South Taranaki District

South Taranaki District
South Taranaki District
Territorial authority
	Hāwera
	Location of the South Taranaki District in North Island
Country	New Zealand
Region	Taranaki
District	South Taranaki District Council
Wards	Taranaki Coastal; Eltham-Kaponga; Te Hāwera; Pātea;
Government
• Mayor	Phil Nixon
• Deputy Mayor	Robert Northcott
Area
• Total	3,575.46 km2 (1,380.49 sq mi)
Population (June 2020)
• Total	28,700
• Density	8.0/km2 (21/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+12 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)	Map of postcodes
Website	South Taranaki District Council

South Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hāwera (the seat of the district), Manaia, Ōpunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley. The District has a land area of 3,575.46 km² (1,380.49 sq mi) and a population of 28,700 (June 2020).^[1] It is part of the greater Taranaki Region.

The district straddles the boundary separating the Wellington and Taranaki provinces, resulting in the town of Waverley celebrating Wellington Anniversary Day in January, and the town of Patea 15 kilometres away celebrating Taranaki Anniversary Day in March.^{[citation needed]}

Council facilities include the South Taranaki LibraryPlus, Mania, Kaponga, Patea, Eltham, Opunake, Hāwera and Waverley libraries.^[2]

History[]

The South Taranaki District was established as part of the 1989 local government reforms, merging Egmont, Eltham, Hawera, Patea and Waimate West counties.^[3]

Demographics[]

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	26,487	—
2013	26,580	+0.05%
2018	27,534	+0.71%
Source: ^[4]

South Taranaki District had a population of 27,534 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 954 people (3.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 1,047 people (4.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 10,668 households. There were 13,971 males and 13,566 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 38.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 6,219 people (22.6%) aged under 15 years, 4,719 (17.1%) aged 15 to 29, 12,264 (44.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 4,332 (15.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 80.6% European/Pākehā, 27.6% Māori, 2.2% Pacific peoples, 3.4% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities).

The proportion of people born overseas was 8.9%, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.0% had no religion, 35.8% were Christian, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.3% were Muslim, 0.3% were Buddhist and 3.3% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,007 (9.4%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 6,162 (28.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 10,398 (48.8%) people were employed full-time, 3,051 (14.3%) were part-time, and 942 (4.4%) were unemployed.^[4]

Individual wards. Wards have changed names and boundaries since these 2018 figures.
Name	Population	Households	Median age	Median income
Egmont Plains Ward (now Taranaki Coastal Ward, some territory swapped with Eltham-Kaponga)	6,345	2,412	36.4 years	$29,900
Eltham Ward (now Eltham-Kaponga Ward)	4,029	1,557	37.2 years	$28,000
Tangahoe Ward (now part of Te Hawera Ward)	2,859	1,053	38.2 years	$40,100
Hawera-Normanby Ward (now part of Te Hāwera Ward)	10,413	4,011	38.8 years	$27,900
Patea Ward (now Pātea Ward)	3,891	1,635	43.2 years	$24,000^[5]
New Zealand			37.4 years	$31,800