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Opononi is a settlement on the south shore of
Hokianga The Hokianga is an area surrounding the Hokianga Harbour, also known as the Hokianga River, a long Estuary, estuarine drowned valley on the west coast in the north of the North Island of New Zealand. The original name, still used by local Mā ...
Harbour in Northland, New Zealand. State Highway 12 runs through Opononi.
Ōmāpere Ōmāpere is a settlement on the south shore of Hokianga Harbour in Northland Region, Northland, New Zealand. New Zealand State Highway 12, State Highway 12 runs through Ōmāpere. Opononi is on the shore to the north of Ōmāpere. The New Zeala ...
is on the shore to the south of Opononi and Pakanae is to the northeast. According to 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 Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...
, the name Opononi roughly translates to "place of crooked fishing post" in
Māori 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 ...
.


History


European settlement

John Webster arrived in New Zealand in 1841. In 1855, he bought 700 acres of rough land at Opononi, and established a homestead and pastoral farm. He developed this into a showplace, entertaining vice-royalty several times. He also built a wharf, gum-store and a trading store. In 1894, Webster put the house and farm on the market. The store and gum store were taken over by Alfred Sprye Andrewes who later converted the gum store into a two storey hotel.


20th century

The Opononi Post and Telephone was opened in 1892 and operated until 1989. The road between Opononi and Ōmāpere was developed in the mid 1930s leading to ribbon development. In 1959, a fire destroyed the Opononi Hotel and Opononi Store. Opononi became famous throughout New Zealand in the summer of 1955 and 1956 due to the exploits of a dolphin called Opo.


Marae

Opononi and Pakanae have two marae affiliated with the
Ngāpuhi Ngāpuhi (also known as Ngāpuhi-Nui-Tonu or Ngā Puhi) is a Māori iwi associated with the Northland regions of New Zealand centred in the Hokianga, the Bay of Islands, and Whangārei. According to the 2023 New Zealand census, the estimate ...
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
Ngāti Korokoro Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
, Ngāti Whārara and Te Poukā: * Pākanae Marae and Maraeroa meeting house * Kōkōhuia or Ōmāpere Marae and Te Whakarongotai meeting house (also affiliated with
Ngāti Te Pou Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...
) In October 2020, the Government committed $470,000 from the
Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party. Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...
to upgrade Pakanae Marae, creating 11 jobs.


Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Opononi as a rural settlement. It covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. The settlement is part of the larger Waipoua Forest statistical area. Opononi had a population of 264 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 12 people (4.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 60 people (29.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 123 males, 138 females and 3 people of other genders in 114 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...
. The median age was 52.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 51 people (19.3%) aged under 15 years, 30 (11.4%) aged 15 to 29, 99 (37.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 84 (31.8%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 60.2%
European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
(
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 ...
); 64.8%
Māori 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 ...
; 8.0% Pasifika; 4.5% Asian; and 1.1% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA). English was spoken by 95.5%, Māori language by 23.9%, Samoan by 1.1% and other languages by 4.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.3% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 6.8, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 40.9%
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 ...
, 1.1%
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 ...
, 3.4%
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 ...
, 1.1%
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 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 48.9%, and 6.8% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 24 (11.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 117 (54.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 66 (31.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $24,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 6 people (2.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 63 (29.6%) people were employed full-time, 36 (16.9%) were part-time, and 6 (2.8%) were unemployed.


Waipoua Forest statistical area

Waipoua Forest contains Opononi and Ōmāpere, and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Waipoua Forest had a population of 1,305 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 90 people (7.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 270 people (26.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 651 males, 651 females and 3 people of other genders in 546 dwellings. 3.0% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...
. The median age was 52.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 225 people (17.2%) aged under 15 years, 138 (10.6%) aged 15 to 29, 564 (43.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 375 (28.7%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 62.1%
European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
(
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 ...
); 58.6%
Māori 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 ...
; 5.3% Pasifika; 3.7% Asian; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.0%, Māori language by 22.1%, Samoan by 0.7% and other languages by 5.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.1% (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 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.6, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 37.9%
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 ...
, 0.7%
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 ...
, 3.9%
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 ...
, 0.5%
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 ...
, 0.9%
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 0.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 45.7%, and 9.9% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 138 (12.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 591 (54.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 321 (29.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $23,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 42 people (3.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 339 (31.4%) people were employed full-time, 180 (16.7%) were part-time, and 42 (3.9%) were unemployed.


Education

The first school was the Pakia Native School which opened in 1874 under the Native School Act. In 1912 the school was renamed Omapere. Opononi did not have a school of its own and children either went to Pakia/Omapere School, or after it opened in 1909, to Pakanae School. In 1974, the newly built Opononi Area School replaced both. Opononi Area School is a coeducational composite (years 1–15) school with a roll of students.


References


External links

*
Welcome to Opononi
{{Far North District Hokianga Populated places in the Northland Region