Allanton ( mi, Ōwhiro) is a small town in

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

, New Zealand, located some 20 kilometres southwest of

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

on State Highway 1. The settlement lies at the eastern edge of the

Taieri Plains The Taieri Plain (also referred to in the plural as the Taieri Plains) is an area of fertile agricultural land to the southwest of Dunedin, in Otago, New Zealand. The plain covers an area of some 300 square kilometres, with a maximum extent of ...

close to the Taieri River at the junction of the main road to Dunedin International Airport at

Momona Momona is a small town on the Taieri Plain in New Zealand's South Island. Momona School was established in 1899 and closed in 2004. The Henley Co-operative Dairy Company, established in nearby Henley, moved their cheese factory here, and was ...

. Established near the junction of the Taieri River and Owhiro Stream the site was first known to Europeans as "Scroggs' Creek Landing" after Samuel Scroggs, a member of

Charles Kettle Charles Henry Kettle (6 April 1821 – 3 June 1863) surveyed the city of Dunedin in New Zealand, imposing a bold design on a challenging landscape. He was aiming to create a Romantic effect and incidentally produced the world's steepest st ...

's survey teams. The surrounding area was (and still is) known as Owhiro. In 1875, with the arrival of the railway south from Dunedin; and satisfying criteria for a "town", the community was renamed Greytown - after former Governor Sir George Grey. Among those who took up land in the growing community were immigrant Poles, from among the " Brogdenites" who had constructed the railway. Several Polish surnames survive in the local community. In 1895 a conflict of identity was recognised between the local community and another Greytown, well established in the Wairarapa. The Taieri County Council met and agreed to again rename the community. By a unanimous decision it was given the name "Allanton" - as a gesture of respect for the late James Allan of nearby "Hopehill", a former Otago Provincial Councillor, County Councillor and East Taieri Church Elder. Allanton's community has declined in recent years, with the local school closing in 2004 and the Sacred Heart Catholic Church closing the following year. The final shop to close was the 'Honey Shoppe', which closed in 2011.

Demographics

Allanton is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers , and is part of the much larger Momona statistical area. Allanton had a population of 306 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 short ...

, an increase of 51 people (20.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 66 people (27.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 126 households. There were 153 males and 150 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female, with 54 people (17.6%) aged under 15 years, 39 (12.7%) aged 15 to 29, 162 (52.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 45 (14.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 95.1% European/Pākehā, 5.9% Māori, and 1.0% Pacific peoples (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 62.7% had no religion, 25.5% were Christian and 1.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 33 (13.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 54 (21.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 150 (59.5%) people were employed full-time, 30 (11.9%) were part-time, and 3 (1.2%) were unemployed.

Education

The Dunedin campus of OneSchool Global is at Allanton. OneSchool Global is an international private composite school. The local state primary school was merged to East Taieri School in 2004.

References

{{Dunedin Polish-New Zealand culture Populated places in Otago Geography of Dunedin