Riwaka ( mi, Riuwaka) is a small settlement in the Tasman District of New Zealand's

South Island The South Island, also officially named , is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand in surface area, the other being the smaller but more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasma ...

. It lies beside Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere, five kilometres north of

Motueka Motueka is a town in the South Island of New Zealand, close to the mouth of the Motueka River on the western shore of Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere. It is the second largest in the Tasman Region, with a population of as of The surrounding d ...

, and close to the mouth of the Riuwaka River. The land where the town is based was a swamp known as Tureauraki. Europeans first settled in Riwaka in May 1842. The Riwaka economy has been based around growing

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

and

hops Hops are the flowers (also called seed cones or strobiles) of the hop plant '' Humulus lupulus'', a member of the Cannabaceae family of flowering plants. They are used primarily as a bittering, flavouring, and stability agent in beer, to wh ...

Etymology

The settlement's name, ''Riwaka'', is a corruption of the Māori name ''Riuwaka'', which derives from ''riu'' meaning ''bilge'' or ''interior'', and ''waka'' meaning ''canoe''. The name can be interpreted as ''the hull of the canoe''. The name of the nearby river was officially altered from ''Riwaka River'' to ''Riuwaka River'' in August 2014, following the Treaty of Waitangi settlements between

the Crown The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has differen ...

and local

iwi Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori culture, Māori society. In Māori-language, Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and ...

Ngāti Rārua and Te Atiawa o Te Waka-a-Māui.

Demographics

Riwaka

Riwaka, comprising the SA1 statistical areas of 7022557, 7022560, 7022561, 7022562 and 7022566, covers . It had a population of 765 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 108 people (16.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 135 people (21.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 270 households. There were 396 males and 372 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female, with 168 people (22.0%) aged under 15 years, 117 (15.3%) aged 15 to 29, 366 (47.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 111 (14.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 92.5% European/Pākehā, 14.1% Māori, 1.6% Pacific peoples, 2.0% Asian, and 2.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 66.3% had no religion, 21.2% were Christian, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.4% were Buddhist and 3.5% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 96 (16.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 114 (19.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 333 (55.8%) people were employed full-time, 96 (16.1%) were part-time, and 12 (2.0%) were unemployed.

Kaiteriteri-Riwaka statistical area

The larger Kaiteriteri-Riwaka SA2 statistical area includes Mārahau and Kaiteriteri and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Kaiteriteri-Riwaka had a population of 1,761 at the

, an increase of 222 people (14.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 297 people (20.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 591 households. There were 915 males and 846 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 44.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 297 people (16.9%) aged under 15 years, 273 (15.5%) aged 15 to 29, 888 (50.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 306 (17.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 90.5% European/Pākehā, 10.4% Māori, 4.9% Pacific peoples, 1.4% Asian, and 2.7% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 23.7%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 62.5% had no religion, 26.1% were Christian, 0.2% were Hindu, 0.5% were Buddhist and 3.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 240 (16.4%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 258 (17.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $29,000, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 747 (51.0%) people were employed full-time, 279 (19.1%) were part-time, and 36 (2.5%) were unemployed.

Church

The Saint Barnabas Anglican church is located on Main Road, Riwaka.

Education

Riwaka School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . The school, opened in 1848, is one of the oldest schools in New Zealand.

References

{{Tasman District Populated places in the Tasman District Populated places around Tasman Bay / Te Tai-o-Aorere