Waimana is a rural valley in the

Whakatāne District Whakatāne District is a territorial authority district on the North Island of New Zealand. The Whakatāne District Council is headquartered in the largest town, Whakatāne. The district falls within the Bay of Plenty region. Judy Turner has ...

and

Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty ( mi, Te Moana-a-Toi) is a region of New Zealand, situated around a bight of the same name in the northern coast of the North Island. The bight stretches 260 km from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway ...

of New Zealand's

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 ...

. It is located in the northern

Te Urewera Te Urewera is an area of mostly forested, sparsely populated rugged hill country in the North Island of New Zealand, a large part of which is within a protected area designated in 2014, that was formerly Te Urewera National Park. Te Urewera is t ...

Waimana River Waimana is a rural valley in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located in the northern Te Urewera. Waimana River, originally known as Tauranga River, runs through the valley, joining the Ohinemat ...

, originally known as Tauranga River, runs through the valley, joining the Ohinemataroa River one kilometre south-west of the

Tāneatua Tāneatua is a small town in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island, 13 kilometres south of Whakatāne. Its population was 786 in the 2013 New Zealand census. State Highway 2 passes through the town on its route between Edgecumbe ...

History and culture

European settlement

The Waimana settlement is based around a wide, straight main road, dating back to its heyday before motor vehicles were introduced and goods roads were opened to other towns. The Waimana-Nukuhou North Memorial Hall was opened on the main road in 1953. A plaque above the fireplace in the hall lists two local men who died in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and 17 local men in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. A display board near the fireplace names the 12 local men who served in World War I, the 74 local men in served in World War II, and the 36 ex-servicemen who moved to the district after 1945. A framed bronze plaque was erected at the entrance to the hall in 1964, commemorating "the original pioneers of the Waimana settlement from 2nd Sept 1907 to 28th Sept 1909" with a list of 27 names. The Waimana Gorge Road was partially closed in early July 2019 after part of the road was blocked by a slip. It was completely closed in early August due to heavy rain. The slip was cleared and the road was fully reopened later that month.

Marae

The valley is the ''

rohe The Māori people of New Zealand use the word ''rohe'' to describe the territory or boundaries of ''iwi'' (tribes), although some divide their rohe into several ''takiwā''. The areas shown on the map (right) are indicative only, and some iwi ...

'' (tribal area) of the Tuhoe people. It has several

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

: * Piripari Marae and Tamaikaimoana meeting house, affiliated with Tamakaimoana and

Ngāi Tātua Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

, established in 1962 * Pouahinau Marae and Tūranga Pikitoi meeting house, affiliated with

Tūranga Pikitoi Tūranga is the main public library in Christchurch, New Zealand. It opened on 12 October 2018 and replaced the nearby Christchurch Central Library that was closed on the day of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Location and prior buildings Tūra ...

, established in 1933 * Rāhiri Marae and Rāhiri ō te Rangi meeting house, affiliated with

Ngāti Rere Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

, established between 1875 and 1880 * Raroa Marae and Te Poho ō Tānemoeahi meeting house, affiliated with

Ko Tamaruarangi A KO is a knockout in various sports, such as boxing and martial arts. K.O., Ko or Kō may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * KO (musician), Canadian musician who plays a fusion of hip hop and folk music * ''K.O.'' (album), a 2021 ...

, established in 1925 * Tanatana Marae and Te Poho ō Tuhoe meeting house, affiliated with

, established in 1919 * Tataiāhape Marae and Takutai ō Terangi meeting house, affiliated with

Ngāti Raka Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...

, established in 1906 * Tauanui Marae and Te Poho ō Tamatea meeting house, affiliated with

Whakatāne Hapū Whakatāne ( , ) is the seat of the Bay of Plenty region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and north-east of Rotorua, at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. Whakatāne District is the encompassing territorial authority, whic ...

, established in 1933 * Tāwhana Marae and Ngā Tau E Maha meeting house, affiliated with Ngā Maihi, established in 1935 In October 2020, the Government committed $508,757 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician. He served as a New Zealand First list MP from 2017 to 2020 and was previously a Labour list MP from 2005 to 2014. Jones was a cabinet minister in the Fifth Labour Gove ...

to upgrade Tataiāhape Marae, Piripari Marae,

Matahi Marae Matahi is a rural valley in the Whakatāne District and Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand's North Island. History and culture 20th century Rua Kenana Hepetipa, a Māori prophet, faith healer and land rights activist, established the settleme ...

and Tanatana Marae. It also committed $622,833 to upgrade Raroa Marae and two other marae.

Demographics

The statistical area of Waingarara-Waimana, which covers 1448 square kilometres, had a population of 2,361 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 105 people (4.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 165 people (7.5%) 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 651 households. There were 1,185 males and 1,179 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.01 males per female. The median age was 30.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 711 people (30.1%) aged under 15 years, 450 (19.1%) aged 15 to 29, 951 (40.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 252 (10.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 36.6% European/Pākehā, 75.2% Māori, 4.7% Pacific peoples, 0.8% Asian, and 0.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 4.6%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 40.3% had no religion, 23.4% were Christian and 29.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 222 (13.5%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 336 (20.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $21,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 693 (42.0%) people were employed full-time, 237 (14.4%) were part-time, and 144 (8.7%) were unemployed.

Education

Waimana School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students in the main Waimama settlement, with a roll of as of . The school opened in 1908. Nukuhou North School, another co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, is located north-east of the settlement, with a roll of . It also opened in 1908.

References

{{Authority control Whakatane District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region Valleys of New Zealand