Wairau Valley is the valley of the

Wairau River The Wairau River is one of the longest rivers in New Zealand's South Island. It flows for from the Spenser Mountains (a northern range of the Southern Alps), firstly in a northwards direction and then northeast down a long, straight valley in ...

in Marlborough, New Zealand and also the name of the main settlement in the upper valley. State Highway 63 runs through the valley. The valley opens onto the Wairau Plain, where Renwick and

Blenheim Blenheim ( ) is the English name of Blindheim, a village in Bavaria, Germany, which was the site of the Battle of Blenheim in 1704. Almost all places and other things called Blenheim are named directly or indirectly in honour of the battle. Places ...

are sited. The

Alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...

–

Wairau Fault The Wairau Fault is an active dextral (right lateral) strike-slip fault in the northeastern part of South Island, New Zealand. It forms part of the Marlborough Fault System, which accommodates the transfer of displacement along the oblique conver ...

runs along the length of the valley. Wairauite is an iron-cobalt alloy which is named after the valley.

History and culture

European settlement

J. S. Cotterell surveyed the Wairau Valley in November 1842, and reported it contained rich land. Settlers from Nelson, led by

Arthur Wakefield Captain Arthur Wakefield (19 November 1799 – 17 June 1843) served with the Royal Navy, before joining his brother, Edward Gibbon Wakefield, in founding the new settlement at Nelson, New Zealand. Early life Arthur Wakefield was born in Essex, a ...

, tried to take possession of the land but the

Ngāti Toa Ngāti Toa, Ngāti Toarangatira or Ngāti Toa Rangatira, is a Māori '' iwi'' (tribe) based in the southern North Island and in the northern South Island of New Zealand. Its '' rohe'' (tribal area) extends from Whanganui in the north, Palmerston ...

, led by Te Rauparaha and

Te Rangihaeata Te Rangihaeata ( 1780s – 18 November 1855), was a Ngāti Toa chief, nephew of Te Rauparaha. He had a leading part in the Wairau Affray and the Hutt Valley Campaign. Early life A member of the Ngāti Toa, he was born at Kawhia around 1780. Hi ...

objected. The dispute escalated into the

Wairau Affray The Wairau Affray of 17 June 1843, also called the Wairau Massacre in older histories, was the first serious clash of arms between British settlers and Māori in New Zealand after the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi and the only one to take ...

at Tuamarina on 23 June 1843, in which 22 settlers and four Māori were killed. An enquiry held in 1844 by Governor

Robert FitzRoy Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy (5 July 1805 – 30 April 1865) was an English officer of the Royal Navy and a scientist. He achieved lasting fame as the captain of during Charles Darwin's famous voyage, FitzRoy's second expedition to Tierra de ...

decided that the settlers were in the wrong. In November 1846, Nelson farmers Nathaniel Morse and John Cooper drove sheep into the Wairau valley and established settlements. Governor Sir

George Grey Sir George Grey, KCB (14 April 1812 – 19 September 1898) was a British soldier, explorer, colonial administrator and writer. He served in a succession of governing positions: Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, ...

purchased the land in the same year, but legal title to the land for the settlers was sorted out later. In the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, the eastern end of the Wairau valley subsided by over a metre.

Marae

Parerarua Marae is located in Wairau Valley. It is a ''

marae A ' (in New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan), ' (in Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies. In all these languages, the term a ...

'' (meeting ground) of Ngāti Rārua and includes the Parerarua ''

wharenui A wharenui (; literally "large house") is a communal house of the Māori people of New Zealand, generally situated as the focal point of a ''marae''. Wharenui are usually called meeting houses in New Zealand English, or simply called ''whare'' ( ...

'' (meeting house). In October 2020, the Government committed $246,418 from the Provincial Growth Fund towards renovating the marae, creating an estimated 7 jobs.

Demographics

Wairau Valley town is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers . It is part of the wider Upper Wairau statistical area. The town had a population of 231 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 short ...

, an increase of 21 people (10.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 51 people (28.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 96 households. There were 108 males and 123 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.88 males per female. The median age was 47.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 39 people (16.9%) aged under 15 years, 36 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 108 (46.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 48 (20.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 96.1% European/Pākehā, 6.5% Māori, 2.6% Pacific peoples, and 1.3% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 63.6% had no religion, 23.4% were Christian and 3.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 33 (17.2%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 42 (21.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $29,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 108 (56.2%) people were employed full-time, 33 (17.2%) were part-time, and 3 (1.6%) were unemployed.

Upper Wairau

The statistical area of Upper Wairau covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Upper Wairau had a population of 1,938 at the

, an increase of 192 people (11.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 246 people (14.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 741 households. There were 999 males and 939 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female. The median age was 46.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 384 people (19.8%) aged under 15 years, 222 (11.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,035 (53.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 300 (15.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 95.5% European/Pākehā, 6.3% Māori, 0.9% Pacific peoples, 0.9% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 16.9%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 56.8% had no religion, 32.8% were Christian, 0.5% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 339 (21.8%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 234 (15.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $40,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 918 (59.1%) people were employed full-time, 270 (17.4%) were part-time, and 12 (0.8%) were unemployed.

Education

Wairau Valley School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of students as of A school first opened in the Wairau valley in 1861.A. D. McIntosh, p 340

References

{{Marlborough Region Populated places in the Marlborough Region Landforms of the Marlborough Region Valleys of New Zealand