Eketāhuna

Geography

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

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

History

Early settlement

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

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.

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

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

Mayors

The Eketahuna Borough Council existed from 1907 until 1974 where it superseded by Eketahuna County Council which was later merged into Tararua District.

Demography

Eketāhuna is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, which covers 4.18 km2. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. It is part of the larger Nireaha-Eketahuna statistical area.

Eketāhuna had a population of 570 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 66 people (13.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 126 people (28.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 276 males, 288 females, and 6 people of other genders in 240 dwellings. 7.4% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 47.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 84 people (14.7%) aged under 15 years, 87 (15.3%) aged 15 to 29, 273 (47.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 126 (22.1%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 87.9% European (Pākehā); 28.9% Māori; 2.6% Pasifika; 2.1% Asian; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.9%, Māori by 3.2%, and other languages by 4.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.1% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.1%. The percentage of people born overseas was 12.6, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 24.7% Christian, 1.1% Hindu, 2.6% Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% Buddhist, 1.6% New Age, and 1.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.8%, and 12.6% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 48 (9.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 273 (56.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 159 (32.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $28,500, compared with $41,500 nationally. 15 people (3.1%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 198 (40.7%) full-time, 51 (10.5%) part-time, and 21 (4.3%) unemployed.

Nireaha-Eketāhuna

Nireaha-Eketāhuna statistical area covers 892.62 km2 and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.

Nireaha-Eketāhuna had a population of 1,590 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 24 people (1.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 138 people (9.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 807 males, 780 females, and 3 people of other genders in 618 dwellings. 4.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 294 people (18.5%) aged under 15 years, 276 (17.4%) aged 15 to 29, 753 (47.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 264 (16.6%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 89.6% European (Pākehā); 21.3% Māori; 2.1% Pasifika; 2.5% Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.4%, Māori by 3.0%, and other languages by 4.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.3% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 24.0% Christian, 0.6% Hindu, 1.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% Buddhist, 1.3% New Age, and 0.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 61.7%, and 10.0% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 180 (13.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 750 (57.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 369 (28.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $34,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 84 people (6.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 654 (50.5%) full-time, 189 (14.6%) part-time, and 33 (2.5%) unemployed.

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.

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.

Education

Eketāhuna School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of It opened in 1879, with a roll of 15 and an average of 10 attending.

Eketahuna District High School opened in 1912 and was merged with Woodville and Pahiatua schools to Pahiatua in 1960.

Notable people

• Ellen Anderson (1882–1978), district nurse in Eketāhuna
• John Dawson (1928–2019), botanist
• 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.
• Kieran McAnulty (born 1985), politician

Notes

References

1. "Eketahuna Travel Guide". [[Jasons Travel Media]].
2. (29 August 2017). "Heartbeat: Eketahuna makes a community-led recovery". [[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]].
3. (6 August 2019). "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
4. "Statistical Area 2 2018 (generalised) GIS". [[Statistics New Zealand]].
5. (20 March 2015). "Kia ora: Eketahuna". [[New Zealand Media and Entertainment]].
6. "Horizons Regional Council – Regional Policy Statement". [[Horizons Regional Council]].
7. (2014-01-20). "6.2-magnitude earthquake hits lower North Island". [[The New Zealand Herald]].
8. (16 July 2020). "Notice of approved official geographic names". New Zealand Gazette.
9. "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
10. "Geographic Boundary Viewer". Stats NZ.
11. {{NZ census 2018. 7018904 and 7018905
12. "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
13. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
14. "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
15. {{NZ census 2018. Nireaha-Eketāhuna (233700). nireaha-eketahuna. Nireaha-Eketāhuna
16. "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
17. "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
18. "Place Summary – Nireaha-Eketahuna". [[Statistics New Zealand]].
19. "Official School Website".
20. "Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
21. "Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
22. (3 April 1880). "Wellington District Schools". [[The New Zealand Times]].
23. (8 February 1912). "Local and General". [[Wairarapa Age]].
24. (11 December 1959). "General News". [[The Press.