Pukerimu is a rural locality southwest of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

in the

Waipā District Waipā District (or Waipa District) is a municipality in the Waikato region of New Zealand that is administered by the Waipā District Council. Its most populous town is Cambridge. The seat of the council is at the second most populous town, Te ...

and

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

region of New Zealand's

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 ...

. The name is

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 ...

and comes from a

rimu ''Dacrydium cupressinum'', commonly known as rimu, is a species of tree in the family Podocarpaceae. It is a dioecious evergreen conifer, reaching heights of up to , and can have a stout trunk (botany), trunk up to in diameter. It is endemis ...

tree on a small hill (in Māori ''puke''), which was a landmark for travellers before European settlement.

History

The area was densely populated and farmed by Māori before European settlement. The

Waikato River The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

allowed movement to other parts of the country. In 1864 as part of the

Invasion of the Waikato The invasion of the Waikato became the largest and most important campaign of the 19th-century New Zealand Wars. Hostilities took place in the North Island of New Zealand between the military forces of the colonial government and a federation ...

, British forces landed at Pukerimu and built redoubts on each side of the river. From 1865, European settlers, some of them soldiers from the invasion, farmed the land. A church was built in 1871 and shared between Methodists and Presbyterians. It moved to Kaipaki in 1901, and in 1928, it was replaced with a new church which was also used by Anglicans.

Education

Pukerimu School opened in 1876, but moved west to Kaipaki in 1920.

Demographics

Pukerimu locality covers . It is part of the larger Pukerimu statistical area. Pukerimu locality had a population of 225 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 21 people (10.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 60 people (36.4%) since the 2013 census. There were 111 males and 114 females in 81 dwellings. 4.0% 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 44.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 42 people (18.7%) aged under 15 years, 45 (20.0%) aged 15 to 29, 93 (41.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 48 (21.3%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 86.7%

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 ...

), 6.7%

, 2.7%

Pasifika Pasifika may refer to: *Pacific Islander people, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands **Pasifika New Zealanders, Pacific peoples living in New Zealand *Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia *The Pasifika Festival, an a ...

, 9.3% Asian, and 2.7% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.7%, Māori by 2.7%, Samoan by 1.3%, and other languages by 13.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 25.3, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 30.7%

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 ...

, and 8.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.0%, and 5.3% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 45 (24.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 84 (45.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 54 (29.5%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $54,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 36 people (19.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 108 (59.0%) full-time and 30 (16.4%) part-time.

Pukerimu statistical area

Pukerimu statistical area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Pukerimu statistical area had a population of 951 in the

, an increase of 78 people (8.9%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 102 people (12.0%) since the 2013 census. There were 474 males, 474 females, and 3 people of other genders in 360 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as

. The median age was 40.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 192 people (20.2%) aged under 15 years, 174 (18.3%) aged 15 to 29, 435 (45.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 147 (15.5%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 91.8%

(

); 7.6%

; 1.9%

; 4.4% Asian; 0.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 0.9% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.5%, Māori by 2.8%, Samoan by 0.6%, and other languages by 10.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.2% (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 0.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.5, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 29.7%

, 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 ...

, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.6%

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 2.8% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 59.9%, and 6.3% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 183 (24.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 411 (54.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 168 (22.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $51,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 153 people (20.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 441 (58.1%) full-time, 120 (15.8%) part-time, and 6 (0.8%) unemployed.

References

{{Waipa District Waipa District Populated places in Waikato