Katikati
Encyclopedia
Katikati (population 3,579 at 2006 census) is a town located on the Uretara Stream near the tidal inlet opened by Matakana Island
Matakana Island
Matakana Island is located in the western Bay of Plenty in New Zealand's North Island. A long, flat island, it is in length but rarely more than wide. The island has been continuously populated for centuries by a number Māori tribes that are mostly associated with Ngai Te Rangi...
in the Bay of Plenty
Bay of Plenty
The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
, New Zealand
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...
. The nearest city is Tauranga
Tauranga
Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...
, which is 40 kilometres to the southeast. Katikati lies 28 kilometres south of Waihi
Waihi
Waihi is a town in Hauraki District in the North Island of New Zealand, especially notable for its history as a gold mine town. It had a population of 4,503 at the 2006 census....
.
Katikati was settled in 1875 by settlers from County Tyrone
County Tyrone
Historically Tyrone stretched as far north as Lough Foyle, and comprised part of modern day County Londonderry east of the River Foyle. The majority of County Londonderry was carved out of Tyrone between 1610-1620 when that land went to the Guilds of London to set up profit making schemes based on...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
through the Orange Institution
Orange Institution
The Orange Institution is a Protestant fraternal organisation based mainly in Northern Ireland and Scotland, though it has lodges throughout the Commonwealth and United States. The Institution was founded in 1796 near the village of Loughgall in County Armagh, Ireland...
. The settlement was established by the Irishman George Vesey Stewart, who led two groups of settlers there aboard the ships Carisbrook Castle (1875) and Lady Jocelyn (1878). The land upon which the town was built was confiscated from local Māori after the land wars, and was given to the settlers by the Central Government.
The settlement was formed from two distinct groups "the settlers useful and the settlers ornamental" referring to the tenant farmers and those with wealth. The settlement managed to withstand early economic problems and developed into a healthy town, based around farming and agriculture.
Katikati is known for its many murals painted on walls of commercial buildings, started in the 1990s as a project to regenerate tourist interest in the town and district, indeed the effort was recognised with the bestowal of New Zealand's 'Most Beautiful Small Town' award for towns of less than 8,000 population in 2005 by the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Society.
There are hot spring
Hot spring
A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater from the Earth's crust. There are geothermal hot springs in many locations all over the crust of the earth.-Definitions:...
s three kilometres to the south of Katikati at Sapphire Springs.
The educational facilities in Katikati are:
Katikati College
Katikati College
Katikati College is a co-educational Year 7 to 13 school. It is located in the town of Katikati which is approximately 40 km northwest of the city of Tauranga in the Western Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand....
(Years 7 -13),
Katikati Primary (Years 1 - 6) and
Matahui Road School (Years 1 - 8)