Mōkau is a small

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

on the west coast 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 ...

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 ...

, located at the mouth of the

Mōkau River The Mōkau River is located in the North Island of New Zealand. The river rises as a spring in the Pureora Forest, south of Te Kūiti, on the slopes of the Rangitoto Range. After briefly following a north-westward course, it turns south-west ...

on the

North Taranaki Bight The North Taranaki Bight is a large bay that extends north and east from the north coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. The name is echoed by the South Taranaki Bight to the south of Cape Egmont. As with its southern counterpart, t ...

. Mōkau is in the

Waitomo District Waitomo District is a territorial authority, located in the Waikato region, at the north of the King Country area in the North Island of New Zealand. A small part of the district, the locality of Tiroa, however, lies in the Manawatū-Whanganui ...

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 local government areas, just north of the boundary with the

New Plymouth New Plymouth () is the major city of the Taranaki region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after the English city of Plymouth, in Devon, from where the first English settlers to New Plymouth migrated. The New Pl ...

District and the

Taranaki Region Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth ...

. Prior to 1989, the town was classed as being in Taranaki, and there is still a feeling that the community of interest is most associated with New Plymouth, 90 km to the southwest. State Highway 3 passes through the town on its route from

Te Kūiti Te Kūiti is a town in the north of the King Country region of the North Island of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of New Zealand State Highway 3, State Highways 3 and New Zealand State Highway 30, 30 and on the North Island Main Trunk rail ...

to Waitara and, eventually, New Plymouth. The Mōkau River Bridge opened in 1927.Auckland Weekly News photo of 1927 opening of Mokau River Bridge
/ref> Mōkau is a popular location for

whitebait Whitebait is a collective term for the immature fry of fish, typically between long. Such young fish often travel together in schools along coasts, and move into estuaries and sometimes up rivers where they can be easily caught using fine-mes ...

ing and other fishing including for kahawai (mainly found at the river mouth) and snapper (which are found right along the coast in several spots). Mōkau also has a couple of outstanding surf breaks that, in the right conditions, can produce waves of up to 6 ft (1.8m). The local

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 ...

, Te Kawau Papakainga Marae and Waiopapa meeting house, are affiliated with the

Ngāti Maniapoto Ngāti Maniapoto is an iwi (tribe) based in the Waikato-Waitomo region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the Tainui confederation, the members of which trace their whakapapa (genealogy) back to people who arrived in New Zealand on th ...

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 ...

Ngāti Rākei Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

, Rōrā and Rungaterangi.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Mōkau as a rural settlement, which covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². The settlement is part of the larger Herangi statistical area. Mokau from south

Mōkau had a population of 114 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 15 people (15.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 21 people (22.6%) since the 2013 census. There were 60 males and 54 females in 60 dwellings. The median age was 62.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 6 people (5.3%) aged under 15 years, 6 (5.3%) aged 15 to 29, 57 (50.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 42 (36.8%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 84.2%

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 ...

), 28.9%

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 ...

, 5.3% Asian, and 7.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori by 2.6%, and other languages by 5.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 7.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 34.2%

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 ...

, 2.6%

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 2.6%

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 ...

. People who answered that they had no religion were 52.6%, and 10.5% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (8.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 51 (47.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 48 (44.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $28,100, compared with $41,500 nationally. 9 people (8.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 33 (30.6%) full-time and 18 (16.7%) part-time.

Education

Mōkau School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of as of It opened in 1894.

Demographics

Education

Museum and art gallery

Climate

References