Waitangi is the main port and largest settlement of the

Chatham Islands The Chatham Islands ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) are an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean about east of New Zealand's South Island. They are administered as part of New Zealand. The archipelago consists of about te ...

. It is situated on along the southern shore of Petre Bay, on the west coast of the archipelago's main island. With a population of 177 in the 2018 census, Waitangi is by far the largest settlement on the

archipelago An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands. Examples of archipelagos include: the Indonesian Arc ...

, accounting for about 27% of the group's population of 663.

Geography

Waitangi is situated along the west coast of

Chatham Island Chatham Island ( ) (Moriori: ''Rēkohu'', 'Misty Sun'; mi, Wharekauri) is by far the largest island of the Chatham Islands group, in the south Pacific Ocean off the eastern coast of New Zealand's South Island. It is said to be "halfway bet ...

between the southern end of Waitangi Bay and the northern foothills of the island's southern plateau. The Nairn River flows north through the settlement before emptying into the bay. Lake Huro lies about to the east. The town's antipode is the French town of Alzon.

Climate

Waitangi experiences an oceanic climate with mild temperatures throughout the year. Precipitation can fall at any time throughout the year, with the highest percent of rain being centered during the winter.

Demographics

Waitangi is described as a rural settlement by Statistics New Zealand, and covers . Waitangi had a population of 177 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 9 people (5.4%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 12 people (-6.3%) 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 72 households. There were 81 males and 96 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.84 males per female. The median age was 43.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 24 people (13.6%) aged under 15 years, 30 (16.9%) aged 15 to 29, 99 (55.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 21 (11.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 78.0% European/Pākehā, 66.1% Māori, 3.4% Pacific peoples, and 1.7% Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 47.5% had no religion, 37.3% were Christian and 3.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (9.8%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 39 (25.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $36,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 90 (58.8%) people were employed full-time, 30 (19.6%) were part-time, and 0 (0.0%) were unemployed.

Arts and culture

Kōpinga Marae (

Moriori The Moriori are the native Polynesian people of the Chatham Islands (''Rēkohu'' in Moriori; ' in Māori), New Zealand. Moriori originated from Māori settlers from the New Zealand mainland around 1500 CE. This was near the time of th ...

for "Grove of Kopi Trees") is a large meeting house that sits atop Te Awapatiki, the traditional meeting ground of the

. The meeting house opened in January 2005 and serves as both a

cultural center A cultural center or cultural centre is an organization, building or complex that promotes culture and arts. Cultural centers can be neighborhood community arts organizations, private facilities, government-sponsored, or activist-run. Asia * Cen ...

and more generally as a

community centre Community centres, community centers, or community halls are public locations where members of a community tend to gather for group activities, social support, public information, and other purposes. They may sometimes be open for the whole co ...

for the people of Waitangi. When viewed from above, the complex takes on the shape of an albatross.

Administration and services

Waitangi is the seat of Chatham Islands Council, which provides local administration equivalent to those of New Zealand's

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...

. The council hosts a visiting District Court Judge, and is the base of a local police constable. A doctor and two nurses staff a four-bedroom hospital facility. The settlement hosts two

primary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary e ...

s that are served by the

Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

: Te One School and Kaingaroa School. Most continue their secondary education in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. Local services in Waitangi include Port Waitangi and Fish Processing Factory, an ANZ Bank and

Post Office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

, liquor store, general store, burger cafe, and a hotel and pub. Local volunteers run

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

Radio Weka and rebroadcast New Zealand television. Broadband and 4G mobile phone coverage are available through

Spark Spark commonly refers to: * Spark (fire), a small glowing particle or ember * Electric spark, a form of electrical discharge Spark may also refer to: Places * Spark Point, a rocky point in the South Shetland Islands People * Spark (surname) * ...

2degrees 2degrees is a New Zealand telecommunications provider. Its mobile network launched on 4 August 2009 after nine years of planning. 2degrees offers prepaid and pay-monthly mobile services as well as fixed-line phone and broadband services. 2degree ...

and

Vodafone Vodafone Group plc () is a British multinational telecommunications company. Its registered office and global headquarters are in Newbury, Berkshire, England. It predominantly operates services in Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. , Vod ...

; through a RCG network, as well as satellite and ADSL broadband services.

References

External links

chathams.co.nzChatham Islands (last updated 1998)
*Photographs of Waitang

ttp://christchurchcitylibraries.com/Heritage/Photos/Disc5/IMG0003.asp c1920 {{Chatham Islands Populated places in the Chatham Islands Chatham Island