Merrilands is a suburb of
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. ...
, in the western
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-largest ...
of
New Zealand. It is located to the south-east of the city centre. The
Waiwhakaiho River
The Waiwhakaiho River is a river of the Taranaki Region of New Zealand's North Island. One of many rivers and streams radiating from the slopes of Taranaki/Mount Egmont, it flows initially northeast before veering northwest to reach the Tasman ...
runs past Merrilands to the east, and Te Henui Stream runs past to the west.
Demographics
Merrilands, which covers an area of ,
had a population of 2,925 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 114 people (4.1%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 138 people (5.0%) 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 1,182 households. There were 1,404 males and 1,521 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female. The median age was 42.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 540 people (18.5%) aged under 15 years, 501 (17.1%) aged 15 to 29, 1,236 (42.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 642 (21.9%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 83.6% European/Pākehā, 14.7% Māori, 2.2% Pacific peoples, 7.3% Asian, and 2.4% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 18.4%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 49.3% had no religion, 39.1% were Christian, 1.3% were Hindu, 0.7% were Muslim, 0.5% were Buddhist and 1.5% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 465 (19.5%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 501 (21.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $29,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,029 (43.1%) people were employed full-time, 369 (15.5%) were part-time, and 105 (4.4%) were unemployed.
Education
Merrilands School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of students as of The school was established in 1960.
Shopping
There is one main shopping centre located in Merrilands. This is located on the corner of Cumberland St and Mangorei Rd. Shops there include Lotto and Post Shop, New World Supermarket, pharmacy, hair salon, dentist, medical centre, along with a Z fuel station. A smaller group of shops, including a dairy and bakery, are at the intersection of Mangorei Rd and Karaka St.
There is one pub in Merrilands called Stumble Inn, which often has live music and hosts a range of musicians.
Notes
External links
Merrilands School website
Suburbs of New Plymouth
{{Taranaki-geo-stub