Manaia is a rural town in
South Taranaki District
South Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hāwera (the seat of the district), Manaia, Ōpunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley. The District has a land area of 3,575.46  ...
, New Zealand.
Ōpunake
Ōpunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway ...
is 29 km to the northwest, and
Hāwera
Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established i ...
is 13 km to the southeast.
Kaponga
Kaponga is a small town in the southern part of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. It is known as "The Gateway to Dawson's Falls" on Mount Taranaki. Kaponga is located inland from Manaia and Eltham, and is on the main road connecting Eltham to ...
is 15 km north.
State Highway 45 passes through the town. Manaia is named after the former
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 C ...
chief of the district, Hukunui Manaia.
The population was 960 in the 2013 Census, an increase of 36 from 2006.
History and culture
Māori history
The mouth of the Kapuni River was the site of two
pā settled by
Ngāti Ruanui
Ngāti Ruanui is a Māori iwi traditionally based in the Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 7,035 people claimed affiliation to the iwi. However, most members now live outside the traditional areas of the iwi.
History Early hist ...
in the 1800s: Orangi-tuapeka Pā on the western banks and Waimate Pā on the east.
[Buist, A. G. (1962). Excavation of a house-floor at Waimate Pa. New Zealand Archaeological Association Newsletter, 5(3), 184-187.] Orangi-tuapeka Pā was occupied by
Wiremu Kīngi Moki Te Matakātea in 1833 and 1834, where he defeated
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 o ...
forces led by
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero
Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato iwi (confederation of tribes), the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known just as ''Te Wherowhero'' and took the ...
, ending Waikato raids into Taranaki.
In October 1834, the area was bombarded by British troops aboard the
HMS ''Alligator'', in an attempt to rescue Betty Guard, a whaler's wife.
After the hostages were released, the British troops attacked and burnt the settlements.
After the ceasefire at the end of the
First Taranaki War
The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori people, Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North ...
, a
hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
of over 1,000 Māori was held on 3 July 1861 at a meeting house called ''Aotearoa'', close to Waimate Pā. There, over a thousand members of
Taranaki
Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont.
The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...
, Ngāti Ruanui,
Ngā Rauru
Ngā Rauru (also ''Ngā Rauru Kītahi'') is a Māori iwi in the South Taranaki region of New Zealand. In the 2006 census, 4,047 Māori claimed affiliation to Ngā Rauru, representing 12 hapu.
History Early history
The early history of Ngā Rauru ...
and
Whanganui
Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...
iwi discussed the war, with most members pledging support for the
Kīngitanga Movement.
European settlement
Manaia's history is still visible in the Manaia Redoubt. Built around 1880 on the site of a former pā (Te Takahe) during peacetime, this redoubt and wooden watchtower was created for the passive resistance of the
Parihaka
Parihaka is a community in the Taranaki region of New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major camp ...
chief,
Te Whiti o Rongomai
Te Whiti o Rongomai III (–18 November 1907) was a Māori spiritual leader and founder of the village of Parihaka, in New Zealand's Taranaki region.
Te Whiti established Parihaka community as a place of sanctuary and peace for Māori many of ...
, and his followers.
The wooden watchtower (35 feet high) was blown down in a storm and replaced in 1912 by a concrete one still standing today amidst the 18-hole
golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible.
Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...
course surrounded by two original blockhouses. Trenches surround the tower and blockhouses. The complex could house 160 men and all the timber used for the construction was pit sawn locally by the constables. The golf course is one of the oldest in Taranaki, established around 1905.
When driving into Manaia from
Hāwera
Hāwera is the second-largest centre in the Taranaki region of New Zealand's North Island, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight. The origins of the town lie in a government military base that was established i ...
the remains of the old
flour mill
A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...
can be seen on the left hand side. These concrete remains of the mill were built in 1900 to replace the original wooden mill built in 1882 by Mr D. F. McVicar of the Sentry Hill flour mill,
New Plymouth
New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...
. The local
Waiokura River
Manaia is a rural town in South Taranaki District, New Zealand. Ōpunake is 29 km to the northwest, and Hāwera is 13 km to the southeast. Kaponga is 15 km north. State Highway 45 passes through the town. Manaia is named after t ...
powered the mill by a water wheel which developed . The mill had 4 stories, and a stud. It was long and wide. About of timber was used and the building provided storage for about 15,000 sacks of flour. employs around 250 people, and has been the main business in Manaia since 1923. The company manufactures fresh and frozen breads and bakery products. Its clients include
Foodstuffs
Food is any substance consumed by an organism for nutritional support. Food is usually of plant, animal, or fungal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals. The substance is ingest ...
,
Subway, and
Pams
PAMS Productions, Inc. (an acronym for Production, Advertising and Merchandising Service), based in Dallas, Texas, was one of the most famous jingle production companies in American broadcasting. It produced identification packages for radio stat ...
. The company went into receivership in 2011.
Modern history
![A bronze statue of George](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/A_bronze_statue_of_George.png)
In 2007, a 9-year-old
Jack Russell terrier
The Jack Russell Terrier is a small terrier that has its origins in fox hunting in England. It is principally white-bodied and smooth, rough or broken-coated and can be any colour.
Small tan and white terriers that technically belong to oth ...
called
George (dog)
George (died 29 April 2007) was a pet dog in Taranaki, New Zealand, that was credited with sacrificing his life to save local children from a dog attack. George's heroism was internationally recognized, and he received posthumous awards from New ...
died protecting 5 local children from an attack by two
pit bulls . He was given a posthumous
PDSA Gold Medal
__NOTOC__
The PDSA Gold Medal is an animal bravery award that acknowledges the bravery and devotion to duty of animals. It was created by the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA) in 2001, and is now recognised as the animal equivalent o ...
, the animal equivalent of the
George Cross
The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has been ...
, at a special ceremony in Manaia in February 2009. The town has also erected a statue in his honour.
Marae
Manaia has three
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 ...
affiliated with the local
Ngāruahine
Ngāruahine is a Māori iwi of New Zealand located in South Taranaki, North Island.
A treaty settlement was signed with the Crown in 2014. Following ratification of the settlement with the Crown, Te Korowai o Ngaruahine Trust (TKONT) was establ ...
hapū of
Ngāti Haua: Tawhitinui Marae and Okare Tuatoru meeting house, Waiokura Marae and Paraukau Tukau meeting house, and Okare ki Uta, Okare ki Uta Marae.
Demographics
Manaia is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider Manaia-Kapuni statistical area, which covers .
The population of Manaia was 984 in 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 18 (1.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 54 (5.8%) since the 2006 census. There were 507 males and 474 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.07 males per female. Ethnicities were 717 people (72.9%) European/Pākehā, 438 (44.5%) Māori, 24 (2.4%) Pacific peoples, and 12 (1.2%) Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Of the total population, 234 people (23.8%) were under 15 years old, 147 (14.9%) were 15–29, 438 (44.5%) were 30–64, and 165 (16.8%) were over 65.
Manaia-Kapuni
Manaia-Kapuni had a population of 1,551 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 ...
, a decrease of 96 people (-5.8%) since the
2013 census, and a decrease of 69 people (-4.3%) 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 612 households. There were 792 males and 759 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female. The median age was 37.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 384 people (24.8%) aged under 15 years, 258 (16.6%) aged 15 to 29, 693 (44.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 216 (13.9%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 79.9% European/Pākehā, 36.2% Māori, 1.9% Pacific peoples, 1.4% Asian, and 1.2% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 6.8%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 58.0% had no religion, 30.9% were Christian, 0.2% were Buddhist and 2.1% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 84 (7.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 378 (32.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 552 (47.3%) people were employed full-time, 150 (12.9%) were part-time, and 75 (6.4%) were unemployed.
Education
Manaia School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a roll of as of The school was founded in 1882. In 2005, Tokaora School closed and merged with Manaia School.
References
{{Coord, 39, 33, S, 174, 08, E, region:NZ_type:city, display=title
Populated places in Taranaki
South Taranaki District