Kawerau
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Kawerau is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in the
Bay of Plenty Region The Bay of Plenty Region is a Regions of New Zealand, local government region in the North Island of New Zealand. Also called just the Bay of Plenty (BOP), it is situated around the Bay of Plenty, marine bight of that same name. The bay was name ...
on the
North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...
of
New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It is situated 100 km south-east of
Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...
and 58 km east of
Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...
. It is the seat of the Kawerau District Council, and the only town in Kawerau District. Kawerau is a small community, with an economy that is largely driven by the nearby
pulp and paper mill A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags, and other ingredients. Prior to the invention and adoption of the Fourdrinier machine and other types of paper machine that use an endless belt, ...
that is run by Norske Skog and OJI Fibre Solutions. It is located along State Highway 34, southwest of Onepu, and is the terminus of the
East Coast Main Trunk Railway The East Coast Main Trunk (ECMT) is a railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, originally running between Hamilton and Taneatua via Tauranga, connecting the Waikato with the Bay of Plenty. The ECMT now runs between Hamilton and Kawerau ...
, and the commencing point of the Murupara Branch railway. Kawerau is among the three towns in New Zealand with a majority Māori population, along with
Ōpōtiki Ōpōtiki (; from ''Ōpōtiki-Mai-Tawhiti'') is a town in the eastern Bay of Plenty in the North Island of New Zealand. It houses the headquarters of the Ōpōtiki District Council, the mayor of Ōpōtiki and comes under the Bay of Plenty Region ...
and Wairoa. Kawerau was one of the worst-affected towns in the 1987 Edgecumbe earthquake.


History and culture


European settlement

Kawerau, one of the youngest towns in New Zealand, was founded in 1953 as a
mill town A mill town, also known as factory town or mill village, is typically a settlement that developed around one or more List of types of mill#Manufacturing facilities, mills or factories, often cotton mills or factories producing textiles. Europe ...
for the new Tasman pulp and paper mill. The site for the mill was chosen by the Tasman Pulp and Paper Company because of the ready availability of
geothermal energy Geothermal energy is thermal energy extracted from the crust (geology), crust. It combines energy from the formation of the planet and from radioactive decay. Geothermal energy has been exploited as a source of heat and/or electric power for m ...
, water from the Tarawera River and the large supply of pine timber from the nearby Kaingaroa Forest. The town site was chosen in February 1953. Unlike most other towns of its size, Kawerau was carefully planned before construction. The town was built with an impressive number of facilities, to accommodate a multinational specialist workforce. The mill continues to drive the local economy and greatly influences the fortunes of the town. The town's population peaked in the early 1980s (8718 in the 1981 census) but has declined significantly since then due to the restructuring of the mill and of associated industries.


Recent history

In 2012, mill owner Norske Skog said it would be shutting one of the two newsprint machines at the mill. In January 2013, it was confirmed nearly half the mill's jobs would be lost. Norse Skog of Norway, which is the world's second-biggest producer of newsprint, confirmed the closure of one of its two paper machines at the Tasman Mill at Kawerau with the loss of 110 jobs. The company first announced its intention to shut one machine last September, following a review of its newsprint capacity in Australasia. The remaining Tasman machine would continue to produce newsprint, predominantly for the New Zealand and Australian markets. Norske Skog management would work closely with employees, unions and other stakeholders on the detailed closure arrangements, including a mill-wide restructuring programme. Peter McCartey, General Manager of Tasman Mill said it was widely understood the decision had been brought about by global market forces within the industry. The second paper machine had operated successfully for over 50 years. Norske Skog has the widest geographical spread of all the paper producers, with mills in 11 countries on all continents except Africa. As of July 16, 2021, all of the three newsprint paper machines have ceased operation due to less demand as the world is going digital. Kawerau is also home to geothermal power supply
Kawerau Power Station The Kawerau Power Station is a 100-megawatt geothermal power plant located just outside the town of Kawerau in the Bay of Plenty Region of New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consis ...
for the local industry as well as the rest of New Zealand.


Marae

The local
marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...
, Tohia o te Rangi, is affiliated with the
Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...
hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...
of Ngāi Tamarangi. It features the Waitaha Ariki Kore meeting house.


Demographics

Kawerau District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Kawerau District had a population of 7,539 in the
2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...
, an increase of 393 people (5.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 1,176 people (18.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 3,720 males, 3,804 females and 15 people of other genders in 2,418 dwellings. 1.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 38.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,680 people (22.3%) aged under 15 years, 1,332 (17.7%) aged 15 to 29, 2,994 (39.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,527 (20.3%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 53.8% European (
Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...
); 63.2% Māori; 4.7% Pasifika; 3.3% Asian; 0.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 1.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.3%, Māori language by 18.3%, Samoan by 0.2% and other languages by 3.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.3% (e.g. too young to talk).
New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...
was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.0, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 26.7%
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, 0.3%
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.1%
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 9.6%
Māori religious beliefs Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...
, 0.3%
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
, 0.5%
New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...
, and 0.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.4%, and 9.0% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 411 (7.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 3,549 (60.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,794 (30.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $29,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 249 people (4.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,220 (37.9%) people were employed full-time, 609 (10.4%) were part-time, and 480 (8.2%) were unemployed.


Geography

The volcanic cone of Mount Edgecumbe/Putauaki lies to the east of Kawerau, and is easily visible from the town. The Tarawera River straddles Kawerau to the east and continues north to the
Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...
. Water is supplied to the town from two natural springs. Kawerau's water was judged the best-tasting in New Zealand in 2003 and 2004. Kawerau has access to vast geothermal resources. There are a number of geothermal
hot springs A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...
in the surrounding bush owned and operated by local families. The Kawerau geothermal field provides steam power for the paper mill, and a 90 MW geothermal power station is currently under construction. The District has a land area of , making it the smallest
territorial authority Territorial authorities (Māori language, Māori: ''mana ā-rohe'') are a tier of local government in New Zealand, alongside regions of New Zealand, regional councils. There are 67 territorial authorities: 13 list of cities in New Zealand, city ...
in New Zealand in terms of land area. It is completely surrounded by the
Whakatāne Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...
District.


Climate

During summer (December to February), the average daily maximum temperature in Kawerau is 23.7 °C. In January 2008, the temperature exceeded 30 °C for five days. In winter (July to August) crisp early morning frosts are usually followed by clear, sunny days, and the average daily maximum temperature is around 15.6 °C.Kawerau District Council: About Our District
Rainfall is spread throughout the year, though it is not uncommon to experience a drought during summer.


Events

Kawerau hosts a number of events each year, including the National Woodskills Festival, 'King of the Mountain' race and the Tarawera 100 motorcycle endurance race. Kawerau is also growing as an event venue for white water rapid competitions such as kayaking and rafting. Kawerau was a venue for the 2013 World Rafting Championships.


Kawerau Woodfest & National Woodskills Competition

The National Woodskills Festival is a competition that encompasses a broad spectrum of wood craftsmanship and wood art. Some of the competitors are professionals, but many are amateurs. The Woodskills Festival was first held in Kawerau in 1989 as a local competition. By 1991, the event had become such a popular annual competition that it was developed into a national event, attracting exhibitors from throughout New Zealand. The competition has now developed into a broader range of attractions which captivates many skills from the Forestry Industry and now takes over the town for the weekend, in what is known as Kawerau Woodfest. The annual Kawerau Woodfest attracts hundreds of visitors from around the country, making it the town's largest event and, as a result, is the highest economic beneficial event in Kawerau. As well as the Woodskills Festival, there is an Arts & Crafts Festival with displays open on Saturday and Sunday at various venues around Kawerau.


Education

Kawerau has two co-educational state primary schools for Year 1 to 6 students: Kawerau Putauaki School, with a roll of ; and Kawerau South School, with a roll of . Te Whata Tau o Putauaki is a co-educational Year 1 to 8 state primary school, with a roll of . Tarawera High School is the town's Year 7 to 13 secondary school, with a roll of . The Kawerau Teen Parent Unit is located in an old school house.


Notable residents

* Danielle Hayes, model * Gill Gatfield, sculptor * John Rowles, singer * Ria van Dyke, model * Sarah Walker, Women's BMX world champion * William Warbrick, rugby league player


See also

* Kawerau geothermal power station *
Tasman Mill The Tasman Mill site is a pulp and paper mill located on Fletcher Avenue just outside the town of Kawerau in New Zealand. The Tasman Mill site is the largest single employer in the Bay of Plenty, Eastern Bay of Plenty region. Three pulp or pap ...


References


External links


KawerauNZ.comKawerau District Council website
{{Authority control Kawerau District Populated places in the Bay of Plenty Region Populated places established in 1953