Huntly ( mi, Rahui-Pōkeka) (population
) is a town in the
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
district and region of the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...
of New Zealand. It was on
State Highway 1 (until
Huntly bypass opened in March 2020),
south of
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about I ...
and north of
Hamilton Hamilton may refer to:
People
* Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname
** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland
** Lord Hamilto ...
. It is situated on the
North Island Main Trunk
The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and se ...
(NIMT) railway (served by
Te Huia since 6 April 2021 at a rebuilt
Raahui Pookeka-Huntly Station) and straddles the
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...
. Huntly is within the
Waikato District which is in the northern part of the
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
region local government area.
History and culture
Originally settled by
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 ...
, European migrants arrived in the area some time in the 1850s. The Huntly name was adopted in the 1870s when the postmaster named it after
Huntly, Aberdeenshire in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. He used an old 'Huntley Lodge' stamp to stamp mail from the early European settlement. The ''Lodge'' was later dropped and the spelling changed to also drop the additional 'e'.
The
railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a p ...
from Auckland reached Huntly in 1877, when the
Huntly railway station was opened.
Huntly and its surrounding area is steeped in
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 ...
history and falls within the ''
rohe'' (tribal area) of
Waikato
Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...
-Tainui of the
Tainui
Tainui is a tribal waka confederation of New Zealand Māori iwi. The Tainui confederation comprises four principal related Māori iwi of the central North Island of New Zealand: Hauraki, Ngāti Maniapoto, Ngāti Raukawa and Waikato.
There are ...
waka confederation.
Ngati Mahuta and Ngati Whawhakia are the subtribes in the Huntly area.
Huntly is home to Rakaumanga Kura which became one of the first bilingual schools (Māori/English) in New Zealand in 1984. Rakaumanga became a kura kaupapa (total immersion, Māori as its first language) in 1994 and is now known by the name Te Whare Kura o Rakaumangamanga. The school was first established as a native school in 1896.
Marae
There are a number of
marae
A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...
in and around Huntly, affiliated with the
Ngāti Kuiaarangi,
Ngāti Mahuta,
Ngāti Tai and
Ngāti Whāwhākia hapū
In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...
: Kaitumutumu Marae and Ruateatea meeting house, Te Kauri Marae and Karaka meeting house, Te Ōhākī Marae and Te Ōhākī a Te Puea meeting house, and Waahi Pa and Tāne i te Pupuke meeting house.
Waahi Pa was the home of the late Māori Queen Dame
Te Atairangikaahu and is still the home of her son, the Māori King
Tuheitia Paki. In October 2020, the Government committed $2,584,751 from the
Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Waahoi Marae and 7 other
Waikato Tainui
Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zealand ...
marae, creating 40 jobs.
Horahora Marae and Maurea Marae are located north of Huntly at
Rangiriri.
Demographics
Huntly covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
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 short ...
, Huntly had smaller boundaries, covering .
It had a population of 7,905, an increase of 1,056 people (15.4%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 1,149 people (17.0%) since the
2006 census. There were 2,607 households, comprising 3,891 males and 4,014 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.97 males per female, with 2,055 people (26.0%) aged under 15 years, 1,560 (19.7%) aged 15 to 29, 3,198 (40.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,089 (13.8%) aged 65 or older.
In 2018 the main ethnic groups were -
Prior to that, Huntly's population was 844 (1896), 622 (1901)), 850 (1906), 1,319 (1911), 1,535 (1916), 1,734 (1921), 1,745 (1926), 1,976 (1936), 2,870 (1945), 4,187 (1956), 5,401 (1966), 6,279 (1976), 7,158 (1981) 7,464 (1986) 7,152 (1991), 7,068 (1996), 6,819 (2001).
Huntly includes two statistical areas, East
and West.
The population is rising slowly, but they're poorer and younger than the 37.4 years of the national average (the Huntly areas lost a lot of rural areas in the 2018 census, though gained small areas to the north, so that the 2013 population was 4,119, rather than 4,053 shown below for the smaller area in the East and 2,922 in the west, rather than 2,796. Except for population, the 2006 and 2013 figures below are for the larger areas) -
The proportion of people born overseas was 12.3%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.2% had no religion, 30.3% were
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
, 4.5% had
Māori religious beliefs, 1.6% were
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, 0.6% were
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, 0.5% were
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and 1.6% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 513 (8.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,650 (28.2%) people had no formal qualifications. 465 people (7.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,505 (42.8%) people were employed full-time, 651 (11.1%) were part-time, and 453 (7.7%) were unemployed.
Huntly Rural
The statistical area of Huntly Rural, which includes
Ohinewai,
Ruawaro and
Glen Afton
Glen Afton and Pukemiro are twin settlements in the Waikato District, in northern Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The nearest town is Huntly, some 14 km (15 minutes' drive) away.
The settlements were previously an important c ...
, covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Huntly Rural had a population of 2,271 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 short ...
, an increase of 171 people (8.1%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 126 people (5.9%) since the
2006 census. There were 822 households, comprising 1,197 males and 1,077 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.11 males per female. The median age was 40.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 486 people (21.4%) aged under 15 years, 396 (17.4%) aged 15 to 29, 1,086 (47.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 303 (13.3%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 81.0% European/
Pākehā
Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Z ...
, 29.1%
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 ...
, 3.8%
Pacific peoples, 2.9%
Asian, and 1.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 10.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.0% had no religion, 28.8% were
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
, 1.5% had
Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% were
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, 0.4% were
Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
and 1.2% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 168 (9.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 462 (25.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $34,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 285 people (16.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 969 (54.3%) people were employed full-time, 252 (14.1%) were part-time, and 81 (4.5%) were unemployed.
Major industries
Huntly Power Station
The Huntly Power Station is the largest thermal power station in New Zealand and is located in the town of Huntly in the Waikato. It is operated by Genesis Energy Limited, a publicly listed company (currently 51% owned by the NZ Government). ...
is a large gas/coal-fired power station, prominently situated on the western bank of the
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...
. It is New Zealand's largest thermal power station, situated in the area which is New Zealand's largest producer of
coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen.
Coal is formed when ...
, producing over 10,000 tonnes a day.
Huntly is also surrounded by farmland and lakes (many of them former open-pit mines) which are used for coarse fishing, yachting and waterskiing.
Coal
The Waikato coalfield is formed of 30 -35m year old
Eocene
The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', ...
-
Oligocene
The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but t ...
rocks. The lowest coal measures are the
Taupiri Seams, worked at
Rotowaro, the upper Kupakupa and Renown Seams having been largely worked out.
The area has a very long history of coal mining, with both
open cast and classical mines operating or having operated here.
[Huntly](_blank)
(from Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand, 1966 Edition. Accessed 2008-02-20.) The major New Zealand clients for the mined coal are the power station and the
New Zealand Steel mill at
Glenbrook.
The first coal to be mined was half a ton at Taupiri in 1849, followed by 32 tons in 1850, opposite Kupa Kupa, about south of Huntly, and coal was also discovered at Papahorohoro, near Taupiri. However, it wasn't being exploited when the geologist,
Ferdinand von Hochstetter, visited it in 1859. It was used to fuel steamers during the 1863
invasion of the Waikato. Kupakupa mine was started in 1864 and produced 11,000 tons by 1866. The area was
confiscated in 1865. It was auctioned by government in 1867.
Taupiri Coal Co was producing 1,300 tons a month by 1879, up from 5,300 tons a year in 1878. A mine across the river from Kupakupa was opened in 1879.
On 12 September 1914 at the
Ralph Mine in Huntly, a naked light caused an explosion that killed 43 coal miners.
After the
Pukemiro railway opened in 1915, mines opened at Pukemiro,
Glen Afton
Glen Afton and Pukemiro are twin settlements in the Waikato District, in northern Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The nearest town is Huntly, some 14 km (15 minutes' drive) away.
The settlements were previously an important c ...
, Rotowaro, Waikōkōwai and Renown. Open cast mining began west of Huntly during World War 2, and later an opencast mine at Kimihia.
O’Reilly’s Opencast Mine
This was the last mine operating in Huntly (off Riverview Rd), producing 24,708 tonnes in 2016.
It was a privately owned mine, opened in 1957 and mainly selling to New Zealand Steel. It closed in 2018.
Puke Mine and Rotowaro are the only mines still open in the Huntly area.
Huntly East Coalmine
Solid Energy
Solid Energy was the largest coal mining company in New Zealand and is a state owned enterprise of the New Zealand Government.
The company was formed from the former government department State Coal Mines. It was then established as a state owne ...
closed this Huntly mine on 22 October 2015, saying it was losing $500,000 a month. It opened in 1978, produced a peak of 465,000 tonnes in 2004
and was digging about 450,000 tonnes a year
until production was cut to 100,000 tonnes in September 2013.
The mine entrance was in Huntly East, but by 2012 all mining was west of the Waikato, with roadways 150 metres below the river, the two 8 to 20 metre thick
sub-bituminous seams being 150 to 400 metres deep. In 2012 it was estimated that 7 million tonnes of recoverable coal remained in the consented mining areas, with a further 12 million available for future expansion. Coal was mined by
remote-controlled continuous miners and taken to the entrance in shuttle cars and then by conveyor belt. It continued to Glenbrook via the
Kimihia branch railway and the
NIMT. It employed about 200 in 2012,
but was down to 68 at closure.
Kimihia Wetland was created on the former bed of
Lake Kimihia to cope with subsidence and treat water from Huntly East Mine.
Bricks
Clay suited for bricks lies on top of some of the coal deposits. Brick making began in 1884, Huntly Brick and Fireclay was established in 1911 and
Shinagawa
is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. The Ward refers to itself as Shinagawa City in English. The Ward is home to ten embassies.
, the Ward had an estimated population of 380,293 and a population density of 16,510 persons per km2. The total are ...
Refractories continues on the site at the south end of the town. Nearby, Clay Bricks operate a brickworks.
Rugby league
Huntly has a proud
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
history – at one time the town had four rugby league clubs:
Taniwharau, Huntly South, Huntly United and Rangiriri Eels. Taniwharau has been one of the most successful clubs having won 11 straight Waikato premierships during the 1970s and 1980s. Taniwharau also won the inaugural
Waicoa Bay championship in 2002 and again in 2007 a year in which they went through the season unbeaten; a feat that has never been achieved before at the Waikato premier level. The Waicoa Bay championship is a combined rugby league competition involving clubs from Waikato, Bay of Plenty and Coastlines.
A number of Kiwi players have come out of Huntly including pre war players
Tom Timms,
Richard Trautvetter and
Len Mason
Leonard Tasman Mason (23 September 1903 – 10 June 1953) was a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s. He played at representative level for New Zealand, Other Nationalities, Dominion XIII, the S ...
who also, after the 1926 Kiwi tour of Great Britain finished his playing career at
Wigan
Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington ...
, playing a record 365 games in 9 years including a winning Challenge Cup final at Wembley in 1929. Post war players include
Albert Hambleton,
Reg Cooke,
Graeme Farrar,
Roger Tait,
Ted Baker,
Paul Ravlich,
Tawera Nikau
Tawera Nuieia Nikau (born 1 January 1967) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A New Zealand international representative forward, he played club football at a number of different clu ...
(Rangiriri) and, more recently,
Wairangi Koopu
Dane Wairangi Manurea Koopu (born 2 April 1980) is a New Zealand former professional rugby league footballer who played for the New Zealand Warriors and the Melbourne Storm in the National Rugby League. Koopu primarily played in the , and as a ...
(Taniwharau) and
Lance Hohaia (Taniwharau). Other Kiwi players to come out of Huntly include
Andy Berryman,
Don Parkinson,
Rick Muru,
Kevin Fisher and
Vaun O'Callaghan. The town has also produced numerous NZ Māori Rugby league representatives and two international referees;
Arthur Harlock and
Roland (Roly) Avery.
Bridges
Rail Bridge After a first pile driving ceremony in 1911, the
punt (opened 18 Sep 1894) was replaced in 1915 by a
road/rail bridge serving the Pukemiro railway.
Tainui Bridge is a 7-span
bowstring-arch for road traffic opened in 1959, when the 1915 bridge became rail only, and a footbridge was attached to its side. Tainui Bridge was strengthened in 2005
to allow 500 tonne turbines to be carried to the Power Station, work which gained an award.
Seismic strengthening was done in 2011.
The bridge was repainted in 2016.
A footbridge across Shand Lane, the 1978
SH1 bypass and NIMT links Glasgow St with Main St. The 14-tonne central span was raised from 4.8 to 5.25m in 2010 to provide clearance for
Te Uku construction trucks. It was also closed twice in 2015, firstly for repainting, then again when the arm of an excavator on a truck hit the bridge, requiring also temporary closure of SH1. Cameras and extra rails have been installed to improve safety, following stone throwing.
Education
Huntly has five co-educational schools. The rolls given here are as of
Huntly College is a state secondary school covering years 9 to 13, with a roll of . The college was opened in 1953.
Huntly School and Huntly West School are state full primary schools covering years 1 to 8, with rolls of and respectively.
St Anthony's Catholic School is a state-integrated full primary school covering years 1 to 8, with a roll of .
Te Wharekura o Rākaumangamanga is a state composite school covering years 1 to 13. with a roll of . It provides a
Māori language
Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...
immersive education.
The suburb of
Kimihia also has a primary school,
Kimihia School.
See also
* Lakes -
Hakanoa,
Kimihia,
Puketirini,
Waahi
*
Power station
A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid.
Many ...
* Railway stations -
Huntly
Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settleme ...
,
Kimihia
References
External links
Original website for HuntlyOfficial Huntly Website* Alexander Turnbull Library
punt c1910, aerial photos of bridges
1954Tainui construction 1958 196
from westfrom north19631991 with bypass* Auckland Weekly News photos
road/rail bridge - [http://www.aucklandcity.govt.nz/dbtw-wpd/exec/dbtwpub.dll?BU=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aucklandcity.govt.nz%2Fdbtw-wpd%2FHeritageImages%2Findex.htm&AC=QBE_QUERY&TN=heritageimages&QF0=ID&NP=2&MR=5&RF=HIORecordSearch&QI0=%3D%22NZG-19111004-29-4%22 1911], 191
, 191
1933 from the air
1952 photo of miners train on Huntly Bridge
River water quality at Huntly Bridge
{{Waikato District
Huntly, New Zealand,
Populated places in Waikato
Waikato District
Populated places on the Waikato River
Mining communities in New Zealand