Ōpunake is a small town on the southwest coast of

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 ...

in 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 ...

. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of

New Plymouth New Plymouth ( mi, Ngāmotu) is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, Devon from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. ...

. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway 45 passes through the town. The town has a population of

History and culture

Pre-European history

In 1833 local chief Wiremu Kīngi Moki Te Matakātea held off a war party from Waikato for several weeks with a single musket, and eventually triumphed. The site of Te Namu Pā is along the coast, just north of the town.

European settlement

The town was first settled by Europeans in the 1860s, when British army soldiers landed at Ōpunake in April 1865 in the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who eit ...

. By May, soldiers had constructed the Ōpunake Redoubt, where 350 soldiers were stationed. In May 1867, the redoubt was gifted to Wiremu Kīngi Moki Te Matakātea's people, and the area became a location for flax mills, outside European influence. British soldiers re-established a presence at the redoubt in 1875, and the area became a rallying point for soldiers during the invasion of

Parihaka Parihaka is a community in the Taranaki region of New Zealand, located between Mount Taranaki and the Tasman Sea. In the 1870s and 1880s the settlement, then reputed to be the largest Māori village in New Zealand, became the centre of a major camp ...

. By circa 1887, the redoubt was abandoned. Ōpunake was intended to be a major port but, other than a jetty constructed in 1891, little else was completed.

Marae

Ōpunake has two

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 ...

. Ōeo Marae and Tipua Horonuku and Tipua Hororangi meeting houses are affiliated with the

Ngāruahine Ngāruahine is a Māori iwi of New Zealand located in South Taranaki, North Island. A treaty settlement was signed with the Crown in 2014. Following ratification of the settlement with the Crown, Te Korowai o Ngaruahine Trust (TKONT) was establ ...

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 Ngāti Tamaahuroa me Tītahi. Ōrimupiko Marae and Ōhinetuhirau meeting house are a meeting place for the

hapū of Ngāti Haumia,

Ngāti Tamarongo Taranaki (Tuturu) is a Māori people, Māori iwi of New Zealand. Taranaki iwi were an important part of the First Taranaki War, First and Second Taranaki Wars. At least 13 members of Taranaki died during the First Taranaki War, mostly defending ...

and Ngāti Kahumate. In October 2020, the Government committed $153,419 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 seal the driveway of the marae and paint the outside of all buildings, creating 12 jobs.

Pa

Ōpunake is home to two pā. Te Namu Pā in the North West along the Otahi Stream and Te Namu road. As well as another pā in the South East which can be found along Park Pl near the Constabulary Cemetery by the lake. The condition of these pā vary, Te Namu Pā is mostly held up, the village and trenches no longer exist. However little remains of the pā in the South East.

History of Te Namu Pā

Wiremu Kīngi Moki Te Matakātea led 120 men in a battle at Te Namu Pā against a Waikato contingent numbering approximately 800. The Waikato raid was unsuccessful and eventually retreated; those who were left behind were cremated in front of the pā. Wiremu Kīngi Moki Te Matakātea and his men won the battle partly because of the Geography and because of the singular musket that they had. The only entrance to the pā was accessible by following the Otahi stream around the back of it along a narrow walkway. The pā was attacked 5 times by Waikato forces with no success. Te Namu Pā is also rumoured to be named 'Kaiaia'. The village that was made at Te Namu Pā in 1833 was destroyed by an landing party from

HMS Alligator Three ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS ''Alligator'', after the marine reptile, the alligator. A fourth ship was planned but later cancelled: * was a 14-gun sloop launched in 1780. In April 1782 she was at Accra, in company with ...

of 1834. The site is now considered a Urupa (Burial ground).

"Greg O'Brien, poet, painter, editor and journalist, remembers Te Namu's association with Parihaka. He wrote: "my mother recalls an elderly aunt's recollection of the Parihaka siege—her description of a line of women singing, surrounding the settlement as the troops approached.) What escapes us, the land, kumara-pitted, remembers—adze heads recovered from among boulders, the faded shadows that were trenches around Te Namu pa. The site of the first fighting between British infantry—the 50th Regiment, ‘the Dirty Half Hundred’— and Maori.""

Demographics

The Ōpunake urban area, which covers , had a usual resident population of 1,401 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 66 people (4.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 36 people (2.6%) 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. There were 681 males and 720 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female. The median age was 44.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 282 people (20.1%) aged under 15 years, 216 (15.4%) aged 15 to 29, 597 (42.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 303 (21.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 76.0% European/Pākehā, 37.7% Māori, 2.4% Pacific peoples, 3.4% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 11.6%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 50.1% had no religion, 36.4% were Christian, 0.6% were Hindu, 0.2% were Buddhist and 4.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 120 (10.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 351 (31.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 417 (37.3%) people were employed full-time, 189 (16.9%) were part-time, and 54 (4.8%) were unemployed.

Features

Ōpunake is the centre for the local dairy industry, and is also a popular tourist spot. The beach is composed of volcanic blacksand and there are large rock pools to be found on the north-west end of the beach at low tide. The Ōpunake and surrounding community has a South Taranaki District Council LibraryPlus, which provides full library and Council related services. The Ōpunake murals, located on the main road in the town, reflect the town's farming history, Māori culture and modern history.Assorted Wall Murals called "Reflections of Opunake" 1900 - 2000 Commissioned by the Egmont Arts Council. Designed and Painted by Mural Artist Dennis Lattimer during April/May 2002. Opunake, Taranaki, North Island, New Zealand
Official website
/ref> Opunake Mural 2012

Education

Opunake High School is a coeducational secondary (years 9-13) school with a roll of students as of The school celebrated its 75th jubilee in 2000. Opunake School, St Joseph's School, and Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tamarongo are full primary (years 1-8) schools with rolls of , and respectively. St Joseph's is a state integrated Catholic school. Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Tamarongo is a

Kura Kaupapa Māori Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori-language immersion schools () in New Zealand where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture. Kura kaupapa Māori are establish ...

school which teaches in the

Māori language Māori (), or ('the Māori language'), also known as ('the language'), is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken by the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. Closely related to Cook Islands Māori, Tuamotuan, and ...

Notable people

Jim Bolger James Brendan Bolger ( ; born 31 May 1935) is a New Zealand retired politician of the National Party who was the 35th prime minister of New Zealand, serving from 1990 to 1997. Bolger was born to an Irish immigrant family in Ōpunake, Taran ...

(born 1935), former New Zealand Prime Minister * Carl Hayman (born 1979), rugby union footballer who played

prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...

Graham Mourie Graham Neil Kenneth Mourie (born 8 September 1952) is a former New Zealand All Black flanker and coach of the Hurricanes. He was one of the great All Black captains in the late 1970s and early 1980s. He was first selected for the All Blacks in ...

(born 1952),

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987, ...

captain *

Peter Snell Sir Peter George Snell (17 December 1938 – 12 December 2019) was a New Zealand middle-distance runner. He won three Olympic gold medals, and is the only man since 1920 to have won the 800 and 1500 metres at the same Olympics, in 1964. Snell ...

(1938–2019), middle distance runner, a sculpture was unveiled on Saturday 19 May 2007 *

Jacquie Sturm Jacqueline Cecilia Sturm (born Te Kare Papuni, also known as Jacquie Baxter; 17 May 1927 – 30 December 2009) was a New Zealand poet, short story writer and librarian. She was one of the first Māori women to complete an undergraduate universi ...

(1927 – 30 December 2009) poet, short story writer and librarian

Notes

External links

Opunake Website

Opunake High School website

Opunake School website

St Joseph's School website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Opunake South Taranaki District Populated places in Taranaki