Tahuna is a small rural settlement located 18 km north of

Morrinsville Morrinsville () is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. Morrinsville is a service town for the local dairy industry; the area surrounding the town has the highest concentration of dairy cattle in New Zealand. ...

. In the

Māori language Māori (; endonym: 'the Māori language', commonly shortened to ) is an Eastern Polynesian languages, Eastern Polynesian language and the language of the Māori people, the indigenous population of mainland New Zealand. The southernmost membe ...

Tahuna means sandbank, likely to refer to the sandbanks along the nearby

Piako River The Piako River is a lowland river system that drains into the Firth of Thames on the North Island of New Zealand. Together with the Waihou River, it is one of the two main rivers systems which drains the Hauraki Plains. It is the dominant ri ...

, where a

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 ...

settlement started. Tahuna is seen as the upper limit for navigatable travel on the Piako River. The settlement has a rugby club, a lawn bowls club, a golf course and various shops. Although Tahuna is in the

Matamata-Piako District Matamata-Piako District is a Territorial Authorities of New Zealand, local government area in the Waikato List of regions in New Zealand, region of New Zealand. It lies to the east of the city of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton. Geography The d ...

for local government, its representation in national government is within the Coromandel electorate due to the abolition of the Piako electorate for the . A town water supply was proposed in the 1980s and installed in the 2000s.

History

Tahuna was opened for selection in 1902 and 1903.

Marae

There are two

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 ...

in the Tahuna area: * The Waiti-Raungaunu marae and Paoa meeting house are also associated with the

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

hapū of Ngāti Makirangi, and with the iwi of

Ngāti Paoa 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. ...

. * Hoe o Tainui marae and surrounding settlement is affiliated with Ngāti Makirangi.

Demographics

Stats NZ describes Tahuna as a rural settlement. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Tahuna is part of the larger Tahuna-Mangateparu statistical area. Kopu_unloading_at_Tahuna

Tahuna had a population of 135 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 ...

, unchanged since the 2018 census, and a decrease of 9 people (−6.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 60 males and 72 females in 45 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 40.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 24 people (17.8%) aged under 15 years, 21 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 66 (48.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 24 (17.8%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 80.0%

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 ...

), 17.8%

, 4.4% Pasifika, 11.1% Asian, and 8.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.8%, Māori language by 4.4%, and other languages by 4.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.1, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 20.0%

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 ...

, 2.2%

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 ...

, and 2.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 60.0%, and 13.3% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (13.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 57 (51.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 39 (35.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $41,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 9 people (8.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 60 (54.1%) people were employed full-time and 18 (16.2%) were part-time.

Tahuna-Mangateparu statistical area

Tahuna-Mangateparu statistical area, which includes Mangateparu, covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Tahuna-Mangateparu had a population of 1,650 in the

, an increase of 81 people (5.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 159 people (10.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 837 males, 807 females and 9 people of other genders in 579 dwellings. 2.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 36.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 369 people (22.4%) aged under 15 years, 273 (16.5%) aged 15 to 29, 777 (47.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 231 (14.0%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 85.6%

(

); 14.5%

; 2.5% Pasifika; 6.7% Asian; 1.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.9%, Māori language by 3.1%, Samoan by 0.4%, and other languages by 6.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.4% (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 0.2%. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.6, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 24.5%

, 1.1%

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 ...

, 0.2%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.4%

, 0.2%

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 2.5% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 60.7%, and 9.6% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 198 (15.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 750 (58.5%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 336 (26.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $44,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 135 people (10.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 771 (60.2%) people were employed full-time, 201 (15.7%) were part-time, and 30 (2.3%) were unemployed.

Education

Tahuna School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of as of . The school opened in 1905.

References

{{Matamata-Piako District Populated places in Waikato Matamata-Piako District