Te Kūiti is a town in the north of the
King Country region of the
North Island
The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...
of New Zealand. It lies at the junction of
State Highways 3 and
30 and on the
North Island Main Trunk railway, south of
Hamilton. The town promotes itself as the
sheep shearing capital of the world and is host to the annual New Zealand National Shearing Championships.
Te Kūiti is approximately 80 km south of
Hamilton and 19 km south-east of
Waitomo. The area around Te Kūiti, commonly known as the
King Country, gives its name to the
Heartland Championship rugby team based in Te Kūiti.
History and culture
Te Kūiti is the Maori name given to the area. In its original form of "Te Kuititanga", it literally means "the valley", "the squeezing in" or "the narrowing".
Several
marae are located in and around Te Kūiti, associated with
Ngāti Maniapoto hapū:
* Te Kumi Marae and Te Korapatu meeting house are affiliated with
Ngāti Peehi and
Rōrā
* Mōtītī Marae and Ko te Hungaiti or Hapainga meeting house are affiliated with
Ngāti Kinohaku,
Ngāti Putaitemuri and
Ngāti Tauhunu
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, an ...
* Te Piruru Papakainga Marae and Te Pukenui o Taonui meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Rōrā
* Tāne Hopuwai Marae and Tāne Hopuwai meeting house are affiliated with
Ngāti Apakura
Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in 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 Zealand ...
* Te Tokanganui a Noho Marae and meeting house are affiliated with Ngāti Rōrā. This wharenui was constructed in 1873 for
Te Kooti and his followers, and was one of the largest wharenui ever built at the time.
* Tomotuki Marae and Parekatini meeting house are affiliated with Apakura,
Parekaitini and Ngāti Rōrā
* Te Waipatoto Marae, and Waipatoto and Waipatoto Tuarua meeting houses, are affiliated with Ngāti Kinohaku
Geography
Limestone deposits and water have created the
Waitomo Caves, northwest of the town, one of New Zealand's most-visited tourist locations. The town itself is located in a valley with many rich limestone deposits. The Manga-o-Kewa Stream runs through the valley and is a tributary of the Waipa River.
Te Kūiti's hinterland consist mainly of farmland and limestone quarries. The land surrounding Te Kūiti has steep hilly relief which reflects the nature of the North King Country region.
The climate of Te Kūiti is wet during the winter and dry during the late summer with an average of 1,450mm of rainfall each year.
Demographics
Te Kūiti covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2.
Te Kūiti had a population of 4,572 at the
2018 New Zealand census
Eighteen or 18 may refer to:
* 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19
* one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018
Film, television and entertainment
* ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...
, an increase of 315 people (7.4%) since the
2013 census, and an increase of 78 people (1.7%) since the
2006 census. There were 1,611 households, comprising 2,241 males and 2,331 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female, with 1,041 people (22.8%) aged under 15 years, 894 (19.6%) aged 15 to 29, 1,872 (40.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 768 (16.8%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 51.7% European/
Pākehā, 55.2%
Māori, 5.6%
Pacific peoples, 5.7%
Asian, and 1.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 11.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.2% had no religion, 32.7% were
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
, 4.4% had
Māori religious beliefs, 1.1% were
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
, 1.0% were
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
, 0.5% were
Buddhist and 1.4% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 318 (9.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,047 (29.7%) people had no formal qualifications. 222 people (6.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,566 (44.4%) people were employed full-time, 561 (15.9%) were part-time, and 195 (5.5%) were unemployed.
Tourism

The "Shearing Capital of the World" contains the world's largest shearer, seven metres high. On 1 April 2006 the largest sheep show in the world took place here, with more than 2000 sheep.

The carved Te
Tokanganui-A-Noho Meeting House was gifted to the local Maori people (
Ngāti Maniapoto) by
Te Kooti, the most famous Maori Rebel leader of the 19th century. He was given sanctuary by the Chiefs of Maniapoto against the white colonial Government of New Zealand and under Maniapoto's protection carved one of the most famous and important late 19th century spiritual house in the north island.(as mentioned above). This House is central to Te Kūiti's historical foundation, also referred to as the epicenter of the Rohe Pōtae.. "King Country"...In 1881 the last frontier was open to colonial settlers.
The Tatsuno Japanese Garden is at the southern end of the main street.
The Mangaokewa reserve located 5 km south of Te Kūiti is a popular attraction for rock climbers, hikers, picnic goers, swimmers and trout fisherman in the region.
A 'Revitalisation Project' for the
NZHPT Category II listed
Te Kuiti railway station
Te Kuiti railway station is a station on the North Island Main Trunk in New Zealand. The station was important in the growth of Te Kuiti.
History
Tenders for the extension of the NIMT from Ōtorohanga to Te Kuiti were invited in August ...
was started in 2014 to provide for arts and crafts groups, an education centre, youth projects, historical displays and a meeting room. The Rail Heritage Trust describes the station as, "the finest remaining example of a
standard class B station".
Sport
Te Kūiti is the home of the Waitete Rugby Football Club and the
King Country Rugby Union
The King Country Rugby Football Union is a constituent union in the New Zealand Rugby Union. It is located in the central North Island of New Zealand in an area known as the King Country. It was formed in 1922 when the South Auckland Rugby Union ...
, both of whom are based at Rugby Park. The famous
Colin Meads spent the entirety of his career with both Waitete and King Country. The town also has an
association football club, Te Kuiti Albion Football Club, who play in the Deacon Shield tournament. They play their home games at Centennial Park where there is a small clubroom. The club colours are yellow and black striped shirts and black shorts.
Education
Te Kūiti has six schools:
* Te Kūiti Primary School is a state primary school,
with a roll of .
* Pukenui School is a state primary school,
with a roll of .
* Centennial Park School is a state primary school,
with a roll of .
* St Joseph's Catholic School is a Catholic state integrated primary school,
with a roll of .
* Te Kūiti High School is a state secondary school,
with a roll of .
* Te Wharekura o Maniapoto is a state
Māori immersion school,
with a roll of .
All these schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of
Notable people
*
Ross Beever
Ross Ewen Beever (3 January 1946 – 3 June 2010) was a New Zealand geneticist and mycologist.
Academic career
Born in Te Kūiti, Beever completed a MSc at Auckland University with a thesis ''Growth of fungi on potato extract media'' and a PhD ...
, geneticist and mycologist.
*
Rodney Bell Rodney may refer to:
People
* Rodney (name)
* Rodney (wrestler), American professional wrestler
Places
;Australia
* Electoral district of Rodney, a former electoral district in Victoria
* Rodney County, Queensland
;Canada
* Rodney, Ontario, a vil ...
, contemporary dancer
* Former
Prime Minister of New Zealand Jim Bolger held the local electorate of King Country.
* All Black
Kevin Boroevich
Kevin Grant Boroevich (born 4 October 1960) is a former New Zealand rugby union player of Māori and Croatian descent. His iwi is Te Rarawa, of the Far North. A prop, Boroevich represented King Country, Wellington and North Harbour at a provinc ...
*
Walter Broadfoot
Sir Walter James Broadfoot (6 April 1881 – 10 September 1965) was a New Zealand politician of the United Party, and from 1936, the National Party. He was a cabinet minister from 1949 to 1954 in the First National Government.
Biography
Ea ...
(1881–1965), cabinet minister for the
National Party, was first deputy mayor and then mayor of Te Kūiti (1923–1935)
*
Kim Chambers
Kimberly Chambers (born January 11, 1974) is an American retired pornographic actress.
Career
She entered the adult film industry in 1993 at the age of around 19 and has since performed in over 200 films. She has also directed at least four f ...
, marathon swimmer.
*World Champion Sheep Shearer
David Fagan
Sir David Alexander Fagan (born 1961) is a New Zealand sheep shearer, who has won the New Zealand Golden Shears contest a record 16 times.
From Te Kuiti, Fagan has set 10 world records, and won five world, six world team, and 16 national ti ...
*
Kerri-Jo Te Huia
Kerri-Jo Te Huia is a champion sheep shearer from Te Kūiti, New Zealand.
Te Huia is the youngest of five children, several of whom work in shearing. Her parents were also shearing contractors and trainers.
In 2009, she competed in the New Zeala ...
, champion sheep shearer
*
Murray Kidd, Former rugby union coach for the
Irish national team (1995–1997).
*
Tony Martin, Australia-based comedian and author
*
All Black Sir
Colin Meads lived in Te Kūiti. The auction of his farm in 2008 caused nationwide interest. A statue of Meads was unveiled in the town centre during the
2017 British & Irish Lions tour to New Zealand
The British & Irish Lions toured New Zealand during June and July 2017. The Lions, a rugby union team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scotland or Wales, played ten matches: against all five New Zealand Super Rugby fr ...
, also drawing national interest, and Meads was present and spoke at the unveiling despite battling cancer, which he died from two months later.
* Colin Meads's brother
Stanley Meads
Stanley Thomas Meads (born 12 July 1938) is a New Zealand former rugby union player and brother of Colin Meads. He played as a lock, number eight and flanker, and scored four tries for New Zealand in 30 games (15 tests). He played for King Coun ...
also lived in Te Kūiti.
*
Les Munro
Squadron Leader John Leslie Munro, (5 April 1919 – 4 August 2015) was a Royal New Zealand Air Force pilot during World War II and the last surviving pilot of the Dambusters Raid of May 1943.
Early life
Born on 5 April 1919 near Gisborne on ...
, the last surviving pilot from the
Dambusters air raid, was mayor for some years and has a street named in his honour.
*
Ruth Park, author
*
Kevin Proctor
Kevin Proctor (born 28 February 1989) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for Wakefield Trinity in the Super League, and the New Zealand Māori and New Zealand at international level.
Proctor was a me ...
- Gold Coast Titans, Rugby League player
*
Diggeress Te Kanawa
Diggeress Rangituatahi Te Kanawa (9 March 1920 – 30 July 2009) was a New Zealand Māori tohunga raranga (master weaver) of Ngāti Maniapoto and Ngāti Kinohaku descent. At the time of her death she was regarded as New Zealand's most renowned ...
, a tohunga raranga (master weaver) of Ngati Maniapoto and Ngati Kinohaku descent
*
Rob Waddell, Olympic gold-medalist rower
References
External links
Waitomo District Council Te Kūiti Information CentreMap of Te Kūiti and surrounding area
{{Waitomo District