Waikari is a small town in the

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

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 ...

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 ...

. Its Anglican parish church is the Church of Ascension, 79 Princes Street, Waikari, where

William Orange William Alfred Orange (9 August 1889 – 28 June 1966) was a New Zealand Anglican clergyman. He was a leader of the Evangelical movement in New Zealand. Early life Orange was born on 9 August 1889 in Woolston, Christchurch, New Zealand, the ...

was vicar in the 1920s. 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 "dig for water" for . Waikari is located on State Highway 7 near the Weka Pass and was served by the

Waiau Branch The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ...

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 ...

from 6 April 1882 until its closure on 15 January 1978. The section of the railway through the Weka Pass has been retained by the

Weka Pass Railway The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12.8 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated soci ...

and preserved trains operate between

Waipara Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River. Its name translates to "Muddy Water", ''wai'' meaning water and ''para'' meaning mud. It is at the junction of state highways 1 and 7, 60 kilometre ...

and Waikari. The town is also located near the site of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

cave art and rock drawings in the Weka Pass Reserve.

Demographics

Waikari is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . Waikari is included in Upper Hurunui statistical area. Waikari had a population of 264 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 ...

, unchanged since the 2013 census, and an increase of 12 people (4.8%) 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 120 households. There were 141 males and 126 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.12 males per female, with 36 people (13.6%) aged under 15 years, 27 (10.2%) aged 15 to 29, 123 (46.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 78 (29.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 92.0% European/Pākehā, 11.4% Māori, 4.5% Pacific peoples, and 2.3% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 52.3% had no religion, 37.5% were Christian and 2.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (6.6%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 75 (32.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 84 (36.8%) people were employed full-time, 36 (15.8%) were part-time, and 9 (3.9%) were unemployed.

Education

Waikari School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

Notable people

Derek Quigley Derek Francis Quigley (born 31 January 1932) is a New Zealand former politician. He was a prominent member of the National Party during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and was known for his support of free market economics and trade liberalis ...

, politician

References

External links

Information about Waikari8mm Forum: Waikari Cinema
{{Authority control Populated places in Canterbury, New Zealand Hurunui District