Hāwera

Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of 10,350.[2] It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established in 1866, and the town of Hāwera grew up around a blockhouse in the early 1870s.

Hāwera
Hāwera from the Water Tower
Hāwera from the Water Tower
Coordinates: 39°35′36″S 174°16′42″E
CountryNew Zealand
RegionTaranaki Region
Territorial authoritySouth Taranaki District
Ward
  • Te Hāwera General Ward
  • Te Kūrae Māori Ward
  • Te Tai Tonga Māori Ward
CommunityTe Hāwera Community
Established1866
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial AuthoritySouth Taranaki District Council
 • Regional councilTaranaki Regional Council
Area
[1]
 • Total25.18 km2 (9.72 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2023)[2]
 • Total10,350
 • Density410/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Postcode
4610
The water tower at Hāwera

Hāwera is 75 kilometres south of New Plymouth on State Highway 3 and 30 minutes' drive from Mount Taranaki. It is located on State Highway 45, known as Surf Highway 45 for its numerous surf beaches. State Highway 45 passes through Manaia, Ōpunake and Oakura en route to New Plymouth. Kaponga is a 20-minute drive to the north-west. The Marton–New Plymouth Line railway passes through Hāwera and has served the town since 1 August 1881, though it has been freight-only since the cancellation of the last railcar passenger service between Wellington and New Plymouth on 30 July 1977.

History

Pre-European history

The Māori-language name Hāwera means "burnt place"; it arose as a result of fighting between two local sub-tribes, which culminated in the setting ablaze of the sleeping whare (house) of the tribe under attack.[3] An older Māori name was Tau-patatē, referring to the patatē or seven-finger tree Schefflera digitata.[4] Spelled "Hawera" for most of its European history, a macron was added to the official name by the New Zealand Geographic Board in June 2019.[5]

European settlement

The town's name meaning "burnt place" became apt when the town suffered extensive blazes in 1884, 1888, and 1912.[6]

For this reason a large water tower was built in the centre of town to increase water pressure; and this became one of Taranaki's best-known landmarks (appearing, for example, on the cover of the 1974 telephone directory). After falling into disrepair the tower was closed to the public in 2001, but after an extensive restoration program it opened again in 2004.[7]

Marae

There are four marae in the Hāwera area:

In October 2020, the Government committed $1,479,479 from the Provincial Growth Fund to renovate Meremere Marae, Ketemarae Pā, Pariroa Marae and Taiporohēnui Marae, creating 35 jobs.[8]

Demography

Hāwera covers 25.18 km2 (9.72 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 10,350 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 411 people per km2.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
20068,817—    
20139,126+0.49%
20189,792+1.42%
Source: [9]

Hāwera had a population of 9,792 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 666 people (7.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 975 people (11.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 3,816 households, comprising 4,770 males and 5,025 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female, with 2,043 people (20.9%) aged under 15 years, 1,767 (18.0%) aged 15 to 29, 4,071 (41.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,908 (19.5%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 78.8% European/Pākehā, 27.5% Māori, 1.9% Pacific peoples, 5.0% Asian, and 2.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 10.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.0% had no religion, 37.7% were Christian, 2.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.3% were Hindu, 0.6% were Muslim, 0.2% were Buddhist and 1.5% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 714 (9.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 2,208 (28.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 1,125 people (14.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,621 (46.7%) people were employed full-time, 996 (12.9%) were part-time, and 378 (4.9%) were unemployed.[9]

Individual statistical areas
NameArea
(km2)		PopulationDensity
(per km2)		HouseholdsMedian ageMedian
income
Egmont Showgrounds4.401,73439465442.2 years$33,900[10]
Turuturu4.331,89343772636.2 years$31,900[11]
King Edward Park1.081,5211,40858840.2 years$25,200[12]
Ramanui13.602,05215176538.4 years$27,500[13]
Hāwera Central1.782,5921,4561,08341.3 years$25,300[14]
New Zealand37.4 years$31,800

Economy
Aerial view of Hāwera, including surrounding farms and the Whareroa Dairy Factory.

The Whareroa dairy factory, 4 km south-southwest of the township, is the largest dairy complex in the world in terms of output.[15] The complex is owned by Fonterra, having been built by the former Kiwi Co-operative Dairies, whose original plant opened on that site in 1975.

During peak season, the complex employs 1,000 people and processes up to 14 million litres of milk per day. Electricity and heat used at Whareroa is generated by an on-site gas-fired power plant, with excess electricity fed into the national grid.[16]

Hāwera is home to Tawhiti Museum,[17] well known for its hand-crafted life-sized mannequins depicting scenes of local heritage and history, and its scale models of local Māori pā.[18]

Education

Hāwera Primary School was established in 1875. It developed into a District High School in 1901. Hāwera High School opened as Hāwera Technical High School in 1919, and moved to a new site in 1921.[19] The intermediate school opened in 1961.[20] In October 2021, it was announced that Hāwera High School and Hāwera Intermediate would be closing at the end of 2022. A new, years 7–13 school, Te Paepae o Aotea, was created on the former Hāwera High School campus at the beginning of 2023.[21]


The Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki has a campus in Hāwera,[22] established in 1990.[23]

Te Paepae o Aotea is a secondary school for years 7 to 13[24] with a roll of 1001.

Hāwera Primary School, Ramanui School, Tawhiti School and Turuturu School are contributing primary (years 1–6) schools with rolls of 161, 46, 297 and 281 respectively.[25] Hāwera Primary celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2000.[26] Ramanui school celebrated its 50th jubilee in 2003.[27]

Hāwera Christian School and St Joseph's School are state integrated full primary (years 1–8) schools with rolls of 33 and 198 respectively.

Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Ngati Ruanui is a full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of 95. It is a Kura Kaupapa Māori school which teaches in the Māori language.

All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of April 2023.[25]

Politics

Hāwera is in the South Taranaki district. After serving four terms as mayor of South Taranaki, Ross Dunlop did not stand in the 2019 election, and was replaced as mayor by District Councillor Phil Nixon.[28]

Notable people

References
  1. "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  2. "Subnational population estimates (RC, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (regional councils); "Subnational population estimates (TA, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (territorial authorities); "Subnational population estimates (urban rural), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (urban areas)
  3. Because of differing oral traditions, translations such as "breath of fire" and "burning plains" have also been offered. See A.H. McLintock, ed. (1966), "HAWERA", An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, retrieved 1 January 2008 – via Te Ara – The Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
  4. Elsdon Best. "Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1868–1961 Volume 40, 1907". Maori Forest Lore: being some Account of Native Forest Lore and Woodcraft, as also of many Myths, Rites, Customs, and Superstitions connected with the Flora and Fauna of the Tuhoe or Ure-wera District. National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  5. "Hāwera". NZGB Gazetteer | linz.govt.nz. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  6. For a near-contemporary account of the damage these fires caused, see D. Nimmo Scott (c. 1895), Views of Hawera: before and after the fire, Hawera, [N.Z.]: D. Nimmo Scott; a more recent one is Arthur Fryer; Nigel Ogle (ill.) (2003), Hawera's on fire, Hawera, [N.Z.]: Hawera Historical Society. For details of Hawera's Fire Brigade, see Trevor N. Moore (1982), Hawera Fire Brigade, 1882–1982: a centennial history, Hawera, [N.Z.]: The Brigade
  7. Craig Stevenson; Hugo Jackson, Hawera Water Tower Restoration (PDF), Contech, archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2008
  8. "Marae Announcements" (Excel). growregions.govt.nz. Provincial Growth Fund. 9 October 2020.
  9. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Egmont Showgrounds (221300), Turuturu (221600), King Edward Park (221700), Ramanui (221800) and Hawera Central (221900).
  10. 2018 Census place summary: Egmont Showgrounds
  11. 2018 Census place summary: Turuturu
  12. 2018 Census place summary: King Edward Park
  13. 2018 Census place summary: Ramanui
  14. 2018 Census place summary: Hawera Central
  15. "Largest dairy factory in the world", Te Ara
  16. The Whareroa Co-generation plant, www.toddenergy.co.nz
  17. "The man behind the models at Hāwera's Tawhiti Museum". Stuff. 16 April 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  18. Perhaps Hāwera's most famous example of a nineteenth-century Maori pa is the Turuturu-Mokai complex, on Turuturu Road. See John Houston (1958), Turuturu-Mokai: historic reserve near Hawera: an historical survey, Hawera, [N.Z.]: Hawera Star Print. For information upon a modern pa, see Gloria Kerehoma (1984), Commemorative centennial [i.e. centennial] booklet, 1884–1984, Hawera, [N.Z.]: Centennial Committee; Shore Print on Aotearoa Pa.
  19. Fryer, Arthur (1994), The Beginnings of Hawera High School, Hawera High School Jubilee Magazine, archived from the original on 14 October 2008
  20. School Info, Hawera Intermediate, archived from the original on 14 October 2008
  21. "New school for south Taranaki". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  22. Campus Maps, Western Institute of Technology, archived from the original on 22 September 2008, retrieved 29 June 2008
  23. WITT History, Western Institute of Technology, archived from the original on 22 September 2008, retrieved 29 June 2008
  24. Education Counts: Te Paepae o Aotea
  25. "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  26. "Jubilees & reunions – Hawera Primary School", Education Gazette New Zealand, 78 (10), 14 June 1999
  27. "Ramanui Primary School 50th Jubilee", Education Gazette New Zealand, 82 (5), 24 March 2003
  28. Persico, Christina (12 October 2019). "Phil Nixon wins South Taranaki mayoralty by large margin". Taranaki Daily News.
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