Waimiha

  1. Home
  2. Wiki

Waimiha
Rural community
Waimiha countryside
Waimiha countryside
Map
Coordinates: 38°36′58″S 175°18′58″E / 38.616°S 175.316°E / -38.616; 175.316
CountryNew Zealand
RegionManawatū-Whanganui
DistrictRuapehu District
Ward
  • Ruapehu General Ward
  • Ruapehu Māori Ward
CommunityTaumarunui-Ōhura Community
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial AuthorityRuapehu District Council
 • Regional councilHorizons Regional Council
 • Mayor of RuapehuWeston Kirton[1]
 • Taranaki-King Country MPBarbara Kuriger[2]
 • Te Tai Hauāuru MPDebbie Ngarewa-Packer[3]
Area
[4]
 • Total
394.10 km2 (152.16 sq mi)
Population
 (2023 Census)[5]
 • Total
153
 • Density0.388/km2 (1.01/sq mi)

Waimiha is a rural community in the Ruapehu District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island.

It is located south of Te Kūiti and Benneydale, and north of Taumarunui and Ongarue.

History

[edit]

Māori have lived in Waimiha for centuries, hunting birds from the forested hills.[6]

The local Waimiha Marae is a tribal meeting ground of the Ngāti Maniapoto hapū of Te Ihingarangi.[7] It includes Te Ihingarangi meeting house.

Waimiha developed after the railway opened in 1901, which was followed by sawmillers and farmers.[8] Crown land in the area was prepared for settlement in the 1910s.[9] By the 1920s there were general stores, boarding houses, stables, a post office, butchery and cinema.[8]

In the late 1920s, under a government policy introduced by Āpirana Ngata, some Māori land owners received funds to convert their land into farmland. By the 1930s, 150 hectares (370 acres) of Māori land at Waimihia had been converted. Some of this land was later sold off or consolidated into larger farms.[10][11]

The Waimiha farm scheme was one of the Māori land blocks in the country to be successfully converted to farmland. Local Farmers' Union president Ngaronui Jones, who oversaw the conversion, also developed a farm on his own ancestral land.[12]

Endean's Mill in 1924

Endean’s mill,[13] New Zealand’s only surviving native timber sawmill, operated in the area between 1927 and 1996.[14] The complete remnants of the mill are no longer usable.[15] However, it remains on display as an open air museum,[16] and has featured in photography exhibitions.[17] Twenty-eight other abandoned sawmill sites have also been identified in the valley.[6] Milling peaked in the 1940s.[8]

The Waimiha Railway Station, extremely narrow Poro-o-Tarao railway tunnel and Picture Palace hall were landmarks in the town when the township was a stop on the North Island Main Trunk line, from the 1900s to the 1980s. Alfred Hamish Reed was recorded spending a night sleeping at the railway station in 1960.[18]

The post office closed in 1988 and the last shop in 1991. In the 1990s Carter Holt Harvey replaced livestock farms with pine plantations.[8]

Demographics

[edit]

Waimiha locality covers 394.10 km2 (152.16 sq mi).[4] The locality is part of the larger Otangiwai-Ohura statistical area.[19]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
2006162—    
2013150−1.09%
2018144−0.81%
2023153+1.22%
Source: [5][20]

Waimiha had a population of 153 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 9 people (6.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 3 people (2.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 84 males and 69 females in 63 dwellings.[21] The median age was 38.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 27 people (17.6%) aged under 15 years, 27 (17.6%) aged 15 to 29, 78 (51.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 18 (11.8%) aged 65 or older.[5]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 72.5% European (Pākehā), 33.3% Māori, and 9.8% Asian. English was spoken by 98.0%, Māori by 3.9%, and other languages by 7.8%. No language could be spoken by 2.0% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 13.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.[5]

Religious affiliations were 23.5% Christian, 3.9% Māori religious beliefs, 2.0% Buddhist, and 2.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 66.7%, and 5.9% of people did not answer the census question.[5]

Of those at least 15 years old, 12 (9.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 63 (50.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 51 (40.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $44,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 6 people (4.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 75 (59.5%) full-time, 12 (9.5%) part-time, and 6 (4.8%) unemployed.[5]

Education

[edit]
The derelict school in 2024.

A native school existed at Waimiha in 1910.[22] Waimiha School opened in 1926[23] and closed in 2005,[24] after projected roll numbers dropped below the numbers required to teach literacy and numeracy.[25]

Events

[edit]

Waimiha is a stop on the New Zealand motorcycle racing circuit,[26][27] and has featured in the course for the New Zealand Rally Championship.[28]

Ruapehu District Council hold periodic community meetings at Waimiha for residents to raise concerns.[29]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "2025 Triennial Elections Declaration of Result" (PDF). Electionz. Retrieved 20 October 2025.
  2. ^ "Taranaki-King Country - Official Result". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 8 March 2025.
  3. ^ "Te Tai Hauāuru - Official Result". Retrieved 20 April 2025.
  4. ^ a b "Stats NZ Geographic Data Service". Statistical Area 1 2023 (generalised). Retrieved 13 November 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. 7017563. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b Waimiha People of Character. New Zealand: Waimiha Sports Club. 2003. ISBN 9780473247836.
  7. ^ "Te Kāhui Māngai directory". tkm.govt.nz. Te Puni Kōkiri.
  8. ^ a b c d "4. – King Country places". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
  9. ^ Fraser, M (30 November 1912). The Official New Zealand Yearbook 1912. Wellington: New Zealand Registrar-General's Office.
  10. ^ Pollock, Kerryn. "Farming, forestry and mining". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  11. ^ Pollock, Kerryn. "Making hay at Waimiha, 1940s". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  12. ^ Stevenson, Joy (1972). "Ngaronui Jones". Te Ao Hou. 70: 4.
  13. ^ "Endean's mill". endeansmill.co.nz.
  14. ^ Pollock, Kerryn. "Endean's mill: sawmill building, 2011". Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
  15. ^ "Broken down Endean's Mill survives complete". New Zealand Logger. April 2007. p. 44.
  16. ^ Easther, Elizabeth (11 July 2014). "Best things to see and do in Waikato's Benneydale". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. The New Zealand Herald.
  17. ^ Kamm, Rebecca (7 June 2016). "Beautiful ruins". The Wireless. Radio New Zealand.
  18. ^ Hutchins, Graham (August 2014). Stop the Train! I Want to Get On: Rediscovering New Zealand Railway Journeys. Exisle Publishing. pp. 121–123.
  19. ^ "Geographic Boundary Viewer". Stats NZ. Statistical Area 1 – 2023 and Statistical Area 2 – 2023.
  20. ^ "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. 7017563.
  21. ^ "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  22. ^ "Local & General". Wanganui Chronicle. 19 April 1910.
  23. ^ "Waimiha School and District jubilee: 1926-1976". Waimiha School Jubilee Committee. 1976.
  24. ^ Mallard, Trevor (25 November 2004). "Waimiha Primary School (2059) Closure Notice". New Zealand Government.
  25. ^ Akuhata, Karla (2 March 2012). "Waikato classrooms sitting idle". Stuff. Waikato Times.
  26. ^ "Motorcycling: Bay teen Bryn Codd opens national series in style". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Hawke's Bay Today. 24 July 2018.
  27. ^ "Whanganui rider Seth Reardon wins Central Cross-country Series opener". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Whanganui Chronicle. 14 November 2018.
  28. ^ McKay, Ross (23 October 2012). "Targa lead now a three-way fight". Stuff. Taranaki Daily News.
  29. ^ "Ruapehu District Council assures community roads well-managed despite challenges". New Zealand Media and Entertainment. Whanganui Chronicle. 14 October 2018.
[edit]