Pukete is a 1970s riverside suburb in northwestern Hamilton in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

. The cobblestoned walk in the park has a grass dog exercise area. The riverside walkway, which includes many pedestrian bridges, can be used by walkers or cyclists, but the lower sections are subject to flooding in winter. A pedestrian bridge links Braithwaite Park to Flagstaff on the eastern side of the Waikato River. A 2015 River Plan proposed it become 'a flower garden bridge'. There is a small beach on the west side of the river at Braithwaite park often used in summer by water skiers and picnickers. To the north of the residential area is the Pukete Mountain Bike track, an Equestrian centre, and a two-lane launching ramp into the Waikato River, all on the Pukete Farm Park. A concreted riverside track, for bikes and pedestrians, runs north from Mountain View Lane starting by the southeast side of the Fonterra Te Rapa Milk powder factory. The eastern part of Pukete and neighbouring

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's four ...

is built on an old river terrace. This rises to the flat alluvial fan that covers most of Hamilton. The land rises to one of Hamilton's many small hills at Ngaio Place giving views over most of Hamilton. Four-laning of the

Pukete Bridge Pukete Bridge is a concrete box girder bridge in Hamilton, New Zealand, spanning the Waikato River. The bridge connects the western and eastern stretches of Wairere Drive. In February 2011 an upgrade began including expand the number of lanes fr ...

was completed in Easter 2013, well ahead of schedule due to the long dry summer.

Demographics

Pukete covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Pukete had a population of 4,605 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 sh ...

, an increase of 309 people (7.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 108 people (2.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,539 households, comprising 2,298 males and 2,307 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female, with 1,071 people (23.3%) aged under 15 years, 975 (21.2%) aged 15 to 29, 2,082 (45.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 477 (10.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 77.4% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non- Māori New ...

, 19.6% Māori, 4.9% Pacific peoples, 10.7% Asian, and 2.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 20.2, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 54.7% had no religion, 32.9% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

, 0.9% had Māori religious beliefs, 2.2% were Hindu, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.7% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 1.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 753 (21.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 549 (15.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 681 people (19.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,043 (57.8%) people were employed full-time, 477 (13.5%) were part-time, and 159 (4.5%) were unemployed.

Individual census areas

Pukete includes two census areas, East and West. The population is stable and they are wealthier and younger than the 37.4 years of the national average, as shown below - In 2018 the main ethnic groups were - Sewer_bridge_at_Pukete,_Hamilton

History

'' Pukete Pa'' is located in the north of the suburb on a cliff on 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 ...

bank, at the northern end of the riverside Braithwate Park. It is thought to have been built by Nga Iwi and later conquered by Ngati Koura The name Pukete comes from a locally made bag used to soak hinau berries in streams to ferment and preserve them. The area was confiscated in 1864, after 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 ...

. A double ditch remains to the north of the Pa. Carved wooden items, found close to the pā, are in Waikato Museum. Habitation was sparse, as one early European traveller noted no other settlement for along the Waikato. Pukete

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

existed from at least 1867, but, until the 1900s,

Horotiu Horotiu is a small township on the west bank of the Waikato River in the Waikato District of New Zealand. It is on the Waikato Plains north of Hamilton and south of Ngāruawāhia. From early in the 20th century it developed around a freezing ...

was often referred to as Pukete. Horotiu railway station changed its name from Pukete on 23 June 1907, when the proposed post office was referred to as Horotiu (Pukete), and the name of Horotiu school changed from Pukete in 1911. Pukete and neighbouring

Te Rapa Te Rapa is a mixed light industrial, large-scale retail and semi-rural suburb to the northwest of central Hamilton, New Zealand that is built on a flat area that was previously the bed of an ancient river, the forerunner to the present Waikato ...

were important sites for the

kauri gum Kauri gum is resin from kauri trees ('' Agathis australis''), which historically had several important industrial uses. It can also be used to make crafts such as jewellery. Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, ...

trade of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, being some of the southern-most locations where gum could be found. In 2011 Hamilton Libraries compiled a list of street names, showing that most development occurred over about a decade from 1969, that many roads were named after trees and several developers were involved Before long, Pukete School was opened in 1972 and a swimming pool in 1975. Rather slower to open were a library in 1999 and Te Manawa Hall in 2002.

Braithwaite Park

Braithwaite Park was owned by Waikato Hospital Board, who sold it to developers in 1990, the park being transferred to Hamilton City Council on 12 June 1990. It has a jetty, which is the terminus of a ferry to Hamilton.

Education

Pukete School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 6 students with a roll of as of The first Pukete School was established in 1879, and burned down in 1909. The current school opened in 1973.

School also serves the area.

References