Urenui is a settlement in northern

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

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-larges ...

of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3 close to the shore of the North Taranaki Bight, 13 kilometres east of Waitara and 6 km south-west of Mimi. The Urenui River flows past the settlement into the North Taranaki Bight.

Etymology

The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the arts, culture, built heritage, sport and recreation, and broadcasting sectors in New Zealand and advising government ...

gives a translation of "great courage" for , noting that courage is "a figurative expression". A fuller explanation is that the name was given by Manaia in honour of his well-endowed son. means "penis", and means "large".

History

The town was the site of the Urenui Redoubt, created in winter 1865 during the

Second Taranaki War The Second Taranaki War is a term used by some historians for the period of hostilities between Māori and the New Zealand Government in the Taranaki district of New Zealand between 1863 and 1866. The term is avoided by some historians, who eit ...

. Originally envisioned as a settlement for Māori loyal to the colonial government, however by 1866 it was decided that the town should be a settlement for soldiers.

Demographics

Urenui is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider

Tikorangi Tikorangi is a settlement in Taranaki, New Zealand. Waitara lies about 6 kilometres to the north-west. The Waitara River flows to the west of the settlement, with the Bertrand Road suspension bridge providing access to the other side. The Mangae ...

statistical area, which covers . The population of Urenui was 411 in 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 short ...

, a decrease of 18 (-4.2%) since the 2013 census, and also a decrease of 18 (-4.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 213 males and 201 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female. Ethnicities were 369 people (89.8%) European/Pākehā, 84 (20.4%) Māori, and 3 (0.7%) Asian (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Of the total population, 60 people (14.6%) were under 15 years old, 45 (10.9%) were 15–29, 177 (43.1%) were 30–64, and 126 (30.7%) were over 65.

Marae

Urenui Marae, located about 3 kilometres from the town, is the only remaining marae of

Ngāti Mutunga Ngāti Mutunga is a Māori iwi (tribe) of New Zealand, whose original tribal lands were in north Taranaki. They migrated from Taranaki, first to Wellington (with Ngāti Toa and other Taranaki Hāpu), and then to the Chatham Islands (along wit ...

. It includes Te Aroha meeting house. In October 2020, the Government committed $363,060 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae, creating 21 jobs.

Education

Urenui School is a coeducational contributing primary (years 1–6) school with a roll of students as of The school was founded in 1876 and celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2001.

Notable people

* Māui Pōmare, politician * Te Rangi Hīroa (Sir Peter Buck), doctor, politician

References

External links

Urenui Marae

Urenui School website
{{coord, 39, 00, S, 174, 23, E, display=title, region:NZ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki New Plymouth District Populated places in Taranaki