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Waitaki District is a territorial authority district that is located in the
Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
and
Otago Otago (, ; ) is a regions of New Zealand, region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island and administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local go ...
regions of the South 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 islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the
Waitaki River The Waitaki River is a large braided river in the South Island of New Zealand. It drains the Mackenzie Basin and runs south-east to enter the Pacific Ocean between Timaru and Oamaru on the east coast. It starts at the confluence of the Ōhau Ri ...
, and its seat is
Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...
.


History

Waitaki District is made up of the former Waitaki County, Waihemo County and Oamaru Borough, which were amalgamated in 1989. It is governed by the
Waitaki District Council Waitaki District Council () is the territorial authority for the Waitaki District 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 So ...
.


Name

During the colonial period, the area was also known as ''Molesworth''. However, the Māori name ''Waitaki'' eventually prevailed.


Geography

It has a land area of , of which or 59.02% is in the Canterbury Region and or 40.98% in the Otago Region. It is the only district in the
South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...
that lies in two regions. A major reason for this split was the governance of the Waitaki River, which forms a political boundary between Canterbury and Otago. With major hydro schemes on this river, it was decided to place the entire catchment in one administrative region, thus forming the split. Some people who fall into the Canterbury Region of Waitaki District still regard themselves as part of Otago, and attempts have been made in the past to change the boundary. The district, which is agricultural by nature, comprises the wide
alluvial fan An alluvial fan is an accumulation of sediments that fans outwards from a concentrated source of sediments, such as a narrow canyon emerging from an escarpment. They are characteristic of mountainous terrain in arid to Semi-arid climate, semiar ...
of the river, and runs inland along the banks of the river, forming a roughly triangular region.


Urban areas and settlements

Oamaru, the district seat, is the only town in the Waitaki district with a population over 1,000. It is home to people, % of the district's population. Other settlements and localities in the district include: Ahuriri Ward: *
Aviemore Aviemore (; ) is a town and tourist resort, situated within the Cairngorms National Park in the Highlands of Scotland. It is in the Badenoch and Strathspey committee area, within the Highland council area. The town is popular for skiing and ...
* Benmore * Black Point * Bortons * Clearburn * Danseys Pass * '' Duntroon'' *
Earthquakes An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they c ...
* Kokoamo *
Kurow Kurow is a small town in the Waitaki District, New Zealand. It is located on the south bank of the Waitaki River, northwest of Oamaru. The name is an Anglicised form of the Māori name of the nearby mountain, Te Kohurau. History The town was ...
*
Ōhau Ōhau is a village and semi-rural community in the Horowhenua District and Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located just south of Levin, New Zealand, Levin on State Highway 1 (New Zealand), State Highway 1. The ...
*
Lake Waitaki Lake Waitaki is the smallest, oldest and most downstream of the three man-made lakes on the Waitaki River, and forms part of the Waitaki hydroelectric scheme in New Zealand's South Island. It lies downstream of lakes Aviemore and Benmore on t ...
*
Lindis Pass The Lindis Pass () (elevation 971 m) is located in the South Island of New Zealand. The Lindis Pass lies between the valleys of the Lindis and Ahuriri Rivers. It lies between the towns of Cromwell (78 km, 55 minutes drive) in Centra ...
* Livingstone * Maerewhenua *
Omarama Omarama is a small town (population 291 as of the 2018 census) at the junction of State Highway 8 (New Zealand), State Highways 8 and New Zealand State Highway 83, 83, near the southern end of the Mackenzie Basin, in the South Island of New Ze ...
* Otekaieke * ''
Otematata Otematata is a town in the Waitaki District of Canterbury in New Zealand's South Island. It is defined as a "populated area less than a town" and the 2001 New Zealand census gave the "usually resident population count" as 243. By the 2018 census ...
'' * Otiake * Pukeraro * Strachans * Waikaura * Wharekuri Waihemo Ward: * Billys Flat * ''
Dunback Dunback, formerly Waihemo, is a small town in the Otago region of New Zealand. It is located between Palmerston and Ranfurly on Highway 85. It has a population of about 200 people. Most of these people live in the rural areas near the town. ...
'' * Flag Swamp * Glenpark * Goodwood * Green Valley * Hampden * Hillgrove *
Inch Valley Inch Valley is a lightly populated rural locality in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is northwest of Palmerston and Glenpark, east of Stoneburn, on the banks of the Shag River. Economic activity around Inch Valley is agric ...
* Kaika * Kātiki * '' Macraes'' *
Mākareao Mākareao is a lightly populated rural locality in the Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. To the west is Dunback and to the south is Inch Valley and the nearest significantly populated town, Palmerston. Economy As with the surroundi ...
* Meadowbank *
Moeraki Moeraki is a small fishing village on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It was once the location of a whaling station. In the 1870s, local interests believed it could become the main port for the north Otago area and a railwa ...
* Moonlight Flat *
Morrisons Wm Morrison Supermarkets Limited, trading as Morrisons, is the List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom, fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Sco ...
*
Nenthorn Nenthorn is a parish and hamlet in the south of the historic county of Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is included in the Floors, Makerstoun, Nenthorn and Smailholm Community Council area, which also includes the parishe ...
* Palmerston * Pleasant Valley *
Shag Point Shag Point / Matakaea is a headland and township in East Otago, New Zealand. Both the point and the nearby Shag River take their English name from a seabird, the pied shag. The township extends along a single road, which leaves State Highw ...
* Shag Valley * Stoneburn * Trotters Gorge *
Waianakarua The small town of Herbert, formerly Otepopo, lies in North Otago, New Zealand, north of Dunedin and south-west of Oamaru. It lies on the edge of the Herbert Forest. Herbert consists of a group of houses and three churches clustered around St ...
* Waihemo * Wairunga * Waynes * Puketapu Corriedale Ward: *
Airedale Airedale is a valley, or Dale (landform), dale, in North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire, England. It is named after the River Aire, which flows through it. The upper valley, from Malham Cove to Airton, is known as Malhamdale, named after the vill ...
* ''
All Day Bay The small town of Kakanui lies on the coast of Otago, in New Zealand, fourteen kilometres to the south of Oamaru. The Kakanui River and its estuary divide the township in two. The part of the settlement south of the river, also known as Kakanui ...
'' * Awamoko * Cormacks *
Corriedale The Corriedale is a New Zealand list of sheep breeds, breed of Domestic sheep, sheep. It was bred from about 1882 in the South Island by James Little, who cross-bred Australian Merino, Merino and Lincoln (sheep), Lincoln Longwool sheep. The bre ...
* Elderslie * Enfield * Five Forks * Fuchsia Creek * Georgetown * '' Herbert'' * Hilderthorpe * Incholme * Island Cliff * Island Stream *
Kakanui The small town of Kakanui lies on the coast of Otago, in New Zealand, fourteen kilometres to the south of Oamaru. The Kakanui River and its estuary divide the township in two. The part of the settlement south of the river, also known as Kakanui ...
* Kauru Hill *
Kia Ora Kia ora (, approximated in English as or ) is a Māori-language greeting which has entered New Zealand English. It translates literally as "have life" or "be healthy", wishing the essence of life upon someone, from one speaker to the othe ...
* Kuriheka * '' Maheno'' * Maraeweka * Marakerake * Maruakoa * ''
Ngapara Ngapara is a locality in the north Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located in a rural setting 25 km inland from Oamaru. The name of Ngapara is derived from the Māori word for the "tables" or plateaus of limestone in the area ...
'' *
Otepopo The small town of Herbert, formerly Otepopo, lies in North Otago, New Zealand, north of Dunedin and south-west of Oamaru. It lies on the edge of the Herbert Forest. Herbert consists of a group of houses and three churches clustered around St ...
* Papakaio *
Peebles Peebles () is a town in the Scottish Borders, Scotland. It was historically a royal burgh and the county town of Peeblesshire. According to the United Kingdom census, 2011, 2011 census, the population was 8,376 and the estimated population in ...
* ''
Pukeuri Pukeuri is a settlement to the north of Oamaru in the North Otago region of New Zealand's South Island. It is located near the coast in the Waitaki District that straddles the border of Otago and Canterbury. The settlement's major employer i ...
'' * Queens Flat * '' Reidston'' *
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
* Rosebery * Tapui * Taranui * Teschemakers * Tokarahi * Totara * Waimotu * ''
Waitaki Bridge Waitaki District is a territorial authority district that is located in the Canterbury and Otago regions of the South Island of New Zealand. It straddles the traditional border between the two regions, the Waitaki River, and its seat is Oamaru. ...
'' * Whitecraig * Whitstone *
Windsor Park The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park (officially the Clearer Twist National Stadium at Windsor Park for sponsorship reasons), or the National Football Stadium, also known as Windsor Park is a association football, football stadium in B ...
* Windsor Oamaru Ward: * Ardgowan *
Oamaru Oamaru (; ) is the largest town in North Otago, in the South Island of New Zealand, it is the main town in the Waitaki District. It is south of Timaru and north of Dunedin on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast; State Highway 1 (New Zealand), Sta ...
*
Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * W ...


Demographics

Waitaki District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. Waitaki District had a population of 23,472 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 1,164 people (5.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 2,643 people (12.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 11,658 males, 11,745 females and 69 people of other genders in 9,975 dwellings. 2.4% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 46.1 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 4,035 people (17.2%) aged under 15 years, 3,507 (14.9%) aged 15 to 29, 10,317 (44.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 5,610 (23.9%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 85.0%
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 ...
); 9.5%
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 ...
; 5.5% Pasifika; 6.9% Asian; 0.7% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.6%, Māori language by 1.4%, Samoan by 0.3% and other languages by 9.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.5% (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 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.6, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 36.4%
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 ...
, 0.9%
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 ...
, 0.5%
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 ...
, 0.2%
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 ...
, 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 ...
, 0.1%
Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, and 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 51.8%, and 8.1% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 2,262 (11.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 10,641 (54.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 5,844 (30.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $34,900, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,311 people (6.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 9,210 (47.4%) people were employed full-time, 2,748 (14.1%) were part-time, and 333 (1.7%) were unemployed.


Economy

A relatively sparsely settled area, the District has a large number of farms. However, in recent times (late 2000s), numerous proposals for new farming operations have locals fearing that the agriculture will be transformed from often family-held farms to large
agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...
operations, causing local ecological damage and siphoning off capital overseas.


References


External links


Waitaki District CouncilInformation about Waitaki DistrictWaitaki Development Board
{{Cities and districts of New Zealand