Poraiti is a suburb on the western outskirts of the city of Napier, in the

Hawke's Bay region Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...

of New Zealand's eastern

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 ...

. For a long time it was a semi-rural locality on low hills, but has now been extended to include a new residential subdivision developed on the plain in the 2000s.

History

Te Poraiti, also known as Pa Poto, was a

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 ...

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...

belonging to Ngāti Hinepare on a small headland near the shore of

Ahuriri Lagoon Ahuriri Lagoon () was a large tidal lagoon at Napier, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island, that largely drained when the area was raised by the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake. Before the earthquake, the lagoon stretched several kilome ...

. In the 19th century, chiefs

Rawiri Tareahi Rāwiri Tareahi (fl. 1820–1850) was the principal leader of the Ngāti Hinepare subtribe of the Ngāti Kahungunu iwi (Māori tribe), in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand. He was born Tareahi in the late 18th century, probably at the Ngāti Hinepare s ...

and his son Porokoru Mapu lived there. For a long period of modern history Poraiti was a semi-rural locality on low hills west of Napier. It was part of Hawke's Bay County until the

1989 New Zealand local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, on Regions of New Zealand, regional and Territo ...

, when it became part of Napier City. When a new residential subdivision was developed on the former Lagoon Farm, west of

Tamatea Tamatea is the Māori language, Māori term for the lunar phase equivalent to the European "first quarter". In the traditional calendar the 21st to 24th nights after the full Moon are known as: Tamatea-āio, Tamatea-angana, Tamatea-kai-ariki, Tamate ...

, in the 2000s, there was a debate over whether it should be named Parklands or Orotu.

Napier City Council Napier City Council ( Māori: ''Te Kaunihera o Ahuriri'') is the territorial authority of Napier, a city in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. The council covers the urban and suburban areas of the city, including Central ...

settled the debate in 2008 by including the subdivision in Poraiti. That area is now known as Poraiti Flat, while the old Poraiti has become known as Poraiti Hills.

Demographics

Poraiti covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Poraiti had a population of 2,010 at the

2018 New Zealand census The 2018 New Zealand census, which took place on Tuesday 6 March 2018, was the thirty-fourth national census in New Zealand. The population of New Zealand was counted as 4,699,755 – an increase of 457,707 (10.79%) over the 2013 census. Resu ...

, an increase of 552 people (37.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,353 people (205.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 750 households, comprising 981 males and 1,032 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female, with 303 people (15.1%) aged under 15 years, 261 (13.0%) aged 15 to 29, 945 (47.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 498 (24.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 90.9% 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 ...

, 7.0%

, 1.0% Pacific peoples, 7.2% Asian, and 1.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.5, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 48.7% had no religion, 39.6% were

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% were

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 ...

, 1.5% were

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 ...

and 1.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 357 (20.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 288 (16.9%) people had no formal qualifications. 396 people (23.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 810 (47.5%) people were employed full-time, 273 (16.0%) were part-time, and 33 (1.9%) were unemployed.

Education

Hōhepa School is a special needs school, with a roll of as of

References

{{Napier, New Zealand Suburbs of Napier, New Zealand