Puketona is a locality at the junction of State Highway 10 and State Highway 11 in the

Far North District The Far North District is the northernmost territorial authority district of New Zealand, consisting of the northern part of the Northland Peninsula in the North Island. It stretches from North Cape and Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua in the ...

of New Zealand.

Kerikeri Kerikeri () is the largest town in Northland, New Zealand. It is a tourist destination north of Auckland and north of the northern region's largest city, Whangarei. It is sometimes called the Cradle of the Nation, as it was the site of th ...

is 10 kilometres north,

Paihia Paihia is the main tourist town in the Bay of Islands in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is 60 kilometres north of Whangārei, located close to the historic towns of Russell and Kerikeri. Missionary Henry William ...

is 14 kilometres east,

Moerewa Moerewa is a small town in the Northland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located close to the Bay of Islands five kilometres to the west of Kawakawa. Moerewa is a service town for the surrounding farming industry. Its main ind ...

is 15 kilometres southeast, and

Kaikohe Kaikohe is the seat of the Far North District of New Zealand, situated on State Highway 12 about 260 km from Auckland. It is the largest inland town and highest community above sea level in the Northland Region. With a population of over ...

is 20 kilometres southwest. The name means vagina or vulva in the

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 ...

Geography

There are six or seven small scoria cones around Puketona, one of which was host to Puketona Pā in the 18th century.

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all species of life have descended fr ...

made observations of these cones in December 1835. The cones have been quarried since the 1950s.

Demographics

The statistical area of Puketona-Waitangi also includes Waitangi and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Before the 2023 census, the statistical area had a smaller boundary, covering . Using that boundary, Puketona-Waitangi had a population of 1,335 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 195 people (17.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 228 people (20.6%) 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 522 households, comprising 705 males and 633 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.11 males per female. The median age was 48.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 231 people (17.3%) aged under 15 years, 180 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 627 (47.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 300 (22.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 85.6% European/Pākehā, 24.9% Māori, 0.9% Pacific peoples, 2.5% Asian, and 1.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.1, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.7% had no religion, 29.0% were Christian, 2.0% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.7% were Buddhist and 1.8% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 192 (17.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 171 (15.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 168 people (15.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 528 (47.8%) people were employed full-time, 183 (16.6%) were part-time, and 33 (3.0%) were unemployed.

History

Puketona was a

Pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites o ...

and the site of the battle of Taumataiwi or Wai-whariki between Ngāti Maru and

Ngāti Rangi Ngāti Rangi or Ngāti Rangituhia is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand. Contemporary settlement is mainly around Waiouru, Ohakune, and the Upper Whanganui River in the central North Island. The iwi's area of interest extends north from the Paret ...

Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland region of New Zealand and centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2018 New Zealand census, the estimated population of Ngāpuhi is 165, ...

in about 1793. It was part of a purchase of about of land by

Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to: Politicians *Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign *Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), Member of Parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ( ...

on 28 May 1839, from

Hōne Heke Hōne Wiremu Heke Pōkai ( 1807/1808 – 7 August 1850), born Heke Pōkai and later often referred to as Hōne Heke, was a highly influential Māori rangatira (chief) of the Ngāpuhi iwi (tribe) and a war leader in northern New Zealand; he was ...

and 30 other Māori people. He had the property taken care of by shepherds from 1840. One of these was murdered, and the case was reported as the first case of murder dealt with under British justice in New Zealand. In 1851 he transferred the property to his son

Edward Marsh Williams Edward Marsh Williams (2 November 1818 – 11 October 1909) was a missionary, interpreter, and judge who played a significant role in the British colonisation of New Zealand. He was born in Hampstead, Middlesex, the eldest son of Archdeacon He ...

, who built a house there in 1860 or 1861, and lived there until 1881. The house, now known as Choat House, is listed as a Category 1 Historic Place. The road between Paihia and

Pakaraka Pakaraka is a settlement in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand, at the junction of New Zealand State Highway 1, State Highway 1 and New Zealand State Highway 10, 10, in the district the Ngāpuhi tribe called Tai-a-mai. Demographics Pakara ...

, passing through Puketona, was sealed from 1939, although the quality of the new road appears to have been lacking. Electricity was first supplied to the area in the mid 1940s.

References

{{Far North District Far North District Populated places in the Northland Region