Whakarongo is a suburb of Palmerston North, New Zealand, between the city and Ashhurst. It is mainly rural, and features many vegetable gardens. Whakarongo was originally named ''Stoney Creek'' and along with neighbouring Kelvin Grove was part of the Stoney Creek Scandinavian and Roadmen's Block. The area was one of the first Special Settlements established by the Government (along with Karere Scandinavian Block, between Awapuni and Longburn). The original Scandinavian settlers were the first to arrive under Vogel's Immigration and Public Works Scheme. The majority arrived on the second ship (''England'') which arrived in April 1871, with a handful from the first ship (''Celaeno'') which arrived in February 1871. The Roadmen were mainly the British 'workmates' of the Scandinavian settlers. Kelvin Grove Cemetery was established in Whakarongo in 1927. There are no parks in the area.

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 Whakarongo on Napier Road. Stoney Creek Road, named after the original settlement, connects the area with

Bunnythorpe Bunnythorpe is a village in the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island, north of the region's major city, Palmerston North. Dairy farms predominate the surrounding area but the community facilities include Bunnythorpe School, w ...

Demographics

Whakarongo covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Whakarongo had a population of 1,644 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 237 people (16.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 474 people (40.5%) 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 570 households, comprising 834 males and 813 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 43.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 318 people (19.3%) aged under 15 years, 285 (17.3%) aged 15 to 29, 795 (48.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 246 (15.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 90.5% European/ Pākehā, 9.3%

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 ...

, 0.9% Pacific peoples, 4.2%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.3% had no religion, 41.2% 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 ...

, 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.1% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 285 (21.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 237 (17.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $39,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 348 people (26.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 723 (54.5%) people were employed full-time, 234 (17.6%) were part-time, and 24 (1.8%) were unemployed.

Education

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

References

{{Palmerston North City Suburbs of Palmerston North Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui Populated places on the Manawatū River