31-663: Turua is a small village community on the banks of the Waihou River in the Hauraki Plains in the North Island of New Zealand . It is located close to the mouth of the river, 9 kilometres south of the Firth of Thames and 12 km south of Thames . It is connected by road (Hauraki Road) to SH 25 in the north and SH 2 to the south. Turua is a Māori place name meaning "twice seen," referring to reflections in
62-709: 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
93-465: 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
124-516: Is located in the northern North Island of New Zealand. Its former name, Thames River , was bestowed by Captain James Cook in November 1769, when he explored 14 mi (23 km) of the river from the mouth. An older Māori name was "Wai Kahou Rounga". A 1947 Geographic Board enquiry ruled that the official name would be Waihou. The river flows north for 150 kilometres (93 mi) from
155-464: Is phosphorus. Water flows are measured at Te Aroha and Okauia. This article about a river in the Waikato Region is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . 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
186-606: The 2013 census , and an increase of 27 people (2.0%) since the 2006 census . There were 495 households, comprising 681 males and 684 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 40.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 297 people (21.8%) aged under 15 years, 225 (16.5%) aged 15 to 29, 648 (47.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 198 (14.5%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 90.3% European/ Pākehā , 16.5% Māori , 0.9% Pacific peoples , 2.6% Asian , and 1.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas
217-515: The 2013 census , and unchanged since the 2006 census . There were 153 households, comprising 183 males and 198 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.92 males per female, with 75 people (19.7%) aged under 15 years, 60 (15.7%) aged 15 to 29, 168 (44.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 81 (21.3%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 87.4% European/ Pākehā , 19.7% Māori , 1.6% Pacific peoples , 3.1% Asian , and 1.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer
248-448: 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
279-580: The Mamaku Ranges past the towns of Putāruru , Te Aroha , Paeroa and Turua , before reaching the Firth of Thames at the south end of the Hauraki Gulf near the town of Thames . In its lower reaches, the river and the nearby Piako River form the wide alluvial Hauraki Plains . Just before the river reaches the ocean, State Highway 25 crosses the river over the Kopu Bridge , which
310-506: 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
341-590: 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
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#1732781051042372-519: 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
403-437: 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
434-462: 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
465-583: The banks of the Waihou River were settled by Hauraki Māori , such as Oruarangi pā and Paterangi pā near Matatoki , and the Te Raupa pā and Waiwhau pā near Paeroa . The mouth of the river was famous as a location for pātiki (flounder) fishing. In 1879 Te Au o Tonga, or the Falls of Awotonga, were destroyed by 200 pounds (91 kg) of dynamite to free the navigation of the river for shipping. There
496-452: The census's question about religious affiliation, 63.0% had no religion, 25.2% were Christian , 1.6% had Māori religious beliefs , 0.8% were Hindu , 1.6% were Buddhist and 3.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (4.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 93 (30.4%) people had no formal qualifications. 36 people (11.8%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15
527-411: 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
558-451: 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
589-660: 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
620-470: 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
651-443: The river ended in 1947. In the 1910s stopbanks and floodgates were constructed along the Waihou River in order to protect farmland from flooding, including a canal constructed at the point where the Waihou River and Ohinemuri River meet, west of Paeroa . Further work occurred in the 1980s after extensive flooding in 1981. The river supports large populations of rainbow and brown trout . A survey conducted in 2009 showed that
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#1732781051042682-533: The river. Before European settlement, the town site was a Māori pā surrounded by vast forests of kahikatea that came to be known as the "Turua Woods." In the late 19th century the village of Turua became one of the most important sites of kahikatea exploitation in New Zealand when the family of George and Martha Bagnall bought the Turua sawmill in 1875. Over the next forty years the stands of kahikatea surrounding
713-486: 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
744-429: The town were replaced by small family farms. Turua is defined by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement and covers 0.96 km (0.37 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 410 as of June 2024, with a population density of 427 people per km. It is part of the larger Hauraki Plains East statistical area. Turua had a population of 381 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 3 people (0.8%) since
775-464: 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
806-401: The upper section of the river supported over 700 fish per kilometre. The water quality at Te Aroha is in the worst category for dissolved reactive phosphorus and also the worst 25% of all sites measured for other pollutants. At Okauia the river is in the worst category for E. coli , though the measurement may have been overestimated. In the upper reaches of the river the main pollutant
837-416: Was $ 33,000, compared with $ 31,800 nationally. 147 people (13.8%) earned over $ 70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 570 (53.4%) people were employed full-time, 162 (15.2%) were part-time, and 30 (2.8%) were unemployed. Turua Primary School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of 107 as of August 2024. Waihou River The Waihou River
868-446: Was 9.9, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 61.3% had no religion, 26.6% were Christian , 0.9% had Māori religious beliefs , 0.7% were Hindu , 0.4% were Buddhist and 2.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 114 (10.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 282 (26.4%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income
899-423: Was a water column of 150 ft (46 m). Other parts of the river had been cleared in the same manner in previous years. Josiah Firth spent £7,442 to 1880, extending navigation for his Kotuku steamer, drawing 3 ft (0.91 m), as far as Stanley Landing, near Gordon. By 1923 a 30 ft (9.1 m) launch could reach Okauia . A 1925 report said there had once been a steady traffic. Regular traffic on
930-421: Was that 144 (47.1%) people were employed full-time, 39 (12.7%) were part-time, and 15 (4.9%) were unemployed. Hauraki Plains East statistical area covers 90.65 km (35.00 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,540 as of June 2024, with a population density of 17.0 people per km. Hauraki Plains East had a population of 1,365 at the 2018 New Zealand census , an increase of 48 people (3.6%) since
961-684: Was the longest single lane bridge in the country at 463 metres (1,519 ft) and the only remaining swing bridge on a New Zealand state highway. The bridge was infamous for the queues of vehicles travelling to and from the Coromandel Peninsula until a new two lane bridge was opened in December 2011. Tributaries include the Waimakariri Stream, Waiomou Stream, Oraka Stream and the Ohinemuri River . Many areas on