Waotu or Te Waotu is a rural community in the

South Waikato District South Waikato District is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, local government district in the Waikato, Waikato Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located between the cities of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton to the north, Roto ...

and

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region 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 ...

. The area includes a landscape of rolling dairy farms on the site of a former ancient forest. Some native bush remains, including the first privately natural feature in New Zealand protected by covenant.

History and culture

Early history

The Ngāti Kahupungapunga tribe were the first to settle the area.

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupo and Manawatu/Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti Raukawa reco ...

followed in the 16th century. Pirauiti, situated at Waotu, is one of about 13 pā or fortified villages along the Waikato River. It is of significance to Ngāti Huri and is believed to date from the 14th or 15th centuries. It has been quarried and extensively damaged by J Swap Contracting. European settlers arrived in the late 19th century, clearing most of the land for farmland by the end of the century. A school was established at Waotu in 1886 and relocated to its current site in 1969.

20th century

Young men from Waotu made a long journey into

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

in 1915 to enlist for service 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 ...

. The Duxfield Reserve picnic site was donated by councillor John Duxfield in 1968. The Jim Barnett Reserve, established in 1992, features

Totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane and ...

and

Rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a large evergreen coniferous tree endemic to the forests of New Zealand. It is a member of the southern conifer group, the podocarps. The Māori name ''rimu'' comes from the Polynesian ...

. An ancient bush survived at this site during the

Taupō Volcano Lake Taupō, in the centre of New Zealand's North Island, is the caldera of the Taupō Volcano, a large rhyolitic supervolcano. This huge volcano has produced two of the world's most violent eruptions in geologically recent times. ImageSize ...

eruption of 186 CE, but much of it was harvested for timber during the 1920s. A further site was cleared for farming in the 1970s. This prompted a neighbouring couple, Gordon and Celia Stephenson, to co-found the

Queen Elizabeth II National Trust The Queen Elizabeth II National Trust (QEII) is a registered charity and statutory New Zealand organisation independent from the government and managed by a Board of Directors. It was established in 1977 by the Queen Elizabeth the Second Nation ...

in 1977. In 1979 they became the first landowners in New Zealand to covenant private land, opting to protect 4 hectares of remaining native bush on their farm.

21st century

English student Matthew Purchase was shot during a hunting trip in Waotu in 2009. He survived with serious injuries. Police uncovered a substantial cannabis growing operation in Waotu in January 2019.

Marae

Waotu has two tribal meeting grounds for local

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 ...

: Matiti Pā and Waotu Centennial Hall is a meeting place for Ngāti Maihi, and Pikitū Marae and Huri meetinghouse are affiliated with Ngāti Huri. Pikitū Marae operates a worm farm and strict recycling programme. In October 2020, the Government committed $109,254 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 the Pikitū Marae, creating an estimated 10 jobs.

Education

Te Waotu School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of as of Former principal Bruce Darroch was jailed on

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

charges in 2016. His offending related to 11 boys at the school. The school was as at risk of overcrowding in 2017.

References

{{coord, -38.145153, 175.689992, region:NZ_type:city, display=title South Waikato District Populated places in Waikato Populated places on the Waikato River