Toko is a small rural settlement 10 kilometres east of

Stratford, New Zealand Stratford () is the only town in Stratford District, New Zealand, Stratford District, and the seat of the Taranaki region, in New Zealand's North Island. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, approximately halfway between New P ...

, at the intersection of East Road ( State Highway 43) and Toko Road. It is located on a

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, the Stratford–Okahukura Line, the western portion of which was operated as a

branch line A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Branch lines may serve one or more industries, or a city or town not located ...

known as the Toko Branch prior to the line's completion. The Toko Stream flows through the area to join the

Pātea River The Pātea River is in Taranaki in the North Island of New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of ...

Geography

Toko is surrounded by extremely fertile land, being located on the periphery of the

Taranaki Taranaki is a regions of New Zealand, region in the west of New Zealand's North Island. It is named after its main geographical feature, the stratovolcano Mount Taranaki, Taranaki Maunga, formerly known as Mount Egmont. The main centre is the ...

ringplain and adjacent to the

. The area is drained by the Toko Stream, and its tributaries the Manawaiwiri and Waiwiri Streams. Once covered in wetlands, since settlement the area has been drained to take advantage of the fertile soils.

Dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

predominates the surrounding land use, with some

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

and

beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...

farming in the steeper hill country.

History

Toko was established in the 1890s, and served as an important centre for the developing hinterland. The settlement took on the nature of a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

, containing a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

, a dairy

factory A factory, manufacturing plant or production plant is an industrial facility, often a complex consisting of several buildings filled with machinery, where workers manufacture items or operate machines which process each item into another. Th ...

, a

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, a

hall In architecture, a hall is a relatively large space enclosed by a roof and walls. In the Iron Age and the Early Middle Ages in northern Europe, a mead hall was where a lord and his retainers ate and also slept. Later in the Middle Ages, the gre ...

, a

hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

, a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, a trucking depot, a playcentre, a sports facility, and a number of other businesses and numerous dwellings. Toko School was established in 1893, and located on a site approximately 2 km east of Toko at the intersection of East Road and Wawiri Road. Like other rural centres, Toko went into decline in the latter part of the 20th century. The railway station, dairy factory and sawmill all closed. However the factory buildings are now used for an engineering business, and the church, hall, domain, hotel, trucking depot, and an automotive workshop are still being used for business and social activities.

Demographics

Toko statistical area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Before the 2023 census, the statistical area had a larger boundary, covering . Using that boundary, Toko had a population of 1,350 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 78 people (6.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 87 people (6.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 510 households, comprising 702 males and 648 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 38.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 303 people (22.4%) aged under 15 years, 234 (17.3%) aged 15 to 29, 669 (49.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 144 (10.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 95.3% 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 ...

, 7.3%

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 ...

, 1.1% Pacific peoples, 1.3% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 8.4, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 49.3% had no religion, 38.7% 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 ...

, 0.4% 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 ...

and 1.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 108 (10.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 288 (27.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $38,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 210 people (20.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 636 (60.7%) people were employed full-time, 174 (16.6%) were part-time, and 21 (2.0%) were unemployed.

Born in Toko

* Jack Walter, All Black and Taranaki rugby football representative * Toss Woollaston, New Zealand painter (1910–1998) * Brian Smith, jazz musician (1939 - )

Other notable residents

* Sylvia Ashton-Warner, (as a child) New Zealand writer, poet and educator

Education

Toko School is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of students as of The school was founded in 1893.

Notes

External links

Toko School website

References

*Church, Ian (1990), ''The Stratford Inheritance''. Heritage Press Ltd., Waikanae, New Zealand.