Waikeria is a rural community in the

Ōtorohanga District Ōtorohanga District is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority in the King Country area and Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is a mostly rural area, with Ōtorohanga town being by far the biggest urb ...

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 ...

Waikeria Prison There are eighteen adult prisons in New Zealand. Three prisons house women, one each in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. The remaining fifteen house men; ten in the North Island and five in the South Island. The facilities are managed by t ...

, one of New Zealand's largest prisons, is located on a site on Waikeria Road. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "dug-out water" for .

Marae

The local Whakamārama Marae is a

meeting place A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision-making. Definiti ...

of the

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti ...

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

Ngāti Puehutore Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

. It includes Te Rangimoeakau

meeting house A meeting house (also spelled meetinghouse or meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes private meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist (Protestantism), Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a: * chu ...

Demographics

Waikeria locality, including the prison, covers . Waikeria is part of the larger Puniu statistical area. 7013018 had a population of 588 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 54 people (10.1%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 114 people (24.1%) since the 2013 census. The gender ratio is distorted by the prison population. There were 474 males, 108 females, and 3 people of other genders in 75 dwellings. 3.6% 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 ...

. There were 42 people (7.1%) aged under 15 years, 81 (13.8%) aged 15 to 29, 402 (68.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 60 (10.2%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 59.7%

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 ...

); 48.0%

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 ...

; 8.7%

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 ...

; 3.6% Asian; 1.0% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 4.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.9%, Māori by 13.8%, Samoan by 1.5%, and other languages by 4.6%. No language could be spoken by 0.5% (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 1.0%. The percentage of people born overseas was 9.2, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 25.0%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 1.0%

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

, 11.2%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 1.0%

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 2.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.6%, and 4.6% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 39 (7.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 348 (63.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 165 (30.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 18 people (3.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 189 (34.6%) full-time, 60 (11.0%) part-time, and 27 (4.9%) unemployed.

Puniu statistical area

Puniu statistical area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Puniu had a population of 1,587 in the

, an increase of 99 people (6.7%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 180 people (12.8%) since the 2013 census. There were 1,011 males, 570 females, and 6 people of other genders in 438 dwellings. 2.3% of people identified as

. The median age was 37.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 291 people (18.3%) aged under 15 years, 258 (16.3%) aged 15 to 29, 867 (54.6%) aged 30 to 64, and 171 (10.8%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 76.6%

(

); 29.3%

; 4.5%

; 4.9% Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.4%, Māori by 7.2%, Samoan by 0.9%, and other languages by 6.0%. No language could be spoken by 1.9% (e.g. too young to talk).

was known by 0.8%. The percentage of people born overseas was 12.3, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 25.7%

, 0.8%

, 0.6%

, 4.3%

, 0.2%

, 0.6%

, and 2.5% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 59.7%, and 6.4% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 156 (12.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 780 (60.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 360 (27.8%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $28,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 96 people (7.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 654 (50.5%) full-time, 165 (12.7%) part-time, and 39 (3.0%) unemployed.

Education

Korakonui School is a Year 1–8 co-educational state primary school. It has a roll of as of The school opened in 1911.

Climate

References

{{Ōtorohanga District Ōtorohanga District Populated places in Waikato