Hawera
Encyclopedia
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
's North Island
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
, with a population of . It is near the coast of the South Taranaki Bight
South Taranaki Bight
The South Taranaki Bight is the name given to the large bay which extends south and east from the south coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. With more symmetry than poetry or originality, it is matched by the North Taranaki Bight to the north of Cape Egmont.The size of the bight...
, 75 kilometres south of New Plymouth
New Plymouth
New Plymouth is the major city of the Taranaki Region on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England, from where the first English settlers migrated....
on State Highway 3
New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
and 20 minutes' drive from Mount Taranaki/Egmont.
It is also on State Highway 45
New Zealand State Highway network
The New Zealand State Highway network is the major national highway network in New Zealand. Just under 100 roads in both the North and South Islands are State Highways...
, known as Surf Highway 45 for its numerous surf beaches. State Highway 45 passes through Manaia, Opunake
Opunake
Opunake is a small town on the southwest coast of Taranaki in New Zealand's North Island. It is located 45 kilometres southwest of New Plymouth. Rahotu is 16 km to the northwest. Manaia is 29 km to the southeast. State Highway 45 passes through the town.The population was 1368 in the...
and Oakura en route to New Plymouth. Kaponga
Kaponga
Kaponga is a small town in the southern part of the Taranaki region of New Zealand. It is known as "The Gateway to Dawson's Falls" on Mount Taranaki/Egmont. Kaponga is located inland from Manaia and Eltham, and is on the main road connecting Eltham to Opunake. Opunaki is 26 km to the west and...
is a 20-minute drive to the north-west. The Marton - New Plymouth Line railway passes through Hawera and has served the town since 1 August 1881, though it has been freight-only since the cancellation of the last railcar
Railcar
A railcar, in British English and Australian English, is a self-propelled railway vehicle designed to transport passengers. The term "railcar" is usually used in reference to a train consisting of a single coach , with a driver's cab at one or both ends. Some railways, e.g., the Great Western...
passenger service between Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
and New Plymouth on 30 July 1977.
Hawera is Maori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
for burnt place, from fighting between two local sub-tribes, which culminated in the setting ablaze of the sleeping whare (house) of the tribe under attack. The name became apt when the town suffered extensive blazes in 1884, 1888, and 1912. For this reason a large water tower was built in the centre of town to increase water pressure; and this became one of Taranaki's best-known landmarks (appearing, for example, on the cover of the 1974 telephone directory). After falling into disrepair the tower was closed to the public in 2001, but after an extensive restoration program it opened again in 2004.http://www.contech.co.nz/uploaded/Hawera%20Water%20Tower%20Restoration%20June%202004.pdf
Hawera is also home to the largest dairy factory
Dairy
A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a dedicated dairy farm or section of a multi-purpose farm that is concerned...
complex in the world, "Whareroa", which has its own gas-fired powerplant. The complex is owned by Fonterra
Fonterra
Fonterra Co-operative Group Limited is a New Zealand multinational dairy co-operative owned by almost 10,500 New Zealand farmers. The company is responsible for approximately 30% of the world's dairy exports and with revenue exceeding NZ$19.87 billion, is New Zealand's largest company.- History :In...
, having been built by the former Kiwi Co-operative Dairies Limited (whose original plant opened on that site in 1975).
Hawera is also home to Tawhiti Museum, well-known for its hand-crafted life-sized wax sculptures depicting scenes of local heritage and history, and its scale models of local Maori pa
Pa (Maori)
The word pā can refer to any Māori village or settlement, but in traditional use it referred to hillforts fortified with palisades and defensive terraces and also to fortified villages. They first came into being about 1450. They are located mainly in the North Island north of lake Taupo...
.
Born in Hawera
- Aroha AwarauAroha AwarauAroha Edward Awarau is an award winning journalist who won the 2008 New Zealand Magazine Journalist of the Year at the annual Magazine Publisher’s Association Award....
(1976), award winning journalist for the NZ Woman's Weekly and three time winner of the Ronald Hugh Morrieson Award. - Alan BroughAlan BroughAlan Brough is a New Zealand actor and comedian.Brough worked as an actor in Wellington and Auckland, mainly in live theatre...
, actor, comedian, and team leader from Spicks and Specks. - Michael CampbellMichael CampbellMichael Shane Campbell, CNZM is a New Zealand golfer who is best known for having won the 2005 U.S. Open and the richest prize in golf, the £1,000,000 HSBC World Match Play Championship, in the same year. He is a member of the European Tour.Ethnically, he is predominantly Māori, from the Ngati...
(23 February 1969), professional golfer. 2005 US Open winner. - Tim ChadwickTim ChadwickTim Chadwick was a New Zealand artist, motoring enthusuast and author. His mixed media paintings have been exhibited at the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Plymouth, the Manawatu Art Gallery in Palmerston North, and dealer galleries in Auckland and Wellington, as well as at the Lincoln Center,...
(4 October 1962), artist & published author - Peter IngramPeter IngramPeter John Ingram is a cricket player from New Zealand, who plays for Central Districts. He is a right-handed batsman who has enjoyed considerable success on the domestic scene in recent seasons. He is a right arm off spin bowler. He also plays for Taranaki in the Hawke Cup...
(1978), New Zealand cricket player. - Fiona KidmanFiona KidmanDame Fiona Judith Kidman, DNZM, OBE , is a New Zealand novelist, poet, scriptwriter and short story author....
(1940), writer. - Issac LukeIssac LukeIssac Luke is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League. His position of choice is either hooker or in the halves. His first-grade debut was for the South Sydney Rabbitohs against the Melbourne Storm at Olympic Park in round 12...
(1987), New Zealand Rugby League Player. - John Gildroy GrantJohn Gildroy GrantJohn Gildroy Grant VC was a non-commissioned officer in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award of the British Commonwealth for gallantry "in the face of the enemy", during the First World War.-Biography:Ae a 29 year old sergeant in the 1st...
(1889), WWI Victoria Cross recipient. - John MitchellJohn Mitchell (rugby player)John Eric Paul Mitchell, is a noted former rugby union player and former coach for the New Zealand All Blacks. Mitchell's rugby career blossomed with the club side Fraser-Tech after he moved from King Country in 1984 and was soon elected Waikato Colts captain...
(1964), rugby union player and coach. - Nicola KawanaNicola KawanaNicola Kawana, is best known for playing Huia Samuels on the longest running New Zealand television series Shortland Street. Other roles include Mercy Peak, Jackson's Wharf and Lollie in The Man Who Lost His Head....
(actress) roles in Shortland Street and Jackson's Wharf. - Ronald Hugh MorriesonRonald Hugh MorriesonRonald Hugh Morrieson of Hawera, Taranaki was a novelist and short story writer in the New Zealand vernacular. He earned his living as a...
(29 January 1922), author of filmed cult novels Came a Hot FridayCame a Hot FridayCame a Hot Friday is a 1985 New Zealand made comedy film starring some of New Zealand's best-known actors and comedians, based on the 1964 novel by Ronald Hugh Morrieson.-Plot:...
, Pallet on the Floor, Predicament and The Scarecrow. - John PlumtreeJohn PlumtreeJohn Plumtree is the current head coach of the Natal Sharks, a rugby union team which competes in South Africa's national provincial competition, the Currie Cup. As a player Plumtree won two Currie Cup medals with the Sharks ; and as a coach he guided the Sharks to Currie Cup wins in 2008 and...
(16 July 1965), rugby union player and coach. - Conrad SmithConrad SmithConrad Gerard Smith is a New Zealand rugby union footballer. He is a midfield back and plays outside centre . He had been in many Taranaki age group teams. He moved to Wellington where he completed an LLB at Victoria University of Wellington...
(1981), All Black rugby union player. - Elijah TaylorElijah TaylorElijah Taylor is a professional rugby league footballer who currently plays in the National Rugby League for the New Zealand Warriors.-Early years:...
(1990), New Zealand Rugby League Player. - Adine WilsonAdine WilsonAdine Rachel Wilson Harper is a New Zealand international netball representative.-Personal background:...
(née Harper) (1979), Silver Ferns netballer & captain.
Education
Hawera Primary School was established in 1875. It developed into a District High School in 1901. The current high school opened as Hawera Technical High School in 1919, and moved to its present site in 1921. The intermediate school opened in 1961.The Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki
Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki
Western Institute of Technology at Taranaki is the largest Tertiary Education Institution in the province of Taranaki, New Zealand.The institute has two campuses around Taranaki; the Main Campus is situated in New Plymouth, and the other is located in Hawera. It is famed for its Zero Fee Scheme...
has a campus in Hawera, established in 1990.
Hawera High School is a secondary (years 9-13) school with a roll of 782. Hawera Intermediate is an intermediate (years 7-8) school with a roll of 352. Both have a decile rating
Socio-Economic Decile
Decile, Socio-Economic Decile or Socio-Economic Decile Band is a widely used measure in education in New Zealand used to target funding and support to more needy schools....
of 5.
Hawera Primary School, Ramanui School, Tawhiti School and Turuturu School are contributing primary (years 1-6) schools with rolls of 202, 80, 194, and 281, respectively. Hawera Primary and Tawhiti have decile ratings of 4. Ramanui has a decile rating of 2, and Turuturu School has a decile of 6. Hawera Primary celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2000. Ramanui school celebrated its 50th jubilee in 2003.
Belmont Christian Academy and St Joseph's School are state integrated full primary (years 1-8) schools with decile ratings of 6 and rolls of 35 and 250 respectively.
Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ngati Ruanui is a full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 1 and a roll of 61. It is a Kura Kaupapa Māori
Kura Kaupapa Maori
Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori-language immersion schools where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture...
school which teaches in the Māori language
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
.
All these schools are coeducational.
External links
- Hawera information page from the South Taranaki DistrictSouth Taranaki DistrictSouth Taranaki is a territorial authority on the west coast of New Zealand's North Island that contains the towns of Hawera, Manaia, Opunake, Patea, Eltham, and Waverley...
Council - Belmont Christian Academy website
- Hawera High School website
- Hawera Intermediate website
- Hawera Primary School website
- Tawhiti School website
- Hawera Observatory
- Hawera Baptist Church website