Waitōtara is a town in South

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth Dist ...

, New Zealand.

Waverley Waverley may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Waverley'' (novel), by Sir Walter Scott ** ''Waverley'' Overture, a work by Hector Berlioz inspired by Scott's novel * Waverley Harrison, a character in the New Zealand soap opera ''Shortland Stree ...

is 10 km to the north-west, and

Whanganui Whanganui (; ), also spelled Wanganui, is a city in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand. The city is located on the west coast of the North Island at the mouth of the Whanganui River, New Zealand's longest navigable waterway. Whangan ...

is 34 km to the south-east.

State Highway 3 The following highways are numbered 3, H-3, PRI-3, AH3, E03 and R3. For roads numbered A3, see A3 roads. For roads numbered M3, see M3 (disambiguation)#Roads, M3. For roads numbered N3, see N3 (disambiguation)#Roads, N3. For roads numbered 3A, see ...

passes through it. The

Waitōtara River The Waitōtara River in New Zealand's North Island stretches approximately in length from its headwaters in the Matemateāonga Range to its mouth on the South Taranaki Bight. The river takes in significant tributaries such as the Ngutuwera, Mak ...

flows past the east side of the town. More than 30 homes were evacuated during flooding in February 2004. A local

freezing works A slaughterhouse, also called abattoir (), is a facility where animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a packaging facility. Slaughterhouses that produce meat that is no ...

is a major employer.

Demographics

Waitōtara is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². It is part of the wider Manutahi-Waitotora statistical area. Waitōtara had a population of 72 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 (9.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6 people (9.1%) 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 39 households, comprising 42 males and 30 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.4 males per female. The median age was 54.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 12 people (16.7%) aged under 15 years, 6 (8.3%) aged 15 to 29, 33 (45.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 21 (29.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 70.8% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, and 33.3%

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 ...

. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 58.3% had no religion, 29.2% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, and 4.2% had Māori religious beliefs. Of those at least 15 years old, 24 (40.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 24 (40.0%) people were employed full-time, 9 (15.0%) were part-time, and 6 (10.0%) were unemployed.

Marae

Waitōtara has

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 ...

associated with the

hapū In Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief and normally opera ...

of Ngā Rauru Kītahi: * Te Ihupuku Marae and Te Kawerau and Karepoonia are affiliated with Ngāti Hinewaiata. * Kaipō or Wharetapapa Marae and its Tokanuhea III meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Hou Tipua. * Takirau Marae and Ko Te Marunga Nui o Pourua meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Pourua. * Tauranga Ika Marae and Te Aputa ki Wairau meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Ruaiti. * Waipapa Marae and Ngā Paiaka meeting house are affiliated with Ngā Ariki. In October 2020, the Government committed $522,926 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 Te Ihupuku Marae, Waipapa Marae and Te Aroha Marae, creating 92 jobs.

Education

Waitotara School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of students as of The school was founded in 1874.

References

{{South Taranaki District South Taranaki District Populated places in Taranaki

Demographics

Marae

Education

See also

References