Whitiora is a suburb in central

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 ...

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 ...

. The suburb is home to

Waikato Stadium FMG Stadium Waikato is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton, New Zealand, with a total capacity of 25,800. Four areas contribute to this capacity: The Brian Perry Stand holding 12,000, the WEL Networks Stand holding 8,000, the ...

, formerly ''Rugby Park''. It is a major sporting and cultural events venue in Hamilton with a total capacity of 25,800. The stadium is a multi-purpose facility, though used mainly for

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. Many of Hamilton's hotels are in Whitiora, along the main road from the north.

Etymology

The name Whitiora began to be used from about 1913, when the new suburb was being developed. Prior to that it had been known as No.1, possibly because No. 1 Company of Militia was once based there. Whitiora was said to translate as prosperity and plenty, though, in a 2019 leaflet and in naming the current

Whitiora Bridge Whitiora Bridge is a prestressed concrete box girder bridge in Hamilton, New Zealand, spanning the Waikato River. It cost $2.35m, or $3.4m including the approach roads, and was opened at the start of a weekend of Centennial celebrations, on 11 Feb ...

, it was said name was derived from the call of the pipiwharauroa, and 'ora', meaning life, or health.

History

Whatanoa Pā

Ngāti Te Ao, occupied Whatanoa Pā on what is now Beetham Park. Hotumauea of Ngāti Koura took the pā in the late 1600s. The remains of an urupā were exhumed in 1922, ditches show on a 1943 aerial photo and, when FMG Stadium was built in 2002, a waharoa (pā gateway) was placed to mark the site of the pā.

Post colonisation

The street layout was shown on an 1865 plan of the military settlement, just a year after the

invasion of the Waikato The Invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

and

confiscation Confiscation (from the Latin ''confiscatio'' "to consign to the ''fiscus'', i.e. transfer to the treasury") is a legal form of seizure by a government or other public authority. The word is also used, popularly, of spoliation under legal forms, o ...

of the land. Ulster and Willoughby Streets were named in 1864, the latter after a colonial secretary,

Willoughby Shortland Commander Willoughby Shortland RN (30 September 1804 – 7 October 1869) was a British naval officer and colonial administrator. He was New Zealand's first Colonial Secretary from 1841, after having arrived in New Zealand with Lieutenant Govern ...

. Whitiora Lagoon, to the west of Abbotsford Street, was drained in 1915 and a 'frog pond' at about the same time, seemingly as part of a scheme to drain the whole area. In the 1940s Snake Gully accommodation camp had airmen billeted in huts beside the Waitewhiriwhiri Stream, where the Badminton Club now stands. It was converted to an emergency housing camp in 1945. Waitawhiriwhiri_Stream

Geography

Whitiora lies on the west bank of the Waikato River, just to the south of its confluence with the Waitewhiriwhiri Stream. Pollution of the stream has long been a problem. In 1921 the stench was said to be getting abominable due to factory waste.

Hamilton Town Belt

A stretch of the Hamilton Town Belt runs through Whitiora, including Beetham, Edgecumbe and Willoughby Parks. It was planned as a continuous belt, but has gradually been eroded, beginning with the rugby ground in 1922, which had previously been covered in gorse. It has been calculated that only 56% remains as open green space.

Demographics

In the 2018 census Whitiora

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

covers and has the Waitewhiriwhiri Stream as its northern and western boundary. In 2013 and earlier it had been part of Hamilton Central area. Whitiora had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Whitiora had a population of 2,538 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 495 people (24.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 741 people (41.2%) 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 1,107 households, comprising 1,269 males and 1,269 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 31.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 279 people (11.0%) aged under 15 years, 894 (35.2%) aged 15 to 29, 1,146 (45.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 219 (8.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 47.4% 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 ...

, 19.5%

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 ...

, 4.7% Pacific peoples, 34.5%

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 4.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 45.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 39.1% had no religion, 29.9% 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 ...

, 1.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 11.5% were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

, 2.7% 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 ...

, 1.3% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 9.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 732 (32.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 288 (12.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. 312 people (13.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,314 (58.2%) people were employed full-time, 285 (12.6%) were part-time, and 138 (6.1%) were unemployed.

Education

Whitiora school was founded in October 1919, though a Whitiora school was mentioned in 1916. It was built for 160, but Hamilton was growing so fast that 3 extra rooms had to be added before opening, as too many children wanted to attend. In 1920 it was extended to cater for another 200, but by 1923 it was again overcrowded. The primary school is for years 1 to 8. The roll is as of 47% of the roll of 230 identify as Māori and 11% as of Pacific origin.

Infrastructure

Roads

Whitiora was on the Great South Road, called Jersey Street until 1913, when the name Victoria Street was extended to it. The surface of Victoria Street was improved in 1914, with

gravel Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone. Gravel is classifi ...

added in 1929 and

asphalt Asphalt, also known as bitumen (, ), is a sticky, black, highly viscous liquid or semi-solid form of petroleum. It may be found in natural deposits or may be a refined product, and is classed as a pitch. Before the 20th century, the term a ...

being laid on roads and footpaths by 1935. There was a proposal to divert the main road from Victoria Street in 1930, but it wasn't until the 1960s that Ulster Street was extended to absorb Gurnell Avenue and form a 4-lane main road, by putting Waitewhiriwhiri Stream in a culvert and filling the valley. A 2019 plan proposed to investigate restoring a link by putting a pedestrian and cycling tunnel parallel with the culvert. It remained part of SH1 until

Avalon Drive Avalon Drive are an Australian rock band from Brisbane, originally formed in 2005. They released three extended plays, ''Avalon Drive'' (2005), ''The City of Burnt Out Lights'' (2006) and ''The View from Afar'' (2008) before splitting in 2008. ...

opened in 1992.

Power

Gas pipes were extended into the suburb in 1921. An electric substation was built near No.1 Bridge in 1922.

Waste

From 1922 to 1973 Hamilton West rubbish dump occupied , bounded by Willoughby Street Cemetery, Waitawhiriwhiri Stream and Ulster Street. Provision was made to stop leachate reaching the stream and gas entering nearby properties, when the rugby training ground in Beetham Park was built in 2009.

Sewage

Until 1976 Waitawhirwhiri Stream was one of the locations for septic tanks,Hamilton City Sewerage Scheme 1978 publisher Hamilton City Council Hamilton reference library 628.309 931 151 HAM which were emptied into the stream.Astride the River: P J Gibbons 1977

Notable people

Rufus Rogers Anthony Trevelyan "Rufus" Rogers (12 July 1913 – 18 August 2009) was a New Zealand medical doctor and a politician of the Labour Party. Biography Rogers was born in New Plymouth on 12 July 1913, the son of Eugene Trevelyan "Tim" Rogers ...

, Labour MP, attended Whitiora School * Ray Shannon, butterfly collector, attended Whitiora School

References

{{Hamilton, New Zealand Suburbs of Hamilton, New Zealand Populated places on the Waikato River