Hampden, a small town in

North Otago North Otago is an area in New Zealand that covers the area of the Otago region between Shag Point and the Waitaki River, and extends inland to the west as far as the village of Omarama (which has experienced rapid growth as a developing centre f ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

, lies close to the North Otago coast, 35 kilometres south of

Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...

and 80 kilometres north of the city of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

, to both of which it is connected by

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

. The township's population at its largest was about 560, but by 2009 it had dwindled to approximately 230.Rae, S.
Hampden set to mark 130 years as township
" ''

Otago Daily Times The ''Otago Daily Times'' (''ODT'') is a newspaper published by Allied Press Ltd in Dunedin, New Zealand. The ''ODT'' is one of the country's four main daily newspapers, serving the southern South Island with a circulation of around 26,000 and ...

'', 22 October 2009. Retrieved 20 April 2018. Hampden is named in honour of the English politician

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Roundhead, Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of ...

by early surveyor W. B. D. Mantell, possibly influenced by the location of a public house, The Hampden Hotel, at the site.Reed, A.W. (1975) ''Place names of New Zealand.'' Wellington: A.H. & A.W. Reed. p.159

Geography

Hampden is situated beside a broad bay stretching from Aorere Point to

Moeraki Moeraki is a small fishing village on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was once the location of a whaling station. In the 1870s, local interests believed it could become the main port for the north Otago area and a railwa ...

Point, on a coastal plain which rises westward to the foothills of the Horse Range and the

Kakanui Range The Kakanui Range (or Kakanui Mountains) is a range of high hills located inland from Oamaru in the South Island of New Zealand. The range forms a boundary between the valley of the Waitaki River to the north and the high plateau known as the ...

. The soil of this surrounding plain overlies a limestone formation. The

Moeraki Boulders The Moeraki Boulders (officially Moeraki Boulders / Kaihinaki) are unusually large spherical boulders lying along a stretch of Koekohe Beach on the wave-cut Otago coast of New Zealand between Moeraki and Hampden. They occur scattered either a ...

are located two kilometres south of Hampden. Much of the town lies between the Big Kuri (Kurinui) and Little Kuri Creeks. The streets of Hampden run in a rectangular grid pattern centred on the main highway and the railway. They are named after English locations, such as

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, and

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

. There is surfing on the

Kātiki Kātiki is a small settlement in North Otago, New Zealand. It lies between the townships of Palmerston and Hampden on State Highway 1 at the northern end of Kātiki Beach, close to the Moeraki Peninsula. The tip of the peninsula, Kātiki Point ...

straight, as well as trout-fishing in the

Waianakarua The small town of Herbert, formerly Otepopo, lies in North Otago, New Zealand, north of Dunedin and south-west of Oamaru. It lies on the edge of the Herbert Forest. Herbert consists of a group of houses and three churches clustered around St ...

and Shag Rivers.

History

The settlement was founded in the 1860s, with the first sale of land sections dated to March 1863. By 1865, there were two

public houses A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in the area, The Hampden Hotel and The Clyde Hotel, and both a cemetery and mechanics' institute were in place by 1870. early industry in the area included the harvesting of flax and timber.Moore, C.W.S., (1958) ''Northern Approaches''. Christchurch: Whitcombe & Tombs. pp. 115–6 A borough was proclaimed in 1879, with the first mayor being William Murcott. The borough existed until the 1960s, and Hampden is now part of the

Waitaki District Waitaki District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury Region, Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions ...

Demographics

Hampden is described as a rural settlement by Statistics New Zealand, and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². It is part of the larger Waihemo statistical area. Hampden had a population of 339 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 36 people (11.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 42 people (14.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 156 households, comprising 156 males and 177 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.88 males per female, with 48 people (14.2%) aged under 15 years, 30 (8.8%) aged 15 to 29, 168 (49.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 90 (26.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 86.7% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 15.9%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

, 1.8% Pasifika, and 2.7% Asian. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 54.9% had no religion, 34.5% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.9% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

and 1.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 30 (10.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 81 (27.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 18 people (6.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 111 (38.1%) people were employed full-time, 48 (16.5%) were part-time, and 6 (2.1%) were unemployed.

Church

The Hampden

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

church was built in 1870 and was no longer used for regular services in 2010 due to a declining number of parishioners. The church has seating for almost 200 parishioners. It was designed by the architect RA Lawson in 1869. File:Hampden Presbyterian Church 28.jpg, Hampden Presbyterian Church (2023) File:Hampden Presbyterian Church 27.jpg, Hampden Presbyterian Church (2023)

Modern Hampden

The town includes a rural fire station, a

fish-and-chip Fish and chips is a hot dish consisting of battered and fried fish, served with chips. Often considered the national dish of the United Kingdom, fish and chips originated in England in the 19th century. Today, the dish is a common takeaway ...

shop, a small supermarket, a motel, and backpackers, a popular camping ground, a cafe, mechanics workshop, a small second-hand goods shop, a tavern, and a historic town hall.

Sheep farming Sheep farming or sheep husbandry is the raising and breeding of domestic sheep. It is a branch of animal husbandry. Sheep are raised principally for their meat (lamb and mutton), milk (sheep's milk), and fiber (wool). They also yield sheepskin ...

is the primary economic activity of the region and is augmented by farming of other livestock. The Hampden Energy Forum, established in 2007, has grown into a community self-help scheme that involves nearly everyone in the settlement, growing from a small group of enthusiasts who were concerned about the future of small rural communities in "post-oil" days. At the inaugural meeting to establish the Forum, more than one third of the town's population attended. The forum won the Trustpower Community Award in 2008.

Education

Hampden School is a full primary school catering for years 1 to 8, with a roll of students as of The school opened in 1864.

Notable people

* Helen Stephen Cowie (doctor)

References

External links

Hampden
" entry from the 1905 Cyclopedia of New Zealand. {{Waitaki District Populated places in Otago Waitaki District