Landing, for £1,500. A 2018 Waitangi Tribunal report said, "The Waipa–Waitetuna purchase occurred during a Crown military occupation of land in Waikato (including the area covered by the purchase block) that was carried out with the express purpose of breaking down Māori authority, including customary rights to land. Although the evidence is not sufficient to draw firm conclusions, aspects of the purchase resemble the process of compensation for confiscated land". [3]

Most of the farms were bought from the government in the 1900s and the bush on them was mostly felled, or burnt. [4]

Roads

Three through roads serve Waitetuna.

The main road, SH23, is served by the Hamilton to Raglan bus. [5] It was formed as a deviation from Old Mountain Rd between 1907 and 1912.

Waitetuna Valley Road runs south to Te Pahu and Te Awamutu. It follows the old Aramiro Track, [6] which was widened to a 6 ft (1.8 m) track in 1909 [7] and to Fillery Rd about 1990. [8]

Old Mountain Road was originally the main road. It was formed as an extension to the first road, built in 1863 from Raglan via Okete to the Waitetuna River. [9] The county history said, "For a dozen years or more before the county was formed (1875), 10 miles of roughly formed dirt road, wide enough to carry horse-drawn drays, linked Raglan township with the Waitetuna River. From there the packhorse route (originally known as the Tikihouhou Track) made by the Army during the Waikato War, wound a tortuous way across the ranges, but it was too narrow, and too steep in parts, to carry vehicles." [10] It became the through road to Hamilton in 1879. [11]

The main road was metalled between 1914 [10] and 1921 [12] and sealing started in 1937, [13] but wasn't completed until 1961. [10]

Railways

Waitetuna almost got a railway. In 1923 the Waikato-West Coast railway district was set up under the 1914 Local Railways Act. [14] It got a detailed survey done for a 2 ft 6in gauge railway [15] and had a contractor ready to build a line [16] through the Kaniwhaniwha and Waitetuna valleys, joined by an 18 ch (1,200 ft; 360 m) tunnel, [17] past Te Uku School and Okete Falls and along the edge of the harbour to Raglan. [4] However, it was opposed by local MP Alexander Young, [18] the proposed local rate was defeated in an election in 1923 [19] and the Board was wound up in 1928. [20]

Demographics

Waitetuna School is in meshblock 0861000, which had these census returns - [21]

YearPopulationAverage ageHouseholdsAverage incomeNational average
20017240.227$22,500$18,500
2006814027$36,300$24,100
20139335.536$36,300$27,900
2018$31,800 [22]

Education

Waitetuna School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, [23] with a roll of 59 as of March 2021. [24] It opened on 3 September 1962. [4]

Until 24 August 1903 Te Uku School was known as Waitetuna. Aramiro School closed in 1964 and its pupils transferred to Waitetuna. [4]

Related Research Articles

Raglan, New Zealand Minor urban area in Waikato, New Zealand

Raglan is a small beachside town located 48 km west of Hamilton, New Zealand on State Highway 23. It is known for its surfing, and volcanic black sand beaches.

Ngāruawāhia Town in Waikato, New Zealand

Ngāruawāhia is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipa Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Range. Ngāruawāhia is in the Hamilton Urban Area, the fourth largest urban area in New Zealand. The location was once considered as a potential capital of New Zealand.

Waipā River

The Waipā River is in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. The headwaters are in the Rangitoto Range east of Te Kuiti. It flows north for 115 kilometres (71 mi), passing through Ōtorohanga and Pirongia, before flowing into the Waikato River at Ngāruawāhia. It is the Waikato's largest tributary. The Waipā's main tributary is the Puniu River.

Otorohanga is a north King Country town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 53 kilometres (33 mi) south of Hamilton and 18 kilometres (11 mi) north of Te Kuiti, on the Waipā River. It is a service town for the surrounding dairy-farming district. It is recognised as the "gateway" to the Waitomo Caves and as the "Kiwiana Town" of New Zealand. Until 2007, Otorohanga held a yearly 'Kiwiana Festival.'

Robert Coulter (New Zealand politician) New Zealand politician

Robert Coulter was a New Zealand politician of the Labour Party.

Oparau River

The Ōpārau River is a river of the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island in the area occupied by Ngāti Hikairo. It flows southwest from its sources in the Pirongia Forest Park, the highest being The Cone, and flows into the Kāwhia Harbour, 5 kilometres (3 mi) east of Kāwhia. The river has about 171 km (106 mi) of tributaries.

Te Pahu Village in Waikato region, New Zealand

Te Pahu is a rural community in the Waipa District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, located just north of Cambridge across State Highway 1.

Whatawhata Township in Waikato region, New Zealand

Whatawhata, previously also spelt Whata Whata, is a small town in the Waikato region on the east bank of the Waipa River, at the junction of State Highways 23 and 39, 12 km (7.5 mi) from Hamilton. Te Araroa tramping route passes through Whatawhata.

The Glen Massey Line was a private railway of 10.6 km near Ngāruawāhia in the Waikato region of New Zealand, built to serve coal mines, and, from 1935, run by the New Zealand Railways Department. The line had grades of 1 in 40, sharp curves - sharpest 6 ch and 40 of less than 10 ch - and 22 bridges, including a 91.5-metre-long and 18.3-metre-high timber trestle bridge over Firewood Creek halfway between Ngāruawāhia and Glen Massey and a 70-foot-long (21 m) bridge, adapted in 1917 to take sheep, on 52 ft (16 m) piles over the Waipa River, as well as the railway, after collapse of the road bridge.

State Highway 22 (SH 22) is a New Zealand state highway just south of Auckland. It connects the town of Pukekohe to the Auckland Southern Motorway.

State Highway 39 (SH 39) is a New Zealand state highway that forms a western bypass of the city of Hamilton. Gazetted in 1999, it is a generally quicker route to get between Auckland and New Plymouth as well as connecting to the Waitomo Caves, just south of the SH 39 southern terminus. The southernmost 14 km section has a concurrency with SH 31, as this highway has existed for much longer.

State Highway 23 (SH 23) is a New Zealand state highway that connects the towns of Raglan and Hamilton.

State Highway 31 (New Zealand) Road in New Zealand

State Highway 31 (SH 31) is a New Zealand state highway in the Waikato region. It provides a link to the harbour town of Kawhia on the west coast of the North Island.

Te Mata, Waikato District Village in Waikato region, New Zealand

Te Mata is a small settlement 47 km (29 mi) from Hamilton and 15 km (9.3 mi) from Raglan.

Te Uku Village in Waikato region, New Zealand

Te Uku is a small, mainly farming, settlement on SH23 in the North Island of New Zealand, located 34 km (21 mi) from Hamilton and 11 km (6.8 mi) from Raglan. It has a 4-Square shop, church, coffee stall and art gallery, filling station, hall, school and Xtreme Zero Waste recycle bins.

Public transport in Hamilton and Waikato

Public transport in Hamilton and the Waikato Region is poorly developed. Only 0.9% of trips were made by bus in 2013/14. This compares with 2.3% nationally, which itself is amongst the lowest modal shares in the world. A Mass Transit Plan aiming to increase public transport's share in Hamilton from 3 to 10% by running services at 10 minute intervals, was to be developed in 2019, but has yet to be funded by NZTA. Waikato, like all other regions, with the exception of Auckland and Wellington, saw falls in use of public transport from 2012. As the map shows, the coverage is sparse and, even of those services which operate daily, most have only 2 or 3 buses a day in each direction. Only Hamilton urban services and those to Huntly run hourly, or more frequently. 41% of passengers travel on the three routes which run at 15 minute intervals.

Te Ākau Hamlet in Waikato region, New Zealand

Te Ākau is a small farming settlement in the North Island of New Zealand, located 62 km (39 mi) north west of Hamilton, 39 km (24 mi) south west of Huntly, 45 km (28 mi) south of Port Waikato and 47 km (29 mi), or 19 km (12 mi) by ferry and road, north of Raglan. It has a hall and a school.

Lake Opuatia

Lake Opuatia is a small lake in the much larger Opuatia wetland, which drains from the west into the Waikato River. It lies near the foot of a long valley drained by the Opuatia Stream.

Hauturu is a village near the eastern shores of the Kawhia Harbour, in the Otorohanga District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island.

Te Rore Locality in Waikato region, New Zealand

Te Rore was in the 1850s an important transhipment point on New Zealand's Waipā River, between the agriculture of the Waikato basin and its Auckland market. That was ended in 1864 by the Invasion of the Waikato, when Te Rore was, for a few months, part of the supply route to four redoubts set up nearby. It is now a rural community in the Waipa District, 6 km (3.7 mi) north of Pirongia and roughly the same distance south of Ngāhinapōuri on State Highway 39.

References

  1. "Whaingaroa (Raglan) Harbour: Sedimentation and the effects of historical catchment landcover changes". Waikato Regional Council. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  2. Kelly, Miromiro. "Ngāti Māhanga Cultural Impact Assessment". Waikato District Council. p. 5.
  3. "Te Mana Whatu Ahuru Waitangi Tribunal Report 2018" (PDF).
  4. 1 2 3 4 Vernon, R. T. (1975). Te Uku.
  5. Council. "Raglan 23". busit.co.nz. Retrieved 16 February 2016.
  6. C W Vennell & Susan Williams: Raglan County Hills and Sea 1876-1976
  7. "Te Pahu. WAIKATO ARGUS". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 16 August 1909. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  8. "Sheet: S15". www.mapspast.org.nz. 1997. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  9. "Papers Past — Daily Southern Cross — 2 January 1863 — RAGLAN. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) December 27th, 1862". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  10. 1 2 3 CW Vennell & Susan Williams (1976). Raglan County Hills and Sea 1876-1976. Wilson & Horton for Raglan County Council. ISBN   0868640026.
  11. "Page 3 Advertisements Column 4". Waikato Times. 25 February 1879. p. 3. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  12. "Road To Raglan". The New Zealand Herald . 27 April 1921. p. 7. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  13. "Road Improvements". The New Zealand Herald . 18 March 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
  14. "Light Railways". Auckland Star. 30 April 1923. p. 7. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  15. "Light Railway Project". The New Zealand Herald . 29 May 1923. p. 10. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  16. "Light Railway Lines". The New Zealand Herald . 7 June 1921. p. 6. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  17. "WAIKATO TIMES, LIGHT LINE RAILWAYS. WAIKATO TO WEST COAST". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. 8 June 1921. Retrieved 20 March 2020.
  18. "Widening Horizon". The New Zealand Herald . 29 May 1923. p. 2. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  19. "Hamilton-west Coast Railway". Auckland Star. 5 October 1923. p. 3. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  20. "Abandoned Project". Auckland Star. 9 November 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
  21. "2013 Census map – QuickStats about a place". archive.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
  22. "Ethnic groups, over time". Stats NZ. 12 March 2020.
  23. "Ministry of Education School Profile". educationcounts.govt.nz. Ministry of Education.
  24. "Education Review Office Report". ero.govt.nz. Education Review Office.