Te Kauwhata is a small town in the north of the

Waikato Waikato () is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton City ...

region of New Zealand, situated close to the western shore of

Lake Waikare Lake Waikare is the largest of several shallow lakes in the upper floodplain of the Waikato River in New Zealand's North Island. It is a riverine lake, located to the east of Te Kauwhata and 40 kilometres north of Hamilton. It covers . Due to it ...

, some 40 km north of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

and approximately 58 km south of

Manukau City Manukau City was a territorial authority district in Auckland, New Zealand, that was governed by the Manukau City Council. The area is sometimes referred to as " South Auckland", although this term never possessed official recognition and does ...

Description

''Te Kauwhata'' may translate as "''the empty storehouse''", possibly referring to food storehouses in the original ancient Māori settlement. ''Te Kauwhata'' can also translate as "''the

spiritual medium Mediumship is the practice of purportedly mediating communication between familiar spirits or spirits of the dead and living human beings. Practitioners are known as "mediums" or "spirit mediums". There are different types of mediumship or spir ...

''" or "''the

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

''". The original name of the research farm and

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

was Wairangi, changed to Waerenga in 1897. Waerenga means a bush clearing for farming. The name Te Kauwhata was used for the settlement from 1910, Te Kauwhata was surveyed for a township in 1912. Te Kauwhata is the site of a range of farms, including dairy and dry stock, as well as extensive horticulture. Of note is that Te Kauwhata, or "TK" as the locals say, is bordered by the Whangamarino Swamp.

Demographics

Te Kauwhata covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². 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 ...

, Te Kauwhata had smaller boundaries, covering . It had a population of 1,617 an increase of 483 people (42.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 711 people (78.5%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 603 households, comprising 780 males and 840 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.93 males per female. The median age was 40.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 354 people (21.9%) aged under 15 years, 237 (14.7%) aged 15 to 29, 627 (38.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 399 (24.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 77.9% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 23.0%

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 C ...

, 3.3% Pacific peoples, 7.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.0, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.1% had no religion, 34.0% 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 ...

, 1.5% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% 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 ...

, 0.6% 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 ...

, 0.9% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 2.6% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 171 (13.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 315 (24.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $26,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 207 people (16.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 567 (44.9%) people were employed full-time, 144 (11.4%) were part-time, and 33 (2.6%) were unemployed.

Viticulture

Te Kauwhata lies at the centre of one of New Zealand's smaller

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

-producing regions, which stretches from

Pukekohe Pukekohe is a town in the Auckland Region of the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the southern edge of the Auckland Region, it is in South Auckland, between the southern shore of the Manukau Harbour and the mouth of the Waikato River. ...

, just south of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, across to

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

and

Paeroa Paeroa is a town in the Hauraki District of the Waikato Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, it is close to the junction of the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River, and is approximately 20 k ...

at the foot of the

Coromandel Peninsula The Coromandel Peninsula ( mi, Te Tara-O-Te-Ika-A-Māui) on the North Island of New Zealand extends north from the western end of the Bay of Plenty, forming a natural barrier protecting the Hauraki Gulf and the Firth of Thames in the we ...

. The region is particularly notable for its

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebanon' ...

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

and

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

wines. A government research station was set up in 1886 to explore different crop options.

Romeo Bragato Alessandro Romeo Bragato (1859–1913) played a significant role in the development of the wine industry in Australia and New Zealand. Early life and career Romeo Bragato was born fourth in a family of ten children to Giuseppe and Paolina Bra ...

took over the running of this station in 1901, with the first wine produced there in 1903. The research station was in private hands, as part of Rongopai wines, and has been subsequently bought out by Babich Wines, but the original buildings are still in use as a cellar door. In February 2016,

Invivo Wines Invivo Wines is a New Zealand wine company, currently based in the historic Te Kauwhata winery south of Auckland. It produces wine in partnership with TV celebrities Graham Norton and Sarah Jessica Parker, and aims to appeal to casual wine drin ...

, producer of

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comed ...

's Own Sauvignon Blanc, announced it had secure a 10-year lease of this winery.

Marae

The local Waikare Marae and Ngāti Hine meeting house is a traditional meeting ground for the

Waikato Tainui 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 ...

hapū In 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 and normally opera ...

Ngāti Hine Ngāti Hine is an iwi with a rohe in Northland, New Zealand. It is part of the wider Ngāpuhi iwi. Its rohe (tribal area) covers the areas of Waiomio, Kawakawa, Taumarere, Moerewa, Ruapekapeka, Motatau, Waimahae, Towai, Akeramaa, Pakara ...

Ngāti Naho 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 ...

Ngāti Pou 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 ...

and Ngāti Taratikitiki.

Education

Te Kauwhata Primary School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students, with a roll of as of Te Kauwhata College is a co-educational state secondary school for Year 7 to 13 students, with a roll of . The town also has three early childhood education centres.

Transport

Between 1877 and 1995, the

Te Kauwhata railway station Te Kauwhata was a flag station on the North Island Main Trunk line, in the Waikato District of New Zealand, south of Auckland. It was north of Wellington, north of Rangiriri, south of Whangamarino and above sea level. The name was changed ...

was served by trains running on the

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

. A new service branded

Te Huia Te Huia is a passenger train service between Hamilton, Papakura, and Auckland (Strand) in New Zealand. The service is a five-year trial with subsidies from the NZ Transport Agency and Waikato local authorities. The opening was delayed because of ...

and connecting Auckland and Hamilton will commence in August 2020. At a later stage, it will be considered to reactivate the Te Kauwhata railway station.

References

External links

{{Waikato District Waikato District Populated places in Waikato Wine regions of New Zealand Populated lakeshore places in New Zealand