Kew is a suburb in the New Zealand city of Invercargill.

Suburb of Invercargill in Invercargill City Council, New Zealand

Kew
Suburb of Invercargill
The former Southland Hospital building
Coordinates: 46.436°S 168.356°E / -46.436; 168.356
Country	New Zealand
City	Invercargill
Local authority	Invercargill City Council
Area [1]
• Land	203 ha (502 acres)
Population  (June 2021)[2]
• Total	2,060
Hospitals(s)	Southland Hospital

	Appleby	Strathern
(New River Estuary)	Kew	Newfield
	Clifton	Kingswell

The suburb has a high rate of deprivation, dating back to the closure of the Ocean Beach freezing works in Bluff in 1991.[3]

Southland Hospital is located in Kew.[4] The hospital was first proposed in 1918 and completed in 1937.[5] It was known as Kew Hospital until at least the 1970s.[6]

The Kew Bowl, a former valedrome, is located in Kew.[7] It has been earmarked for housing development since its closure.[8] Habitat for Humanity purchased part of the site in 2019.[9] It held negotiations with Invercargill City Council, the Department of Conservation and Ngāi Tahu in 2021, to confirm the status of the land.[10]

Demographics

The Kew statistical area, which includes part of Appleby, covers 2.03 km² (0.78 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 2,060 as of June 2021,[2] with a population density of 1,015 people per km².

Kew statistical area had a population of 1,965 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 51 people (2.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 165 people (9.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 801 households. There were 1,011 males and 954 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female. The median age was 34.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 414 people (21.1%) aged under 15 years, 423 (21.5%) aged 15 to 29, 834 (42.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 291 (14.8%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 81.4% European/Pākehā, 23.4% Māori, 6.4% Pacific peoples, 4.3% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 11.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 53.9% had no religion, 31.6% were Christian, 0.8% were Hindu, 0.5% were Muslim, 0.2% were Buddhist and 3.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 141 (9.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 492 (31.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 69 people (4.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 699 (45.1%) people were employed full-time, 240 (15.5%) were part-time, and 93 (6.0%) were unemployed.[11]

Education

New River Primary is a state school for years 1 to 6[12] with a roll of 205 students as of March 2022.[13] The school was formed from the merger of Clarendon, Kew and Invercargill South schools with Clifton School at the beginning of 2005.[14]

References