Rototuna

Carbon dating of 1550 to 1625 was put on charcoal from a cultivation ground, which was uncovered on the corner of Hukanui Road and Wairere Drive in 1999.[8]

Until around 1915[8] Rototuna Lake was described as "an ornament", but by 1919[9] it had been largely drained. It lay to the north[10] of Rototuna, in Horsham Downs.[9] Further drainage was done in 1926[11] and the lake bed was given to surrounding farms in 1928.[12] It remained as Lake E, more recently given its original name of Lake Tunawhakapeka, where the peat deposits date back over 17,000 years.[10] Like most of Waikato it would have been inundated by a flood of water and ignimbrite debris from Lake Taupo about 22,000 years ago.[13] The remaining lake is a metre deep and covers 6.7 ha (17 acres).[14] Lake Tunawhakapeka is said to have been 600 acres (240 ha).[6]

Like most of western Waikato the land at Rototuna was confiscated following the 1863 invasion of the Waikato. It was surveyed into 50-acre parcels as grants to militiamen of the Fourth Waikato Regiment.[15] By 1880[16] enough farmers had settled to be worth forming a school committee for the 30 children,[17] which opened as Kirikiriroa School in 1881.[18] The school was renamed Rototuna in 1907[19] and enlarged in 1914.[20] More development came in the 1900s, with a post office[21] and a church in 1907,[22] a store in 1910,[23] a casein factory in 1913[24] and a grocery and butcher in 1914.[25] Rototuna Road was gravelled[26] in 1909,[27] but it was still muddy enough to cause a death in 1916[28] and complaints were still being made in 1920.[29] Electricity came to the area about 1922.[30] The post office was replaced by rural delivery before 1926.[6] Another church opened in 1931[31] and a hall was open at about the same time.[32] The school closed between 1944[33] and 1963.[6] Its site is now occupied by a church.[34] The old dairy factory was used as a chocolate factory until 2017.[35]

Rototuna is mainly in the Kirikiriroa Stream valley.[36] It ranges from 35 m (115 ft) to 62 m (203 ft) above sea level.[37]

Rototuna covers 7.41 km² (2.86 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 16,210 as of June 2022,[2] with a population density of 2,188 people per km².

Rototuna Lake in 1908

Rototuna Post Office about 1907

Rototuna had a population of 13,791 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,950 people (16.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6,654 people (93.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 4,311 households, comprising 6,693 males and 7,098 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female, with 3,408 people (24.7%) aged under 15 years, 2,559 (18.6%) aged 15 to 29, 6,189 (44.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,629 (11.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 63.6% European/Pākehā, 11.0% Māori, 2.5% Pacific peoples, 28.9% Asian, and 4.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 36.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 45.0% had no religion, 36.9% were Christian, 0.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 4.6% were Hindu, 3.1% were Muslim, 1.4% were Buddhist and 3.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 3,339 (32.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,320 (12.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 2,322 people (22.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 5,592 (53.9%) people were employed full-time, 1,425 (13.7%) were part-time, and 357 (3.4%) were unemployed.[38]

Rototuna's population has risen rapidly, from 453 in 1996 to 13,791 in 2018. Its median income remains above the national median, but the median age in the northern areas is below the national median age of 37.4 years in 2018.

In 2018 the main ethnic groups were -

For censuses prior to 2018 Rototuna was formed of census areas for Rototuna (in 2018 largely renamed Rototuna South) and Horsham Downs (in 2018 forming Rototuna North and Central). Growth was initially to the south, then the north.

The population has grown in Rototuna North,[43] Central[44] and South[45] as in this table -

Rototuna has three shopping centres. Rototuna Shopping Centre has a New World supermarket, a BP petrol station, KFC, and Good Neighbour bar/restaurant.

St James Shopping Centre offers a Countdown supermarket, a Domino's Pizza outlet, a gym, McDonald's Restaurant and Palmers Planet Garden Centre.

The recently completed mixed-use development called Rototuna Village is a mixture of retail, hospitality, office and high end apartments. Tenants include - Lonestar, Harcourts Real Estate, Pita Pit, Liquorland, as well as a Fruit and Vege, Nutrition and specialty butcher.

Future plans for a Rototuna "town-centre" is included in council planning. This is to be located at the corner of Resolution Drive & Borman Road. It is likely to include community facilities such as a library and possibly a pool - although both of these may be shared with the High Schools.[48] $24m was proposed for library, pool and sports fields in the 2018 plan.[49] Completion is planned by 2022.[50]

Rototuna School aerial photo 1952 at corner of Cate and Rototuna School Roads

Rototuna Primary School and Te Totara Primary School are contributing primary schools (years 1–6) with rolls of 742 and 704 students respectively.[73][74] Rototuna Primary opened in 2003[75] and Te Totara opened in 2008.[76]

Rototuna Junior High School opened in early 2016 for the start of the school year which serves Years 7 to 10.[77] It cost $40m to build the school for 1,200 pupils.[78] Rototuna Senior High School opened in early 2017 for the start of the school year which serves Years 11 to 13.[77] The Junior & Senior high schools are based on the same grounds and share some facilities. The junior school has a roll of 1331 and the senior school has 836 students.[79][80]

Hamilton Christian School is a state-integrated non-denominational composite school for years 1 to 13 with a roll of 838.[81]

Waikato Waldorf School is a state integrated school providing Waldorf education from kindergarten to Year 10. It has a roll of 179.[82] The school opened in 1996.[83]

All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of April 2023.[84]

There are also many early childhood centres throughout the suburb.

• List of streets in Hamilton
• Suburbs of Hamilton, New Zealand

• Photo of Flaxdale about 1905