Waikaia, formerly known as Switzers, is a town in the Southland region of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman ...

. From 1909 until 1959, it was the terminus of the

Waikaia Branch The Waikaia Branch, also known as the Switzers Branch, was a branch line railway in Southland, New Zealand. Proposed as early as the 1870s, it was not opened until 1909 and was operated by the New Zealand Railways Department for half a centur ...

railway. The population in the 2013 census was 99, unchanged from the previous census in 2006. The town is in the Southland District and is covered by the Waikaia Community Development Area Sub-committee. Facilities include a museum, to which is attached an iconic "bottle house", constructed from approximately 20,000 wine bottles. The historic Glenaray Station farm is located close to Waikaia. Several of the farms buildings are Heritage New Zealand-classified structures.

Demographics

Waikaia is described as a rural settlement by Statistics New Zealand. It covers , and is part of the much larger Riversdale-Piano Flat statistical area. Waikaia had a population of 135 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 6 people (4.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 21 people (18.4%) 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 60 households. There were 72 males and 63 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.14 males per female. The median age was 57.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 21 people (15.6%) aged under 15 years, 15 (11.1%) aged 15 to 29, 48 (35.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 51 (37.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 97.8% European/Pākehā, 6.7% Māori, and 2.2% Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 42.2% had no religion, and 48.9% were Christian. Of those at least 15 years old, 6 (5.3%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 45 (39.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $24,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 48 (42.1%) people were employed full-time, 21 (18.4%) were part-time, and 3 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Education

Waikaia School is a state full primary school for years 1 to 8 with a roll of as of The school first opened in 1882. Waikaia School (originally called Switzers School) moved into the town from the hill above it about 1880, but burned down six weeks later, and was subsequently rebuilt.

Demographics

Education

References

Further reading