Urenui is a settlement in northern

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

, in the

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 ...

of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3 close to the shore of 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 ...

, 13 kilometres east of Waitara and 6 km south-west of Mimi. The Urenui River flows past the settlement into the North Taranaki Bight.

Etymology

The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "great courage" for , noting that courage is "a figurative expression". A fuller explanation is that the name was given by Manaia in honour of his well-endowed son. means "penis", and means "large".

History

The town was the site of the Urenui Redoubt, created in winter 1865 during the Second Taranaki War. Originally envisioned as a settlement for Māori loyal to the colonial government, however by 1866 it was decided that the town should be a settlement for soldiers.

Demographics

Urenui is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². It is part of the wider Tikorangi statistical area, which covers . Urenui had a population of 414 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, a decrease of 18 people (−4.2%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 15 people (−3.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 186 households, comprising 210 males and 198 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female, with 63 people (15.2%) aged under 15 years, 45 (10.9%) aged 15 to 29, 180 (43.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 126 (30.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.1% European/

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 ...

, 20.3%

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 ...

, 0.0% Pacific peoples, 0.7% Asian, and 1.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 55.8% had no religion, 31.9% were

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 ...

, 0.7% were

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 ...

and 0.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 36 (10.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 81 (23.1%) people had no formal qualifications. 54 people (15.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 153 (43.6%) people were employed full-time, 45 (12.8%) were part-time, and 3 (0.9%) were unemployed.

Marae

Urenui Marae, located about 3 kilometres from the town, is the only remaining

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 ...

Ngāti Mutunga Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, whose original tribal lands were in north Taranaki. They migrated, first to Wellington (with Ngāti Toa and other Taranaki hapū), and then to the Chatham Islands (along with Ngāti Tama) ...

. It includes Te Aroha meeting house. In October 2020, the Government committed $363,060 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 the marae, creating 21 jobs.

Education

Urenui School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of students as of The school was founded in 1876 and celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2001.

Notable people

Māui Pōmare Sir Māui Wiremu Piti Naera Pōmare (1875 or 1876 – 27 June 1930) was a New Zealand medical doctor and politician, being counted among the more prominent Māori political figures. He is particularly known for his efforts to improve Māori he ...

, politician *

Te Rangi Hīroa Sir Peter Henry Buck ( October 18771 December 1951), also known as Te Rangi Hīroa or Te Rangihīroa, was a New Zealand anthropologist and an expert on Māori culture, Māori and Polynesian cultures who served many roles through his life: as a ...

(Sir Peter Buck), doctor, politician

References

External links

Urenui Marae

Urenui School website
{{New Plymouth District New Plymouth District Populated places in Taranaki