Kohukohu, New Zealand
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Kohukohu is a village on the
Hokianga Harbour The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. The original name, still used by local Māori, is ...
in the
Northland Region Northland (), officially the Northland Region, is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 regions of New Zealand, local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout t ...
of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It was one of the first European settlements in New Zealand. Kohukohu is situated on the northern shore of the harbour where it splits into two rivers, the
Mangamuka River The Mangamuka River is a river of the far north of the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It flows generally south from the Maungataniwha Range southeast of Kaitaia, and the last few kilometres of its length are a wide, silty arm o ...
branching inland to the northeast and the Waihou River leading towards the east past Mangungu,
Horeke Horeke () is a settlement in the upper reaches of the Hokianga Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. Kohukohu is just across the harbour. The Horeke basalts are located near the town, and can be viewed on an easy stroll through the Wairere Boulde ...
and Rangiahua. Where the harbour divides there is a small island called Motiti which was painted by
Augustus Earle Augustus Earle (1793–1838) was a British painter. Unlike earlier artists who worked outside Europe and were employed on voyages of exploration or worked abroad for wealthy, often aristocratic patrons, Earle was able to operate quite indepen ...
, the first European artist to spend several months in New Zealand, during his visit to the Hokianga in 1827. He wrote "we were sailing up a spacious sheet of water, which became considerably wider after entering it; while majestic hills rose on each side .... looking up the river we beheld various headlands stretching into the water and gradually contracting its width, 'till they became fainter and fainter in the distance and all was lost in the azure of the horizon".


History and culture


Pre-European settlement

According to
Te Tai Tokerau Te Tai Tokerau () is a New Zealand parliamentary Māori electorate that was created out of the Northern Maori electorate ahead of the first Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) election in 1996. It was held first by Tau Henare representing New Zea ...
tradition, the legendary Polynesian explorer
Kupe Kupe was a legendary Polynesian explorer who, according to Māori oral history, was the first person to discover New Zealand. He is generally held to have been born to a father from Rarotonga and a mother from Raiatea, and probably spoke a ...
visited the area prior to his return voyage to Hawaiiki. Angry at the food from the
hāngī Hāngī () is a traditional New Zealand Māori method of cooking food using heated rocks buried in a pit oven, called an ''umu''. It is still used for large groups on special occasions, as it allows large quantities of food to be cooked witho ...
(earth oven) being insufficiently cooked, he swore at those responsible. ''Kohukohu'' is
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 ...
for a swearword or expletive.


European settlement

The first recorded European to enter the Hokianga Harbour arrived in 1819 and by the 1830s, Kohukohu was the heart of New Zealand's timber industry. The country's first Catholic mass was celebrated 8 kilometres north of Kohukohu at Totara Point in 1838. The Hokianga Sawmill Company built a sawmill in 1878. For nearly one hundred years Kohukohu was an important timber milling town and the largest commercial centre on the north of the harbour. In 1900, the township had a population of almost 2,000 people.


Marae

Kohukohu 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 ...
affiliated with the hapū Te Ihutai: Pateoro or Te Karae Marae and Pōwhiri meeting house which affiliates with
Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...
; Pikipāria Marae and Ngarunui meeting house which affiliates with
Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...
; and Tauteihiihi Marae and Tokimatahourua meeting house. There are also three marae affiliated with other
Te Rarawa Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New ...
hapū: Motuti Marae and Tamatea meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Tamatea, Ngāti Te Maara and
Te Kai Tutae Te Rarawa is a Māori people, Māori iwi of Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Rūnanga and marae Te Rarawa has 23 foundation marae: *Korou Kore Marae, ''Ahipara ...
. Ngāi Tupoto Marae and Ngāhuia meeting house are affiliated with Ngāi Tūpoto and
Ngāti Here Te Rarawa is a Māori iwi of Northland, New Zealand. The iwi is one of six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. Rūnanga and marae Te Rarawa has 23 foundation marae: *Korou Kore Marae, ''Ahipara'', represents the hapū of Ngā ...
. Waiparera Marae and Nukutawhiti meeting house are affiliated with Patutoka, Tahāwai, Te Whānau Pani and Te Hokokeha. In October 2020, the Government committed $1,407,731 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 Ngāi Tupoto Marae and 8 other marae of Te Rarawa, creating 100 jobs.


Kohukohu Bridge

The Kohukohu footbridge near the centre of the town is believed to be the first stone bridge built in New Zealand, and is the oldest surviving bridge in New Zealand. It was built some time between 1843 and 1851 at the mouth of the Waihouuru Creek where it flowed into the Hokianga Harbour. At the time, ships from
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
used
sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...
blocks as ballast, which they left at Kohukohu in exchange for more-valuable timber, and these sandstone blocks were used to build the bridge. When a timber mill opened next to the bridge in 1879 sawdust was used to gradually reclaim the harbour, and the reclamation has buried most of the bridge, which is now about 100 m back from the foreshore. The bridge was registered in 2008 as a Category 1 Historic Place. File:Kohukohu 1876 peet.jpg, Kohukohu c. 1867-1869. The old stone bridge is clearly visible, before the harbour was filled in File:Kohukohu bridge 1900-1920 peet.jpg, Kohukohu bridge around 1900 to 1920, with the timber mill visible in the background File:Kohukohu bridge.jpg, Kohukohu footbridge today


Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Kohukohu as a rural settlement. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Kohukohu is part of the larger Kohukohu-Broadwood statistical area. Kohukohu had a population of 180 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 12 people (7.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 12 people (7.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 84 males and 96 females in 102 dwellings. 5.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 59.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 24 people (13.3%) aged under 15 years, 12 (6.7%) aged 15 to 29, 72 (40.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 69 (38.3%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 78.3%
European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
(
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 ...
), 43.3%
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 ...
, 3.3% Pasifika, and 3.3% Asian. English was spoken by 98.3%, Māori language by 6.7%, Samoan by 1.7% and other languages by 6.7%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (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 1.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 20.0, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 31.7%
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 ...
, 3.3%
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 ...
, and 1.7%
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 ...
. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.0%, and 6.7% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 30 (19.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 81 (51.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 36 (23.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $23,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 9 people (5.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 36 (23.1%) people were employed full-time, 21 (13.5%) were part-time, and 15 (9.6%) were unemployed.


Education

Kohukohu School is a co-educational full primary (years 1-8) school with a roll of students as of The school was established in 1883, but moved to a new location in 1972 because the ground on the original site was unstable. The original site with the original school building is now a historic reserve.


Notable people

* James Fisher-Harris, rugby league player for the
Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...


Notes


External links


Kohukohu
Community website
Kohukohu School website
{{Authority control Hokianga Populated places in the Northland Region