45-535: State Highway 2 ( SH 2 ) runs north–south through eastern parts of the North Island of New Zealand from the outskirts of Auckland to Wellington . It runs through Tauranga , Gisborne , Napier , Hastings and Masterton . It is the second-longest highway in the North Island, after State Highway 1 , which runs the length of both of the country's main islands. For most of its length it consists of
90-466: 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
135-580: A poor crash record, and the seven-kilometre Mangatawhiri Deviation was opened in December 2008 to improve safety by bypassing it. Passing lanes in both directions provide safe passing opportunities. Grade-separated intersections improve safety for traffic wanting to cross or join the highway. SH 2 used to follow former SH 2A's route in Tauranga, along 15th Ave, into Turret Road, and across the harbour to Maungatapu, where it joined SH 29, and then headed across
180-745: A population density of 129 people per km . It is part of the wider Nireaha-Eketahuna statistical area. Eketāhuna had a population of 504 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 60 people (13.5%) since the 2013 census , and an increase of 48 people (10.5%) since the 2006 census . There were 222 households, comprising 255 males and 249 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female, with 81 people (16.1%) aged under 15 years, 87 (17.3%) aged 15 to 29, 234 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 102 (20.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 85.1% European/ Pākehā , 31.5% Māori , 2.4% Pasifika , 1.8% Asian , and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer
225-461: 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,
270-554: A translation of "land on the sandbank" for Eketāhuna . When pronounced in the typical Pākehā way, the name sounds like the Afrikaans sentence "I have a chicken" ( Afrikaans : Ek het 'n hoender ), making it amusing to immigrant Afrikaans-speaking South Africans in New Zealand. The corresponding Statistics New Zealand statistical area covers an area of 892.66 km². The Pukaha / Mount Bruce National Wildlife Centre
315-645: A two-lane single carriageway, with frequent passing lanes. There are sections of four-lane dual-carriageway expressway at Maramarua , Tauranga and Wellington. SH 2 leaves SH 1 just north of Pōkeno , 49 km (30 mi) south of central Auckland . It heads east, crossing the Hauraki Plains before running the length of the Karangahake Gorge , a break in the hills between the Coromandel Peninsula and Kaimai Ranges . From
360-609: 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
405-544: Is at the Parihohonu Bridge, north of Otoko in the Gisborne District, measured in 2019 to have an AADT of 1,188 vehicles per day. 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
450-602: Is located at eastern foot of the Tararua Ranges , 35 kilometres north of Masterton and a similar distance south of Palmerston North . It is situated on State Highway 2 , on the eastern bank of the Mākākahi River . Eketāhuna has become synonymous with stereotypes of remote rural New Zealand towns, with New Zealanders colloquially referring to the town in the same way other English speakers refer to Timbuktu . The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives
495-459: Is located to the south of the town. Eketāhuna was settled in 1872, under the name Mellemskov. It was renamed soon after its founding. The population of Eketāhuna and the wider area has plummeted in the 21st century, dropping from 1,920 in 1996 to just 630 in 2013. On 20 January 2014, the town was the epicentre of the 2014 Eketāhuna earthquake . Measuring 6.2 on the Richter magnitude scale,
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#1732791167181540-600: The 2013 census , and an increase of 69 people (4.6%) since the 2006 census . There were 597 households, comprising 816 males and 750 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.09 males per female. The median age was 37.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 366 people (23.4%) aged under 15 years, 261 (16.7%) aged 15 to 29, 726 (46.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 207 (13.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 89.8% European/ Pākehā , 22.6% Māori , 1.1% Pasifika , 1.7% Asian , and 1.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
585-490: 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
630-636: The Maungatapu Bridge to Te Maunga. This was changed in 2009 when a second harbour bridge opened next to the current one, providing four lanes of traffic and an overpass from the harbour bridges to the Takitimu Drive expressway. SH 2A became the old section until it was revoked in 2015. Before 3 August 2015, SH 2 used to travel via Te Puke . The Tauranga Eastern Link , a tolled motorway almost 23 km from Te Maunga Junction to Paengaroa officially opened on 30 July 2015. SH 2 now follows
675-517: The Mohaka Forest and Lake Tūtira before rejoining the coast not far from the junction with SH 5 at Bay View . It then joins the Hawke's Bay Expressway and bypasses the cities of Napier and Hastings where the expressway ends at Pakipaki, just south of Hastings. It continues to head inland from Pakipaki, initially southwest to Waipukurau , then briefly west to follow tributaries of
720-687: The Tukituki River upstream. Close to Norsewood enters the Tararua District and turns south-west, a direction it maintains for much of the remainder of its journey, crossing undulating country that forms the upper catchment of the Manawatu River . In Woodville , SH 2 meets SH 3 at a TOTSO intersection. SH 2 continues south along the Mangatainoka and Makakahi rivers through Pahiatua and Eketāhuna , crossing into
765-822: The Wairarapa valley via the Mount Bruce saddle. SH 2 follows the Wairarapa valley through the towns of Masterton , Carterton and Greytown to Featherston . The highway then winds through the Remutaka Pass, between the Remutaka and Tararua Ranges , crossing into the Hutt Valley . SH 2 follows the Hutt River down the valley, passing the cities of Upper Hutt and Lower Hutt to the west, to reach
810-574: The 50 km/h route via Fergusson Drive. Most of the road of the road has been widened to three lanes, and median barriers have been installed, with only the Moonshine Bridge and north of Totara Park Drive still having two lanes undivided (Gibbons Street to Totara Park is three lanes undivided). SH 2's southern terminus has also changed. It formed the southern part of the Wellington Urban Motorway when SH 1 finished at
855-755: The Aotea Quay off-ramp. In 1996, SH 1 replaced this section. Flooding of the Waikari River during Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed the highway bridge over the river at Putorino . In the same event, the road was also destroyed at Devil's Elbow near Tutira . Currently there are several projects to improve SH 2. They include: The busiest section of SH 2 is north of the Ngauranga Interchange in Wellington. measured in 2019 to have an AADT 66,447 vehicles per day. The quietest section of road
900-605: 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 . Eket%C4%81huna Eketāhuna is a small rural settlement, in the south of the Tararua District and the Manawatū-Whanganui region of New Zealand's North Island . The town
945-402: 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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#1732791167181990-566: 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,
1035-586: 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
1080-529: 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,
1125-625: The Tauranga Eastern Link. The new four lane highway was constructed as part of the National government's Roads of National Significance , improving access from the east (Te Puke, Whakatāne , Ōpōtiki , Gisborne ) and south from Rotorua and Taupō . It is the main route for trucks heading to the Port of Tauranga from Rotorua and the eastern Bay of Plenty , and connects the economically-important central plateau forestry industry with
1170-700: The Wellington Urban Motorway from the Ngauranga Gorge , and SH 2 ends at this point with the Wellington Urban Motorway carrying the SH 1 designation into Wellington . Although the Ngauranga Interchange is the official end of SH 2, it is signed northbound on SH 1 as far back as the Mount Victoria Tunnel, 8 km (5 mi) before it begins. SH 2 used to have two spur sections: The section of SH 2 through Mangatawhiri had
1215-498: 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
1260-430: The census's question about religious affiliation, 52.4% had no religion, 30.4% were Christian , 1.8% had Māori religious beliefs , 1.2% were Hindu and 3.6% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 33 (7.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 126 (29.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 21 people (5.0%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
1305-660: 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
1350-522: 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
1395-647: 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
State Highway 2 (New Zealand) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1440-476: The mining town of Waihi it runs southeast, skirting the edge of Tauranga Harbour , which it crosses on the Tauranga Harbour Bridge before connecting to the 23 km (14 mi) Tauranga Eastern Link , a four lane toll motorway. After reaching Paengaroa Junction with SH 33 , SH 2 reverts to highway status and follows the coast for a further 34 km (21 mi), until it reaches
1485-522: The northern end of Wellington Harbour at Petone . From central Upper Hutt, SH 2 widens to a 2+1 road before widening further to four lanes divided at Silverstream , before finally becoming expressway standard with grade-separated junctions south of Melling . The highway follows the shoreline of Wellington Harbour to Ngauranga , where the Wellington Urban Motorway commences at the Ngauranga Interchange . Here, SH 1 merges on to
1530-433: The port for export. This NZTA administered road is tolled at $ 2.00 for cars and motorcycles and $ 5.00 for trucks. SH 2 used to extend into Whakatāne, but this section was moved inland to pass through Edgecumbe and Awakeri, with SH 30 extended to Whakatāne to cover the former route. SH 2 used to run through the centres of Napier and Hastings before running to Pakipaki, following a coastal route between Napier and Hastings via
1575-588: The previous route between Napier and Hastings receiving a new designation of SH 51. In 1871 contracts were let to clear parts of the Seventy Mile Bush , totalling 27 + 1 ⁄ 4 mi (43.9 km) long, by 66 ft (20 m) wide, for the Takapau to Woodville section of the road, which now forms 61 km (38 mi) of SH2. It was designated as a Main Highway in 1924 and metalling of
1620-527: The quake caused moderate damage all over the southern North Island. In July 2020, the name of the town was officially gazetted as Eketāhuna by the New Zealand Geographic Board . The Eketahuna Borough Council existed from 1907 until 1974 where it superseded by Eketahuna County Council which was later merged into Tararua District . Eketāhuna is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, which covers 4.18 km (1.61 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 540 as of June 2024, with
1665-541: The road, named Muldoon's Corner after the former Prime Minister 's financial stance ("tight and to the right"), is being bypassed with a new wider 55 km/h corner. River Road, between Maoribank and Silverstream in Upper Hutt, was opened in 1987 to bypass central Upper Hutt. The new route was a two-laned single-carriageway 100 km/h road on the Hutt River's banks, crossing the river at Moonshine, and replaced
1710-492: The section near Takapau was done in 1926. The Rimutaka Hill Road, traversing the Remutaka Ranges between Featherston and Upper Hutt, has a poor crash record, with many tight 25 and 35 km/h corners, and a lack of safety barriers to prevent vehicles dropping down off the road. The original winding route between Kaitoke and Te Marua was significantly realigned between 2002 and 2006. The tightest and narrowest corner on
1755-538: The small town of Clive . In 2005, 9.8 kilometres (6.1 mi) of SH 2 from the northern outskirts of Hastings, through central Hastings and up to the southern terminus of the Hawke's Bay Expressway (numbered SH 50A at the time) at Pakipaki was revoked. Then, in 2019, SH 2 was shifted to the Hawke's Bay Expressway to reduce confusion and better reflect that the expressway is the spine of the Hawke’s Bay roading network, with
1800-446: 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
1845-594: The village of Matatā . From Matatā it heads slightly inland, crossing the Rangitaiki plain to the south of Whakatāne , loops south to Tāneatua , through the Waimana gorge and then back north to the coast near Ōpōtiki . After Ōpōtiki it turns inland, ascending southeast along the valley of the Waioeka River , then winding up to the 725-metre (2,380 ft) Traffords Hill summit. From here it descends into
State Highway 2 (New Zealand) - Misplaced Pages Continue
1890-645: The watershed of the Waipaoa River following the river valley from Te Karaka to Makaraka , just outside Gisborne , to which it is connected by a short stretch of SH 35 . It then turns south, passing the Wharerata Forest and the isthmus of the Māhia Peninsula , turning west to follow the coast of Hawke Bay . Close to the mouth of the Waihua River it heads briefly inland, passing
1935-528: Was $ 27,600, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 108 people (9.0%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 594 (49.5%) people were employed full-time, 246 (20.5%) were part-time, and 60 (5.0%) were unemployed. In 2018, 5.0% of the workforce worked in manufacturing, 6.1% worked in construction, 5.0% worked in hospitality, 1.4% worked in transport, 3.9% worked in education, and 6.4% worked in healthcare. As of 2018, among those who commute to work, 46.4% drove
1980-446: Was 8.8, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 57.7% had no religion, 28.0% were Christian , 1.5% had Māori religious beliefs , 0.4% were Hindu , 0.2% were Buddhist and 1.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 138 (11.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 291 (24.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income
2025-424: Was that 156 (36.9%) people were employed full-time, 69 (16.3%) were part-time, and 36 (8.5%) were unemployed. Nireaha-Eketāhuna statistical area covers 892.62 km (344.64 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,700 as of June 2024, with a population density of 1.9 people per km . Nireaha-Eketāhuna had a population of 1,566 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 114 people (7.9%) since
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