Horowhenua District

Horowhenua District
Horowhenua District
Territorial authority
	Lake Papaitonga
Country	New Zealand
Region	Manawatū-Whanganui
District	Horowhenua District Council
Wards	Levin; Waiopehu; Miranui; Kere Kere
Seat	Levin
Government
• Mayor	Bernie Wanden
• Deputy Mayor	Jo Mason
Area
• Total	1,063.60 km2 (410.66 sq mi)
Population (June 2021)
• Total	36,500
• Density	34/km2 (89/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)	Map of postcodes
Website	Horowhenua District Council

Horowhenua District is a local government district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It forms part of the Manawatū-Whanganui region. Its name roughly means shaking or rippling earth.

Located north of Wellington and Kapiti, the district stretches from slightly north of the town of Ōtaki in the south to just south of Himatangi in the north, and from the coast to the summit of the Tararua Ranges.

The main town and seat of the district council is Levin, and other towns in the district include Foxton, Shannon, and Tokomaru. The population of the district is 36,500 (June 2021).^[1]

Populated places[]

Horowhenua District consists of the following towns, localities, settlements and communities (larger towns shown in bold):

Kere Kere Ward:
- Foxton
- Foxton Beach
Levin Ward:
- Levin
Miranu Ward:
- Mangaore
- Opiki
- Shannon
- Tokomaru

Waiopehu Ward:

Demographics[]

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	29,868	—
2013	30,096	+0.11%
2018	33,261	+2.02%
Source: ^[2]

Horowhenua District had a population of 33,261 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 3,165 people (10.5%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 3,393 people (11.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 13,230 households. There were 16,143 males and 17,118 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female. The median age was 46.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 6,087 people (18.3%) aged under 15 years, 5,244 (15.8%) aged 15 to 29, 13,707 (41.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 8,223 (24.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 81.0% European/Pākehā, 24.5% Māori, 5.7% Pacific peoples, 4.1% Asian, and 1.6% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 14.1%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.1% had no religion, 36.0% were Christian, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 2.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,877 (10.6%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 7,806 (28.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 10,905 (40.1%) people were employed full-time, 3,567 (13.1%) were part-time, and 1,311 (4.8%) were unemployed.^[2]

Individual wards
Name	Population	Households	Median age	Median income
Kere Kere Ward	5,949	2,430	48.8 years	$23,700
Miranui Ward	3,189	1,170	37 years	$27,100
Levin Ward	17,133	6,837	45.4 years	$22,500
Waiopehu Ward	6,990	2,790	51.7 years	$29,000
New Zealand			37.4 years	$31,800

Land use in Horowhenua[]

Much of the area was once an extensive wetland and the centre of a substantial flax industry. It has been progressively drained and converted to productive but flood-prone farmland, with a mixture of loam and peat based soils. Some parts of the wetland, particularly those around Lake Horowhenua are being returned to their former state as a conservation area, with the help of local Māori. One of the local tribal authorities is the Muaūpoko Tribal Authority.