Taumarere is a locality in the

Bay of Islands The Bay of Islands is an area on the east coast of the Far North District of the North Island of New Zealand. It is one of the most popular fishing, sailing and tourist destinations in the country, and has been renowned internationally for its ...

in Northland,

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 ...

. The

Kawakawa River The Kawakawa River is in the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows predominantly eastward to Opua, where it joins the Waikare Inlet to flow into the Veronica Channel at the southern end of the Bay of Islands. The river is ti ...

and State Highway 11 run through Taumarere. The town of Kawakawa is 3 km to the southwest.

Opua Opua is a locality in the Bay of Islands, in the sub-tropical Northland Region of New Zealand. It is notable as the first port for overseas yachts arriving in the country after crossing the Pacific Ocean. In the original 1870s plans for the ...

is 7 km to the north and

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 Williams ...

14 km.

History

Taumarere was at the head of navigable tidal water on the Kawakawa River and a natural landing place, so a township developed here. It would likely have become the main town in the area, but after coal was discovered at Kawakawa in 1864, a new town developed there, becoming more important than Taumarere. On 2 March 1868 a bush tramway line opened between Kawakawa and Taumarere wharf at what is now known as Derrick Landing to carry coal for export. It was built to the international and motive power was provided by horses that hauled wagons along wooden rails. It was converted into a metal railway in 1870. In 1875, the government purchased the line and converted it to gauge two years later. The line was extended to Opua in 1884 and called the

Opua Branch The Opua Branch or Otiria-Opua Industrial Line, partially still operational as the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, is a former section of the North Auckland Line in the Northland Region of New Zealand, between Otiria and the Bay of Islands towns ...

. In 1925, it became part of the

North Auckland Line The North Auckland Line (designation NAL) is a major section of New Zealand's national rail network, and is made up of the following parts: the portion of track that runs northward from Westfield Junction to Newmarket Station; from there, we ...

.Bromby, Robin (2003). ''Rails That Built a Nation''. Wellington: Grantham House. 17. This line has since become a part of the

Bay of Islands Vintage Railway The Bay of Islands Vintage Railway Trust (BOIVRT) is a heritage railway in Kawakawa, in Northland, New Zealand. The railway operates on part of the former Opua Branch railway. History The railway was formed as the Bay of Islands Scenic Railwa ...

, a tourist-oriented heritage railway. St. Andrew's Church originally stood on the site of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

Mission Station. In 1927 the building was transported by barge and bullock waggon to its present site.

Demographics

The statistical area of Matawaia-Taumarere surrounds but does not include the towns of Kawakawa and

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 ...

. Matawaia-Taumarere covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Matawaia-Taumarere had a population of 1,374 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 228 people (19.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 150 people (12.3%) 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 441 households, comprising 714 males and 663 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 41.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 330 people (24.0%) aged under 15 years, 222 (16.2%) aged 15 to 29, 609 (44.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 213 (15.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 48.5% European/Pākehā, 65.1% Māori, 4.6% Pacific peoples, 1.3% Asian, and 1.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 45.2% had no religion, 40.2% were Christian, 4.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% were Buddhist and 1.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 117 (11.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 252 (24.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $22,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 78 people (7.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 471 (45.1%) people were employed full-time, 153 (14.7%) were part-time, and 66 (6.3%) were unemployed.

Notes

{{Far North District Far North District Populated places in the Northland Region Bay of Islands