Maramarua is a locality in the north-eastern part of the

Waikato District Waikato District is a territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngāruawāhia. The district is centred to ...

of New Zealand. State Highway 2 runs through the settlement.

Demographics

Maramarua settlement is in an SA1 statistical area which covers . The SA1 area is part of the larger Maramarua statistical area. Maramarua settlement had a population of 186 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 27 people (17.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 27 people (17.0%) 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 66 households, comprising 96 males and 90 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.07 males per female. The median age was 34.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 51 people (27.4%) aged under 15 years, 24 (12.9%) aged 15 to 29, 96 (51.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 15 (8.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 83.9% 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 Ze ...

, 29.0%

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 ...

, 3.2% Pacific peoples, 1.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 64.5% had no religion, 25.8% 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 ...

, and 1.6% had Māori religious beliefs. Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (6.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 45 (33.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $38,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 33 people (24.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 75 (55.6%) people were employed full-time, 24 (17.8%) were part-time, and 3 (2.2%) were unemployed.

Maramarua statistical area

Maramarua statistical area, which also includes

Meremere Meremere is a small town in the northern Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the east bank of the Waikato River, 50 kilometres north of Hamilton and 63 km south of Auckland. Meremere was the site of fighting ...

, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Maramarua statistical area had a population of 1,767 at the

, an increase of 288 people (19.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 354 people (25.1%) since the

. There were 582 households, comprising 906 males and 861 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.05 males per female. The median age was 36.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 438 people (24.8%) aged under 15 years, 285 (16.1%) aged 15 to 29, 840 (47.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 204 (11.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 74.5% European/

, 28.7%

, 5.9% Pacific peoples, 5.1%

, and 2.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.9, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.4% had no religion, 30.4% were

, 1.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% 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 ...

, 1.0% 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 ...

, 0.2% 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, 153 (11.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 324 (24.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $32,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 213 people (16.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 696 (52.4%) people were employed full-time, 213 (16.0%) were part-time, and 78 (5.9%) were unemployed.

History

In 1913 a launch linked with Mercer via the Maramarua River. The Kōpako

sub-bituminous Sub-bituminous coal is a lower grade of coal that contains 35–45% carbon. The properties of this type are between those of lignite, the lowest grade of coal, and those of bituminous coal, the second-highest grade of coal. Sub-bituminous coal i ...

open cast Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow. This form of minin ...

coal mine was sold by

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 ...

Bathurst Resources Bathurst Resources, along with a number of subsidiaries, is a coal mining company in New Zealand that was established in 2010. Company history The company was originally based in Perth, Western Australia, and incorporated on 30 May 2007, listing ...

and Talleys in 2016. The 1948 mine restarted production in 2017. It was once linked to

Meremere Power Station Meremere Power Station is a former coal-fired power station on the Waikato River at Meremere, approximately south of Auckland, New Zealand. Meremere was the first major coal-fired power station in New Zealand, and was commissioned to help meet th ...

by an aerial ropeway. Two prominent New Zealanders have died while driving near Maramarua. Stephen Allen, a lawyer and local body politician, died of a heart attack in 1964 and in the resulting crash, his housekeeper was also killed. Historian Michael King and his wife died when their car crashed into a tree in 2004. Publican Chris Bush was shot dead at the Red Fox Tavern in Maramarua on 24 October 1987, shortly before midnight, while he was having a drink with staff. Nearly thirty years later, in 2017, two men were charged with murder and aggravated robbery. Mark Joseph Hoggart and another accomplice, with name suppression, have been found guilty of the murder of Chris Bush, on 29 March 2021. Both men have been sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Chris Bush, on 7 May 2021.

Education

Maramarua School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of

References

{{Waikato District Populated places in Waikato Waikato District