Omaio is a coastal township in the

Ōpōtiki District Ōpōtiki District is a Districts of New Zealand, territorial authority district in the eastern Bay of Plenty Region on the North Island of New Zealand. It stretches from Kutarere and the eastern shore of Ōhiwa Harbour in the west to Cape Runaw ...

and

Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty Region is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the Bay of Plenty, marine bight of that same name. The bay was name ...

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 ...

. During the 20th century, families collectively farmed the area for sheep and beef. More recently, they have been considering a shift to

kiwifruit Kiwifruit (often shortened to kiwi), or Chinese gooseberry, is the edible berry (botany), berry of several species of woody vines in the genus ''Actinidia''. The most common cultivar group of kiwifruit (Actinidia chinensis var. deliciosa, ...

farming. Funding was granted for a pilot kiwifruit farm in April 2017. During 2018 and 2019,

National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research The National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research or NIWA (), is a Crown Research Institute of New Zealand. Established in 1992, NIWA conducts research across a broad range of disciplines in the environmental sciences. It also maintai ...

tested climate-resilient crops in Omaio. Due to the impact of climate change, Omaio has had fewer frosts, shorter winters, drier summers, more

extreme weather Extreme weather includes unexpected, unusual, severe weather, severe, or unseasonal weather; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution—the range that has been seen in the past. Extreme events are based on a location's recorded weat ...

, and greater pressure on its water supplies. In June 2019, Omaio hosted an historic signing of a

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi (), sometimes referred to as ''Te Tiriti'', is a document of central importance to the history of New Zealand, Constitution of New Zealand, its constitution, and its national mythos. It has played a major role in the tr ...

settlement agreement between

Te Whānau-ā-Apanui Te Whānau-ā-Apanui is a Māori iwi (tribe) located in the eastern Bay of Plenty and East Coast regions of New Zealand's North Island. In 2006, the iwi registered 11,808 members, representing 13 hapū. History Early history During the 17th ce ...

and

the Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

Marae

The settlement has three

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

. * Ōmāio Marae and Rongomaihuatahi meeting house is a meeting place for the

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 Te Whānau a Nuku. In October 2020, the Government committed $1,646,820 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 the marae and five others, creating 10 jobs. * Ōtūwhare Marae and Te Poho o Rūtāia meeting house belongs to the hapū of Te Whānau a Rutaia. * Whitianga Marae and Tūtawake meeting house belongs to the hapū of Te Whānau a Tutawake.

Education

Te Kura o Te Whānau-a-Apanui is a co-educational Māori language immersion state area school for Year 1 to 13 students, with a roll of as of . It was established in January 2016, through the merger of Raukokore School, Te Kura o Ōmāio and Te Whānau-a-Apanui Area School. Rugby player

Ruahei Demant Devon Ruahei Demant (born 21 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player. She made her debut for the New Zealand national women's team, the New Zealand women's national rugby union team, Black Ferns, against Australia women's national rugby ...

lived in Omaio until the age of 12. She described the township as a "tiny place" in "the wops".

References

{{Ōpōtiki District Ōpōtiki District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region