Omata is a locality in

Taranaki Taranaki is a region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano of Mount Taranaki, also known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the city of New Plymouth. The New Plymouth D ...

, in the western North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 45 just southwest of New Plymouth. Omata and Western New Plymouth are adjacent to the Tapuae Marine Reserve. The area was the site of the Omata Stockade, built to house soldiers during tensions at the time of the

First Taranaki War The First Taranaki War (also known as the North Taranaki War) was an armed conflict over land ownership and sovereignty that took place between Māori and the New Zealand government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand's North Island from M ...

in 1860–61, and is near the site of the Battle of Waireka on 28 March 1860. The stockade, designed and constructed by local settlers, was built on the site of Ngāturi Pā. In August 1860, most of Omata village was burnt down during the war. Troops were stationed at the stockade until 1866, and it was demolished by farmers and the remains auctioned off in late 1867.

Demographics

The Omata statistical area covers . It had a population of 939 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 102 people (12.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 168 people (21.8%) 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 330 households. There were 468 males and 468 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 46.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 180 people (19.2%) aged under 15 years, 126 (13.4%) aged 15 to 29, 498 (53.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 132 (14.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.9% European/Pākehā, 7.7% Māori, 1.0% Pacific peoples, 1.9% Asian, and 1.3% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 13.7%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 55.0% had no religion, 37.7% were Christian, 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 159 (20.9%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 102 (13.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $39,400, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 408 (53.8%) people were employed full-time, 144 (19.0%) were part-time, and 21 (2.8%) were unemployed.

Education

Omata School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of students as of In 2003, the school celebrated its 150th jubilee.

Omata electorate

Omata was an electorate for the New Zealand House of Representatives from 1853 to 1870. Seven

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

represented the electorate in the 1st to 4th Parliament.

References

{{New Plymouth District Populated places in Taranaki New Plymouth District