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Douglas is a lowly populated locality and a rural centre in east Taranaki, surrounded by
dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...
, sheep and beef pastoral farming. It is situated 18 km east of Stratford at the intersection of East Road, Ohura Road, Douglas Road South and Bredow Road. East Road and Ohura Road meet to form State Highway 43, linking Stratford to the King Country town of Taumarunui. The Stratford–Okahukura Line, a secondary railway line, runs through Douglas where it veers north-east and away from the state highway for approximately 20 km.


Geography

Douglas is centred on the
Toko Stream Toko is a small rural settlement 10 kilometres east of Stratford, New Zealand, at the intersection of East Road ( State Highway 43) and Toko Road. It is located on a railway, the Stratford–Okahukura Line, the western portion of which was ope ...
adjacent to a small saddle crossed by Ohura Road to the east. The wider locality takes in State Highway 43 from Gordon Road in the west to Mangaotuku Road in the east. The reclaimed swamplands of the upper Toko valley are the dominant geographic feature, running from the north to the south-west of Douglas, at approximately 200m above sea level. Sandstone/ greywacke ridges rise to between 300-370m altitude on each side of the valley floor. Peaks include Tarerepo trig to the north-east (366m altitude), Oruru trig to the south-east (329m) and Makuri trig to the south (327m). Crown Road provides access to farms below the Makuri trig, Bredow Road to farms below the Oruru trig, and Douglas Road to farms in the upper end of the valley (Tarerepo trig). Douglas Road links Douglas to
Huiroa Huiroa is a settlement in inland Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres east of Stratford and eight kilometres north of Douglas. It is situated on the Stratford–Okahukura Line The Stratford– ...
,
Te Popo Te Popo is a settlement in inland Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located ten kilometres northeast of Stratford. Further reading Business history The records of the Te Popo Co-operative Dairy Company ''(active 1916- ...
, Kiore and Matau. East of Douglas State Highway 43 (Ohura Road) crosses the Douglas Saddle into the Makuri Valley, which runs parallel to the Toko at approximately 175m above sea level. This is also predominantly reclaimed swamp, while adjoining ridges rise with considerable precipitousness. Walter Road gives access to Makuri valley farms to the north of the main road.


History

Douglas is said to have been named for a member of the Crown's
surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial two-dimensional or three-dimensional positions of points and the distances and angles between them. A land surveying professional is ca ...
party. It is called ''Oruru'' by
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 ...
after the native owl
ruru Ruru may refer to: Places *Ruru, Nepal * Ruru, New Zealand People *Rouran, an ancient nomadic race from the Mongolian steppes, also called Juan Juan *Ruru Madrid, a Filipino teen actor Others *Māori name for the morepork owl *A Kanohi from the L ...
(or morepork). The current town was established at the turn of the 20th century and its hinterland cleared for pastoral farming. A hall was established in 1905 and a primary school in 1906. Through the first half of the century Douglas was a lively village with a productive brick kiln, a milk factory, a railway station, a store, a number of other businesses, and a church. In the 1930s the Douglas saleyards had the greatest turnover of all Taranaki saleyards, particularly in Jersey cattle for cream and
cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...
production. The Douglas Boarding House, which still stands today, served as an important stopping point for eastbound travellers making the long journey through difficult terrain to
Whangamōmona Whangamōmona is a small township in the Stratford District and Manawatū-Whanganui Region in New Zealand. It lies on State Highway 43, the "Forgotten World Highway", north-east of Stratford and south-west of Ohura. By rail it is from Stratfo ...
or Taumarunui. Like other rural settlements, Douglas went into decline from the mid-20th century. Its primary school, which opened in 1906, closed at the end of 2005, and pupils were transferred to nearby
Toko School Toko School is a full co-educational primary school located in Stratford, New Zealand Stratford ( mi, Whakaahurangi) is the only town in Stratford District, New Zealand, Stratford District, and the seat of the Taranaki region, in New Zeal ...
. The community hall and tennis courts remain in the possession of the community.


Douglas statistical area

Douglas statistical area, which takes in those localities within the Pātea and Waitara river catchments to the east of Toko, also including Strathmore,
Huiakama Huiakama is a settlement in inland Taranaki, in the western 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 ...
,
Te Wera Te Wera (Māori for "the burning") may refer to: People *Te Wera (ca. 1760–70s), rangatira of Kai Tahu based at Huriawa Peninsula *Te Wera Hauraki (died 1839), rangatira of Ngapuhi based at Te Mahia *Penetana Papahurihia (Te Atua Wera; died 1875) ...
,
Pohokura The Pohokura field is an oil and gas field located 4 km offshore of north Taranaki in New Zealand, in approximately 30 m of water. The field was discovered in 2000 by Fletcher Challenge and has ultimate recoverable reserves (1P) of or 1435 PJ o ...
,
Huiroa Huiroa is a settlement in inland Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres east of Stratford and eight kilometres north of Douglas. It is situated on the Stratford–Okahukura Line The Stratford– ...
, Kiore, Matau,
Tututawa Tututawa is a locality and rural centre in east Taranaki, New Zealand, east of Stratford, with a population of approximately 40. The settlement is centred south of Ohura Road ( State Highway 43), at the intersection of Mangaotuku Road and Tut ...
, Puniwhakau and
Makahu Makahu is a settlement in inland Taranaki, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located to the southeast of Strathmore. the Makahu Stream runs south through the area to join with the Mangaehu Stream, which flows into the Patea Rive ...
, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Douglas statistical area had a population of 672 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 27 people (4.2%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 21 people (−3.0%) 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 240 households, comprising 348 males and 321 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 34.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 189 people (28.1%) aged under 15 years, 93 (13.8%) aged 15 to 29, 324 (48.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 66 (9.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 95.1% European/ Pākehā, 11.6%
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, 0.0%
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 2.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 7.1, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 57.6% had no religion, 34.8% 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 ...
, and 0.4% had Māori religious beliefs. Of those at least 15 years old, 60 (12.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 117 (24.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $31,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 66 people (13.7%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 288 (59.6%) people were employed full-time, 96 (19.9%) were part-time, and 15 (3.1%) were unemployed.


Notable residents

* David Walter (born 1939), chairman of Taranaki Regional Council, mayor of Stratford District Council, chairman of Stratford County Council *
Edward Walter Edward Walter (15 January 1866 – 30 January 1932) was a New Zealand politician from Taranaki. Life Walter was born on 14 January 1866 in Stratton, Cornwall, England, and baptised on 8 February 1866, in Stratton Parish Church. He was the son ...
(1866–1932), member of parliament representing the Stratford electorate (1925–1928) and grandfather of David Walter * Alan Smith (born 1942), All Black & Taranaki Rugby Football representative


References


Further reading

* * * {{Stratford District Stratford District, New Zealand Populated places in Taranaki