23-527: Whakamaru / ˈ f ɑː k ə ˌ m ɑː r uː / is a town in the central region of the North Island of New Zealand . The Māori words 'whaka' and 'maru' literally mean to give shelter to, or safeguard. The Whakamaru supervolcano eruption (dated to 320–340,000 years ago) is the largest known eruption from the area known as the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) and means the town is located in
46-771: A population density of 106 people per km. The settlement is part of the larger Marotiri statistical area . Whakamaru had a population of 168 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 6 people (3.7%) since the 2013 census , and unchanged since the 2006 census . There were 60 households, comprising 84 males and 84 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 48.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 39 people (23.2%) aged under 15 years, 18 (10.7%) aged 15 to 29, 84 (50.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 27 (16.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 82.1% European/ Pākehā , 41.1% Māori , 1.8% Pacific peoples , and 5.4% Asian . People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer
69-709: 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 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
92-465: 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 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
115-474: Is one of the two main islands of New Zealand , separated from 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
138-448: The 28th-most-populous island in the world. Twelve main urban areas (half of them officially cities) are in 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
161-506: 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, 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
184-668: The North Island . With the passing of the New Zealand Constitution Act 1846 , the province was defined as the North Island north of the Pātea River mouth. Like the other province of New Zealand at the time, New Munster Province , New Ulster Province was headed by a Lieutenant-Governor who reported to the Governor of New Zealand . In 1852, a new Constitution Act was passed, and the New Ulster province
207-590: 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 the majority in three districts of the North Island: Kawerau (63.2%), Ōpōtiki (66.2%) and Wairoa (68.5%). Europeans formed
230-601: 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 . New Ulster New Ulster was a province of the Colony of New Zealand that existed between 1841 and 1853. It was named after the Irish province of Ulster . Between 1841 and 1846, the province included all
253-519: 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, 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
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#1732773206557276-437: 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, 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
299-462: 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 the North Island and its adjacent islands and territorial waters. Healthcare in
322-647: The Whakamaru Domain, State Highway 30, from 2007 to 2013. The town has a resident association, grocery store, cafe, pizza restaurant, and petrol station. Guided walks are available for the nearby Mt Titiraupenga, located at the geographic centre of The North Island. Whakamaru School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of 99 as of August 2024. 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 )
345-469: The census's question about religious affiliation, 62.5% had no religion, 26.8% were Christian , 3.6% had Māori religious beliefs , and 1.8% were Hindu . Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (7.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 42 (32.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $ 23,900, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 18 people (14.0%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
368-411: 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, 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
391-451: 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 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
414-557: The historic Whakamaru caldera . The name is a shortened version of Te Whakamarumarutanga o Kahukeke ("The Shelter of Kahukeke"). According to Waikato Tainui oral traditions, Kahukeke , the Māori healer and explorer, who had arrived in New Zealand on the Tainui migratory canoe fell ill at the spot and the area was named for the shelter where she recovered. In some versions the shelter
437-660: 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 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
460-470: 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 a larger population than
483-486: 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 a result of Māui's brothers' hacking at the fish. During Captain James Cook 's voyage between 1769 and 1770 , Tahitian navigator Tupaia accompanied
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#1732773206557506-702: Was built by her husband Rakatāura / Hape , the tohunga of the Tainui . The town of Whakamaru was originally established as accommodation for the Whakamaru Power Station in New Zealand . The Whakamaru switching station, adjacent to the power station, is operated by Transpower , and is an important node on the national grid . Statistics New Zealand describes Whakamaru as a rural settlement, which covers 1.60 km (0.62 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 170 as of June 2024, with
529-538: Was that 57 (44.2%) people were employed full-time, 24 (18.6%) were part-time, and 3 (2.3%) were unemployed. During the summer months Lake Whakamaru is used extensively for water skiing . The Whakamaru Water Ski Club is very busy during the Christmas holidays, although water skiing courses are normally available all year round. Kiwiburn , the New Zealand Burning Man regional, was held annually at
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