Hokowhitu is a riverside suburb of the New Zealand city of

Palmerston North Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

, with some of the highest property values in the city. The Palmerston North Teachers' College was built in Hokowhitu in the 1960s.

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

took over the college in 2009. The

New Zealand Defence Force The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, prom ...

began using some of the buildings in 2011. Massey relocated the college to Turitea campus in 2013 and sold the land in 2016. When the site was sold the land consisted of 20 buildings, including halls, offices, a library, a marae and sporting facilities. The site began to be redeveloped into housing in 2018. The

Hokowhitu Lagoon Hokowhitu Lagoon, also sometimes called Centennial Lagoon, is a natural oxbow lake in the city of Palmerston North, New Zealand. Hokowhitu was created from a meander of the Manawatu River. Many features surround the lagoon including a walkway, ...

Caccia Birch House Caccia-Birch House (previously: Nannestad Homestead, Woodhey, Vice-Regal Residence, The Convalescent Home for Women of the Services) is a New Zealand colonial homestead and a Heritage New Zealand Category I Historic Place. It is located at 130 Te ...

, Jickell Street Reserve and Manawatu Golf Course are located next to the former education campus. Wallace Park, the home of the Ruahine Association Football Club and local cricket teams, is located nearby. Other local features include the Hokowhitu Domain, Crewe Crescent Reserve, Franklin Reserve, Fitzroy Bend Park, Milverton Park and playground, Awatea Reserve and stream, Hardie St Park and Centennial Drive Reserve. Hokowhitu is part of the Palmerston North and

Te Tai Hauāuru Te Tai Hauāuru electorate boundaries used since the Te Tai Hauāuru is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate, returning one Member of Parliament to the New Zealand House of Representatives, that was first formed for the . The electorat ...

electorates. Until 2013, it had its own ward councilors on the

Palmerston North City Council Palmerston North (; mi, Te Papa-i-Oea, known colloquially as Palmy) is a city in the North Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Located in the eastern Manawatu Plains, the city is near the north bank of the ...

Demographics

Hokowhitu, comprising the statistical areas of Milverton, Hokowhitu Central, Hokowhitu East, Ruahine and Hokowhitu South, covers . It had a population of 10,950 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 315 people (3.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 399 people (3.8%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 4,113 households. There were 5,232 males and 5,712 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female, with 1,830 people (16.7%) aged under 15 years, 2,838 (25.9%) aged 15 to 29, 4,557 (41.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,725 (15.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 77.5% European/Pākehā, 11.8% Māori, 3.0% Pacific peoples, 15.3% Asian, and 3.3% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 26.7%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 47.8% had no religion, 38.5% were Christian, 1.9% were Hindu, 1.4% were Muslim, 1.7% were Buddhist and 2.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 3,138 (34.4%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 942 (10.3%) people had no formal qualifications. Of those 15 or older, 4,197 (46.0%) people were employed full-time, 1,521 (16.7%) were employed part-time, and 399 (4.4%) were unemployed.

Education

Hokowhitu has three co-educational state primary schools: Hokowhitu School in the north, with a roll of , College Street Normal School in the east, with a roll of , and Winchester School in the north, with a roll of . St James School, a co-educational state-integrated Catholic primary school located just south of Hokowhitu School, has a roll of .

Manukura School Manukura is a co-educational designated character school for Year 9 to 13 students. It is based at Massey University in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It is effectively a sports academy specialising in Māori students. The school was founded i ...

is a co-educational designated character school for Year 9 to 13 students. It was originally based on the old

campus.

References

{{Palmerston North City Suburbs of Palmerston North Populated places on the Manawatū River