Ōtorohanga District is a

territorial authority Territorial authorities (Māori language, Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regions of New Zealand, regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 list of cities in New Zealand, city ...

in the

King Country The King Country ( Māori: ''Te Rohe Pōtae'' or ''Rohe Pōtae o Maniapoto'') is a region of the western North Island of New Zealand. It extends approximately from Kawhia Harbour and the town of Ōtorohanga in the north to the upper reaches of th ...

area and

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a mostly rural area, with

Ōtorohanga Ōtorohanga is a north King Country town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located south of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton and north of Te Kūiti, on the Waipā River. It is a service town for the surrounding Da ...

town being by far the biggest urban area, with a population nearing 3,000. The District was called Otorohanga County from 1971 to 1979.

Geography

Ōtorohanga District is located south of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, west of

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

, and northwest of

Taupō Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...

. It stretches from

Kawhia Harbour Kawhia Harbour () is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, Ne ...

on the west coast inland to the

Pureora Forest Park Pureora Forest Park is a protected area in the North Island of New Zealand. Within its rich rainforest are an abundance of 1,000-year-old Podocarpaceae, podocarp trees. It is "recognised as one of the finest rain forests in the world". Establi ...

. Adjacent local government districts are (clockwise from the north)

, Waipā, South Waikato,

, and Waitomo. The district has a land area of . It is a mostly rural area, with significant areas of native forest.

History

After the land wars, the wider area of the King Country was a refuge for

Tāwhiao ''Kīngitanga, Kīngi'' Tāwhiao (Tūkaroto Matutaera Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Tāwhiao, ; c. 1822 – 26 August 1894), known initially as Matutaera, reigned as the Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1860 until his death. After his flight to ...

, the second

Māori King 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 ...

, and his followers. From 1864 to 1883,

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 ...

(white settlers) were not allowed into the area unless they had express permission. The district was used for farming from the late 19th century onwards. The first municipal government, Otorohanga County, was formed in 1922. In 1956, the northern part of Kawhia County and Otorohanga County were amalgamated. On 1 November 1971, Otorohanga Borough was subsumed into Otorohanga County. The Otorohanga District was declared in 1979 by renaming Otorohanga County. It was reconstituted as part of the

1989 local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, on Regions of New Zealand, regional and Territo ...

, with a nearly identical area.

Governance

The seat of

Ōtorohanga District Council Ōtorohanga District Council () is the territorial authority for the Ōtorohanga District of New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () an ...

is in the town of Ōtorohanga. The council is headed by a mayor, and complemented by seven councillors from five wards. The council wards are Kawhia/Tihiroa (two councillors), Waipa, Wharepuhunga, Kiokio/ Korakonui, and Ōtorohanga (two councillors). Max Baxter has been the mayor since the 2013 local elections. The District is entirely within the wider

Waikato Regional Council The Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City, as well as ...

area.

Demographics

The district's population in was . The town of Ōtorohanga, located at about the centre of the district, is the largest town, with a population of . Other communities include Hauturu, Honikiwi,

Kawhia Kawhia Harbour () is one of three large natural inlets in the Tasman Sea coast of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located to the south of Raglan Harbour, Ruapuke and Aotea Harbour, 40 kilometres southwest of Hamilton, Ne ...

Maihiihi Maihiihi is a rural community in the Ōtorohanga District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Demographics Maihiihi locality covers . The locality is part of the larger Maihiihi statistical area. Maihiihi had a population of 198 ...

, Oparau,

Ōtewā Ōtewā is a rural community in the Ōtorohanga District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Demographics Ōtewā covers . It is part of the larger Maihiihi statistical area. Ōtewā had a population of 294 in the 2023 New Zea ...

, Owhiro, Puketotara, Te Kawa and Wharepuhunga. The district covers and had a population density of people per km² in . Ōtorohanga District had a population of 10,410 in the

2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...

, an increase of 306 people (3.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 1,269 people (13.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 5,499 males, 4,893 females and 21 people of other genders in 3,699 dwellings. 2.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 38.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 2,223 people (21.4%) aged under 15 years, 1,740 (16.7%) aged 15 to 29, 4,683 (45.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,764 (16.9%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 76.3% 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 ...

); 32.5%

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 ...

; 3.2% Pasifika; 4.4% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.9%, Māori language by 7.7%, Samoan by 0.3% and other languages by 5.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.2% (e.g. too young to talk).

New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...

was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.5, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 26.8%

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 ...

, 0.7%

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 ...

, 0.1%

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, 2.5%

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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.3%

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

, 0.1%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 1.5% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 60.0%, and 7.8% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 810 (9.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 4,776 (58.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 2,364 (28.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $38,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 645 people (7.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 4,230 (51.7%) people were employed full-time, 1,155 (14.1%) were part-time, and 234 (2.9%) were unemployed.

References

External links

Ōtorohanga District Council
{{Cities and districts of New Zealand 1979 establishments in New Zealand