world.wikisort.org - New_Zealand

Eketāhuna is a small rural settlement, in the south of the Tararua District and the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.

Eketāhuna
Eketāhuna Kiwi
Coordinates: 40.647°S 175.704°E / -40.647; 175.704
Country	New Zealand
Region	Manawatū-Whanganui
Territorial authority	Tararua District
Ward	Southern Tararua Ward
Government
• Mayor of Tararua	Tracey Collis
• Wairarapa MP	Kieran McAnulty
• Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP	Meka Whaitiri
Area [1]
• Total	4.15 km2 (1.60 sq mi)
Population  (2018)[2]
• Total	504
• Density	120/km2 (310/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode	4900
Area code(s)	06

The town is located at eastern foot of the Tararua Ranges, 35 kilometres north of Masterton and a similar distance south of Palmerston North. It is situated on State Highway 2, on the eastern bank of the Mākākahi River.[3]

Eketāhuna has become synonymous with stereotypes of remote rural New Zealand towns, with New Zealanders colloquially referring to the town in the same way other English speakers refer to Timbuktu.[4]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "land on the sandbank" for Eketāhuna.[5] The name sounds like a sentence in Afrikaans which translates to "I have a chicken", making it amusing to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand.[6]

Geography

The corresponding Statistics New Zealand statistical area covers an area of 892.66 km².[7]

The Pukaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre is located to the south of the town.[6]

History

Early settlement

Eketāhuna was settled in 1872, under the name Mellemskov.[6] It was renamed soon after its founding.[8]

Modern history

The population of Eketāhuna and the wider area has plummeted in the 21st century, dropping from 1,920 in 1996 to just 630 in 2013.[9]

On 20 January 2014, the town was the epicenter of the 2014 Eketāhuna earthquake. Measuring 6.2 on the Richter magnitude scale, the quake caused moderate damage all over the southern North Island.[10]

In July 2020, the name of the town was officially gazetted as Eketāhuna by the New Zealand Geographic Board.[11]

Demography

Eketāhuna is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers 4.15 km² (1.60 sq mi). It is part of the wider Nireaha-Eketahuna statistical area, which covers 892.63 km² (344.65 sq mi).[1]

The population of Eketāhuna was 504 in the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 60 (13.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 48 (10.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 255 males and 252 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.01 males per female. Ethnicities were 429 people (85.1%) European/Pākehā, 158 (31.3%) Māori, 15 (3.0%) Pacific peoples, and 12 (2.4%) Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Of the total population, 84 people (16.7%) were under 15 years old, 87 (17.3%) were 15–29, 231 (45.8%) were 30–64, and 102 (20.2%) were over 65.[2]

Nireaha-Eketāhuna

Nireaha-Eketāhuna statistical area has an estimated population of 1,660 as of June 2021,[12] with a population density of 1.86 people per km².

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	1,497	—
2013	1,452	−0.44%
2018	1,566	+1.52%
Source: [13]

Nireaha-Eketāhuna, which also includes Alfredton, had a population of 1,566 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 114 people (7.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 69 people (4.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 597 households. There were 816 males and 750 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.09 males per female. The median age was 37.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 366 people (23.4%) aged under 15 years, 261 (16.7%) aged 15 to 29, 726 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 207 (13.2%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 89.8% European/Pākehā, 22.6% Māori, 1.1% Pacific peoples, 1.7% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 8.8%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 57.7% had no religion, 28.0% were Christian, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.2% were Buddhist and 3.3% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 138 (11.5%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 291 (24.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $27,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 594 (49.5%) people were employed full-time, 246 (20.5%) were part-time, and 60 (5.0%) were unemployed.[13]

Economy

In 2018, 5.0% of the workforce worked in manufacturing, 6.1% worked in construction, 5.0% worked in hospitality, 1.4% worked in transport, 3.9% worked in education, and 6.4% worked in healthcare.[9]

Transport

As of 2018, among those who commute to work, 46.4% drove a car, 3.2% rode in a car and 2.9% walked or jogged. No one commuted by public transport or cycled.[9]

Education

Eketāhuna School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[14][15] with a roll of 100 as of March 2022.[16]

Notable people

• Ellen Anderson (1882–1978), district nurse in Eketāhuna
• Tania Lineham, born 1966 in Eketāhuna. Royal Society of New Zealand, Science and Technology Teacher Fellowship in 1999 and the Prime Minister's Science Teacher Prize in 2015.

See also

• List of towns in New Zealand
• Regions of New Zealand

Notes

External links

• Eketahuna information at the Wayback Machine (archived 24 July 2014)

---