Ward is a small town in

Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...

, New Zealand. It is located on

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbere ...

, north of Kaikoura. The

Flaxbourne River The Flaxbourne River is a river in the Marlborough region of New Zealand. It arises in the Inland Kaikoura Range and Halden Hills and flows east and then south-east into the South Pacific Ocean near Ward. It is named after the Flaxbourne sheep ...

flows past to the north and into the Pacific Ocean at

Ward Beach Ward Beach is a section of rugged coastline in the Marlborough Region of New Zealand that is known for unusual rock formations. The geological features include the exposed reef platforms that were uplifted by 2m or more during the 2016 Kaikōur ...

to the south-east of Ward. A current initiative aims to have the town renamed as Flaxbourne.

History

Flaxbourne Station was established in the area around 1847. In 1905, most of the station was subdivided as part of the government's land reform, and Ward township was formed. The area was known by the name of the station. On the initiative of

Richard Seddon Richard John Seddon (22 June 1845 – 10 June 1906) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 15th premier (prime minister) of New Zealand from 1893 until his death. In office for thirteen years, he is to date New Zealand's longest-se ...

, who was

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

at the time, the township was named after his friend and political colleague

Joseph Ward Sir Joseph George Ward, 1st Baronet, (26 April 1856 – 8 July 1930) was a New Zealand politician who served as the 17th prime minister of New Zealand from 1906 to 1912 and from 1928 to 1930. He was a dominant figure in the Liberal and Unit ...

; a measure that was controversial at the time. The township of Seddon, named after Richard Seddon at the same time, is north of Ward. In 1961 the population was 218. As of 2017, there is a campaign to have the town renamed as Flaxbourne. The NZ Geographic Board, i.e. the organisation that has the final say on place names in New Zealand, has advised that the name Ward has never been officially registered.

Demographics

Ward is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider Awatere statistical area. Ward had a population of 81 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 ...

, a decrease of 27 people (-25.0%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 21 people (-20.6%) 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 36 households. There were 45 males and 33 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.36 males per female. The median age was 51 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 12 people (14.8%) aged under 15 years, 6 (7.4%) aged 15 to 29, 42 (51.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 21 (25.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 88.9% European/Pākehā, 22.2% Māori, and 3.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 59.3% had no religion and 40.7% were Christian. Of those at least 15 years old, 6 (8.7%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 15 (21.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $29,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 42 (60.9%) people were employed full-time, 12 (17.4%) were part-time, and 0 (0.0%) were unemployed.

Education

Ward School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of approximately . A celebration to mark 100 years of schooling in the area was held in 2006. The nearest secondary schools are Marlborough Boys' College and Marlborough Girls' College, both away in Blenheim.

References

External links

* * {{Marlborough Region Populated places in the Marlborough Region