26-659: Otaihanga is on the Kāpiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island . It is just north of Paraparaumu on the south bank of the Waikanae River and is roughly 55 km north of New Zealand's capital city, Wellington . Its name is Māori for "the place made by the tide". The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "place of Taihanga [a personal name]" for Ōtaihanga . Otaihanga statistical area covers 4.16 km (1.61 sq mi). It had an estimated population of 910 as of June 2024, with
52-527: A larger population than the South Island, with the country's largest city, Auckland, and the capital, Wellington, accounting for nearly half of it. There are 30 urban areas in the North Island with a population of 10,000 or more: The sub-national GDP of the North Island was estimated at NZ$ 282.355 billion in 2021 (78% of New Zealand's national GDP). Nine local government regions cover
78-429: A population density of 218.75 people per km. Before the 2023 census, Otaihanga had a larger boundary, covering 4.47 km (1.73 sq mi). Using that boundary, Otaihanga had a population of 804 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 69 people (9.4%) since the 2013 census , and an increase of 54 people (7.2%) since the 2006 census . There were 306 households, comprising 393 males and 411 females, giving
104-461: A result of Māui's brothers' hacking at the fish. During Captain James Cook 's voyage between 1769 and 1770 , Tahitian navigator Tupaia accompanied the circumnavigation of New Zealand. The maps described the North Island as " Ea Heinom Auwe " and " Aeheinomowe ", which recognises the "Fish of Māui" element. Another Māori name that was given to the North Island, but is now used less commonly,
130-448: A sex ratio of 0.96 males per female. The median age was 46.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 132 people (16.4%) aged under 15 years, 138 (17.2%) aged 15 to 29, 429 (53.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 108 (13.4%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.8% European/ Pākehā , 12.7% Māori , 1.5% Pasifika , 0.7% Asian , and 2.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
156-609: Is Aotearoa . Use of Aotearoa to describe the North Island fell out of favour in the early 20th century, and it is now a collective Māori name for New Zealand as a whole. During the Last Glacial Period when sea levels were over 100 metres lower than present day levels, the North and South islands were connected by a vast coastal plain which formed at the South Taranaki Bight . During this period, most of
182-640: Is in Otaihanga. There are no educational institutions in Otaihanga, but there are primary schools and a secondary school, Paraparaumu College , minutes away in Paraparaumu. One of the primary schools, Kenakena School, has been involved in works to improve Otaihanga's environment at Greendale Reserve. As Otaihanga is on the banks of the Waikanae River, it can be susceptible to flooding during storms and periods of high rainfall. Serious flooding in
208-410: Is used for leisure activities and has no sporting facilities. It has family amenities and a footbridge across the river to Waikanae . Another parkland, Greendale Reserve, was formerly two rundown paddocks but it has been the subject of local volunteer efforts to revitalise its environment and restore native plants. These efforts began in 1997 and have involved the students of Kenakena School. In 2006,
234-490: The 2018 census , and an increase of 570,957 people (17.6%) since the 2013 census . Of the total population, 733,893 people (19.3%) were aged under 15 years, 743,154 (19.5%) were 15 to 29, 1,721,427 (45.2%) were 30 to 64, and 609,534 (16.0%) were 65 or older. Ever since the conclusion of the Otago gold rush in the 1860s, New Zealand's European population growth has experienced a steady 'Northern drift' as population centres in
260-620: The North Island and its adjacent islands and territorial waters. Healthcare in the North Island is provided by fifteen District Health Boards (DHBs) . Organised around geographical areas of varying population sizes, they are not coterminous with the Local Government Regions . Conservation Week Conservation Week ( Kia Mahia Te Mahi ) is an annual event in New Zealand to promote conservation of native plants and animals. The 2020 dates were August 15–23 and
286-402: The North Island have grown faster than those of New Zealand's South Island. This population trend has continued into the twenty-first century, but at a much slower rate. While the North Island's population continues to grow faster than the South Island, this is solely due to the North Island having higher natural increase (i.e. births minus deaths) and international migration; since the late 1980s,
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#1732793579892312-566: The North Island is named New Ulster (named after Ulster province in northern Ireland) which was also a province of New Zealand that included the North Island. In 2009 the New Zealand Geographic Board found that, along with the South Island, the North Island had no official name. After a public consultation, the board officially named it North Island, or the aforementioned Te Ika-a-Māui, in October 2013. In prose,
338-586: The North Island was covered in thorn scrubland and forest , while the modern-day Northland Peninsula was a subtropical rainforest . Sea levels began to rise 7,000 years ago, eventually separating the islands and linking the Cook Strait to the Tasman Sea . The North Island has an estimated population of 4,077,800 as of June 2024. The North Island had a population of 3,808,005 at the 2023 New Zealand census , an increase of 213,453 people (5.9%) since
364-589: The North Island. From north to south, they are Whangārei , Auckland , Hamilton , Tauranga , Rotorua , Gisborne , New Plymouth , Napier , Hastings , Whanganui , Palmerston North , and New Zealand's capital city Wellington , which is located at the south-west tip of the island. The island has been known internationally as the North Island for many years. The Te Reo Māori name for it, Te Ika-a-Māui , also has official recognition but it remains seldom used by most residents. On some 19th-century maps,
390-498: The actions of the demigod Māui . Māui and his brothers were fishing from their canoe (the South Island) when he caught a great fish and pulled it right up from the sea. While he was not looking, his brothers fought over the fish and chopped it up. This great fish became the North Island, and thus a Māori name for the North Island is Te Ika-a-Māui ("The Fish of Māui"). The mountains and valleys are believed to have been formed as
416-481: The east. It has one of the largest collections of cars in the Southern Hemisphere and contains other attractions such as heritage planes, and it has a large theatre. Agriculture used to take place, but has now largely ceased as residential developments have been built. Otaihanga has become primarily residential, and some small-scale commercial businesses operate. The Kāpiti Coast's main rubbish tip
442-476: The first week of January 2005 damaged 18 houses and necessitated the evacuation to higher ground of a number of residents by boat. After the flooding, the raising of three houses was prioritised and long term options such as upgrading flood stopbanks and extracting gravel from the riverbed were investigated. The main parkland in Otaihanga is the Otaihanga Domain, on the banks of the Waikanae River. It
468-660: The internal migration flow has been from the North Island to the South Island. In the year to June 2020, the North Island gained 21,950 people from natural increase and 62,710 people from international migration, while losing 3,570 people from internal migration. At the 2023 census, 63.1% of North Islanders identified as European ( Pākehā ), 19.8% as Māori , 10.6% as Pacific peoples , 19.3% as Asian , 1.9% as Middle Eastern/Latin American/African, and 1.1% as other ethnicities. Percentages add to more than 100% as people can identify with more than one ethnicity. Māori form
494-522: The larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait . With an area of 113,729 km (43,911 sq mi), it is the world's 14th-largest island , constituting 43% of New Zealand's land area. It has a population of 4,077,800 (June 2024), which is 76% of New Zealand's residents, making it the most populous island in Polynesia and the 28th-most-populous island in the world. Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in
520-647: The majority in three districts of the North Island: Kawerau (63.2%), Ōpōtiki (66.2%) and Wairoa (68.5%). Europeans formed the plurality in the Auckland region (49.8%) and are the majority in the remaining 39 districts. The proportion of North Islanders born overseas at the 2018 census were 29.3%. The most common foreign countries of birth were England (15.4% of overseas-born residents), Mainland China (11.3%), India (10.1%), South Africa (5.9%), Australia (5.5%) and Samoa (5.3%). The North Island has
546-446: The two main islands of New Zealand are called the North Island and the South Island , with the definite article. It is also normal to use the preposition in rather than on , for example "Hamilton is in the North Island", "my mother lives in the North Island". Maps, headings, tables, and adjectival expressions use North Island without "the". According to Māori mythology , the North and South Islands of New Zealand arose through
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#1732793579892572-502: The volunteer work was honoured by a Conservation Week Merit Award , with the school receiving the 2006 Young Conservationist Award. State Highway 1 runs through eastern Otaihanga. The intersection of the highway and Otaihanga Road is a notorious traffic black spot and in August 2006, Transit New Zealand lowered the speed limit of the highway in the area from 100 km/h to 80 km/h as an attempt to reduce accidents. A roundabout
598-551: Was 18.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 63.8% had no religion, 28.0% were Christian , 0.4% were Buddhist and 2.2% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 147 (21.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 114 (17.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $ 37,800, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 168 people (25.0%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
624-410: Was a passenger halt at Otaihanga until 1902. Kapiti Line commuter services stop at Paraparaumu and the terminus at Waikanae . North Island The North Island ( Māori : Te Ika-a-Māui [tɛ i.kɐ ɐ mɑː.ʉ.i] , lit. 'the fish of Māui', officially North Island or Te Ika-a-Māui or historically New Ulster ) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand , separated from
650-682: Was installed in 2013 but the design of the roundabout has been criticised. Otaihanga is on the North Island Main Trunk railway, on a section built by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company . The two ends of the line met at Otaihanga and the last spike was driven at a public ceremony by Governor William Jervois . The railway opened on 3 November 1886 and passed into the ownership of the New Zealand Railways Department on 8 December 1908. There
676-616: Was that 366 (54.5%) people were employed full-time, 96 (14.3%) were part-time, and 15 (2.2%) were unemployed. The demographics for Otaihanga are also incorporated in Paraparaumu#Demographics . Located in Otaihanga is one of the Kāpiti Coast's most significant tourist attractions, the Southward Car Museum on Otaihanga Road between the North Island Main Trunk railway to the west and State Highway 1 to
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