Dunback, formerly Waihemo, is a small town in the
Otago
Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...
region of
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 ...
. It is located between
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
and
Ranfurly on
Highway 85
The following highways are numbered 85.
International
* AH85, Asian Highway 85
* European route E85
Australia
* Goldfields Way, New South Wales
* Flinders Island, Tasmania
* Queensland State Route from Bribie Island to Nindigully, with sections ...
. It has a population of about 200 people. Most of these people live in the rural areas near the town.
The New Zealand
Ministry for Culture and Heritage
The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government on ...
gives a translation of "the finished stream" for .
The only remaining buildings now that still stand are the church, the Highwayman Hotel, the coronation hall and the Dunback school. All of these buildings are over 100 years old. There is also the domain which includes a cricket field, camping ground and bowling green. Locals and campers both enjoy the facilities that it has to offer. Along Murphy Street also stands the swing bridge which was built in the early 1900s for pupils to cross the Shag River for easier access to the school.
From 29 August 1885 until 1 January 1968, the town was the terminus of the
Dunback Branch, a
branch line railway
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
that left the
Main South Line in
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
. Nowadays, some of the old railway
formation
Formation may refer to:
Linguistics
* Back-formation, the process of creating a new lexeme by removing or affixes
* Word formation, the creation of a new word by adding affixes
Mathematics and science
* Cave formation or speleothem, a secondar ...
, a loading bank at the site of the station yard, and other railway relics can still be found around Dunback.
Demographics
The Waihemo statistical area, which also includes
Hampden and
Moeraki, and surrounds but does not include
Palmerston Palmerston may refer to:
People
* Christie Palmerston (c. 1851–1897), Australian explorer
* Several prominent people have borne the title of Viscount Palmerston
** Henry Temple, 1st Viscount Palmerston (c. 1673–1757), Irish nobleman and ...
, covers .
It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Waihemo had a population of 1,341 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 21 people (1.6%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 69 people (5.4%) 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 585 households. There were 690 males and 654 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female. The median age was 49.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 231 people (17.2%) aged under 15 years, 144 (10.7%) aged 15 to 29, 687 (51.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 279 (20.8%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 92.6% European/Pākehā, 9.4% Māori, 0.7% Pacific peoples, 2.9% Asian, and 0.4% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).
The proportion of people born overseas was 13.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people objected to giving their religion, 54.1% had no religion, 34.7% were Christian, 0.2% were Hindu, 0.2% were Buddhist and 1.8% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 159 (14.3%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 267 (24.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 135 people (12.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 540 (48.6%) people were employed full-time, 216 (19.5%) were part-time, and 18 (1.6%) were unemployed.
Education
Dunback Public School was established in 1877 and closed in 2001. In the early 20th century, the school had a roll of 63 in a five-room building.
References
{{Waitaki District, New Zealand
Populated places in Otago
Waitaki District