Ōhau is a village and semi-rural community in the

Horowhenua District Horowhenua District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kāpiti Coast District, Kāpiti, ...

and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It is located just south of Levin 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 numbered S ...

. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "place of Hau" for , but an alternative meaning could be "windy place". The former Ohau railway station is located in Ohau. It operated from 1886 to 1987, with most services ending in 1971.

Marae

The local Kikopiri Marae and Kikopiri meeting house are a tribal meeting ground for the

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti ...

hapū In Māori language, 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 ...

of Ngāti Hikitanga and Ngāti Kikopiri. In October 2020, the Government committed $335,056 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party. Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...

to upgrade Kikopiri Marae and Kererū Marae, creating 48 jobs.

Demographics

Ōhau is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². It is part of the larger Ōhau-Manakau statistical area. Before the 2023 census, the settlement had a larger boundary, covering . Using that boundary, Ōhau had a population of 666 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 105 people (18.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 228 people (52.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 249 households, comprising 351 males and 315 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.11 males per female, with 93 people (14.0%) aged under 15 years, 96 (14.4%) aged 15 to 29, 309 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 168 (25.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 95.5% European/

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

, 11.3%

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 Co ...

, 1.4% Pasifika, 1.8% Asian, and 0.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.3% had no religion, 36.0% were

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.5% had

Māori religious beliefs 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 Co ...

, 0.5% were

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 0.5% were

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

and 0.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 81 (14.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 117 (20.4%) people had no formal qualifications. 93 people (16.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 264 (46.1%) people were employed full-time, 87 (15.2%) were part-time, and 15 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Ōhau-Manakau

Ōhau-Manakau statistical area, which includes Manakau, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Before the 2023 census, the statistical area had a larger boundary, covering . Using that boundary, Ōhau-Manakau had a population of 2,154 at the

, an increase of 369 people (20.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 363 people (20.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 825 households, comprising 1,086 males and 1,065 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. The median age was 51.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 318 people (14.8%) aged under 15 years, 291 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 969 (45.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 573 (26.6%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 84.7% European/

, 17.3%

, 3.1% Pasifika, 5.2% Asian, and 1.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.1, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.8% had no religion, 35.1% were

, 0.4% had

, 0.6% were

, 0.1% were

, 0.4% were

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

and 1.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 249 (13.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 441 (24.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 243 people (13.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 849 (46.2%) people were employed full-time, 255 (13.9%) were part-time, and 60 (3.3%) were unemployed.

Education

Ōhau School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ōhau Populated places in Manawatū-Whanganui Horowhenua District