Matamata-Piako District is a

local government area A local government area (LGA) is an administrative division of a country that a local government is responsible for. The size of an LGA varies by country but it is generally a subdivision of a State (administrative division), state, province, divi ...

in the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, 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, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It lies to the east of the city 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 Hamilt ...

Geography

The district encompasses the southern end of the

Hauraki Plains The Hauraki Plains are a geographical feature and non-administrative area (though Hauraki Plains County Council existed from 1920 to 1989 and a statistical Area Unit remains) located in the northern North Island of New Zealand, at the lower ( ...

and much of the

Thames Valley The Thames Valley is an informally-defined sub-region of South East England, centred on the River Thames west of London, with Oxford as a major centre. Its boundaries vary with context. The area is a major tourist destination and economic hub, ...

, and is bounded in the east by the

Kaimai Range The Kaimai Range (sometimes referred to as the ''Kaimai Ranges'') is a mountain range in the North Island of New Zealand. It is part of a series of ranges, with the Coromandel Range to the north and the Mamaku Ranges to the south. The Kaimai Ra ...

. The rivers Piako and Waihou run through the district. The towns of

Matamata Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes ...

Morrinsville Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains. ...

and

Te Aroha Te Aroha ( mi, Te Aroha-a-uta) is a rural town in the Waikato region of New Zealand with a population of 3,906 people in the 2013 census, an increase of 138 people since 2006. It is northeast of Hamilton and south of Thames. It sits at the f ...

are all within the district, with the Council's head office based in Te Aroha. The main industry in the region is

dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or ...

and

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are c ...

breeding and training. Other communities in the district include

Mangateparu Mangateparu is a farming service community located close to the west bank of the Piako River, eight kilometres north of Morrinsville in the Waikato region of New Zealand. It has a population of about 400 people. The local school was forced to c ...

and

Waitoa Waitoa is a settlement in the Matamata-Piako District of New Zealand. State Highway 26 runs through the town, and connects to Te Aroha 10 km to the north-east. A Fonterra dairy factory is a prominent blue building in the middle of the town. T ...

Populated places

Matamata-Piako District consists of the following towns, localities, settlements and communities: * Matamata Ward: ** Buckland **

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

Hinuera Hinuera is a settlement in the Waikato Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located along State Highway 29, approximately halfway between the cities of Hamilton and Tauranga. It also contains the Hinuera cliffs along State Highway 29. ...

** Matai **

Okauia South Okauia is a rural settlement and community located east of Matamata, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of articles threaded on a stick" for ''Ōk ...

Okauia Okauia is a rural settlement and community located east of Matamata, in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of articles threaded on a stick" for ''� ...

** Paratu ** Peria **

Piarere Piarere is a locality in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is situated on State Highway 29 close to its junction with State Highway 1, close to the shore of Lake Karapiro. The nearest towns are Tīrau, six kilometres to the so ...

** Richmond Downs ** Selwyn ** Taihoa ** Tamihana **

Te Poi Te Poi is a small village in rural Waikato, New Zealand, established in 1912 at the base of the Kaimai Range. Te Poi is part of a thriving farming area, particularly for dairying, thoroughbred horse breeding and cropping. The village is servic ...

** Turangaomoana ** ''

Waharoa Waharoa is a rural community 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 Hami ...

'' **

Walton Walton may refer to: People * Walton (given name) * Walton (surname) * Susana, Lady Walton (1926–2010), Argentine writer Places Canada *Walton, Nova Scotia, a community ** Walton River (Nova Scotia) *Walton, Ontario, a hamlet United Kingdom ...

** Wardville * Morrinsville Ward: ** Hoe-O-Tainui ** Kereone ** Kiwitahi ** Kuranui **

Motumaoho Motumaoho is a small village in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, just to the west of the Pakaroa Range. It is on SH26, east of Hamilton and west of Morrinsville. The village is bordered by the Waitakaruru Stream to the east. ...

** Piako ** Rukumoana ** '' Tahuna'' ** Tahuroa **

Tatuanui Tatuanui is a settlement and rural community in the Matamata-Piako District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located north-east of Morrinsville, south-west of Te Aroha, Waihou and Waitoa, and north of Ngarua, at the int ...

** Tauhei ** Te Puninga ** Waiti * Te Aroha Ward: **

Chudleigh Chudleigh () is an ancient wool town located within the Teignbridge District Council area of Devon, England between Newton Abbot and Exeter. The electoral ward with the same name had a population of 6,125 at the 2011 census. Geography Chudl ...

Elstow Elstow is a village and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. John Bunyan was born here at Bunyan's End, which lay approximately halfway between the hamlet of Harrowden and Elstow's High Street. History Countess Judith, niece of ...

** Hungahunga ** Manawaru ** Mangaiti **

Ngarua Ngarua is a rural community in the Matamata-Piako District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located south-east of Tatuanui, west of Morrinsville and north of Waharoa and Matamata on State Highway 27. The Tatua Dairy fact ...

** Otway **

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

** Springdale **

** Te Aroha West ** '' Waihou'' ** Waiorongomai ** Wairakau ** ''

Demographics

Matamata-Piako District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². people live in Morrinsville, in Matamata, and in Te Aroha. Matamata-Piako District had a population of 34,404 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 2,868 people (9.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,921 people (12.9%) 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 12,873 households, comprising 17,001 males and 17,403 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.98 males per female. The median age was 40.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 6,999 people (20.3%) aged under 15 years, 6,186 (18.0%) aged 15 to 29, 14,436 (42.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 6,783 (19.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 84.4% 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 ...

, 16.7%

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 ...

, 2.1% Pacific peoples, 5.7%

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 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 14.4, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.4% had no religion, 35.8% 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 ...

, 0.9% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.8% 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 ...

, 0.3% 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 ...

, 0.9% 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 1.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 3,204 (11.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 7,203 (26.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $32,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. 4,221 people (15.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 13,566 (49.5%) people were employed full-time, 4,077 (14.9%) were part-time, and 876 (3.2%) were unemployed.

Twin cities

Matamata-Piako is twinned with: : Ballina,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

References

External links

District council's site

Te Aroha i-SITE Information Centre

Matamata i-SITE Information Centre
{{Cities and districts of New Zealand