Masterton


Masterton is a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand that operates as the seat of the Masterton District. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Remutaka ranges. It stands on the Waipoua stream between the Ruamāhunga and Waingawa Rivers – 100 kilometres north-east of Wellington and 40 kilometres south of Eketāhuna.
Masterton has an urban population of, and a district population of
Masterton businesses includes services for surrounding farmers. Three new industrial parks are being developed in Waingawa, Solway and Upper Plain. The town functions as the headquarters of the annual Golden Shears sheep-shearing competition.

Suburbs

Masterton suburbs include:

Early history

Masterton was founded in 1854 by the Small Farms Association. The association was led by Joseph Masters – after whom the town was named – and aimed to settle working people in villages and on the land. At first Masterton grew slowly, but as its farming hinterland became more productive it began to prosper.
In the 1870s, it overtook Greytown as Wairarapa's major town. It became a borough in 1877 and was reached by the railway line from Wellington in 1880. The railway became for a time the main line from Wellington to the north of New Zealand, and its arrival cemented the town's position as the Wairarapa region's main market and distribution centre.
Waipoua timber mill was producing butter boxes as early as 1884.
In April 1965, one of the country's worst industrial accidents occurred at the General Plastics Factory on 170 Dixon Street.
During World War II two battalions of the United States Marine Corps were stationed in Masterton.

Modern history

In essence, providing support services for rural industry – living off the sheep's back – Masterton's real growth ended with that sector's retrenchment after the 1974 British entry to the trade and political grouping now the European Union. Efforts to decentralise industry to New Zealand's provinces gave Masterton a print works and some other industries, but the lost economic activity was not restored.
From the 1970s, people and businesses left for opportunities elsewhere. In the 1980s, with government deregulation and protective tariffs lifted, more businesses closed, and the town declined further.
It did not quite qualify to be a city by 1989 when the minimum population requirement for that status was lifted from 20,000 to 50,000.

Marae

The Te Ore Ore marae was built in 1881 by Pāora Te Pōtangaroa and opened in 1881. The original building was destroyed in 1939 but was later rebuilt. The marae is located in Te Oreore near Masterton and is one of the main marae for Masterton. The marae is affiliated with Ngāti Hamua, a sub-tribe of Rangitāne.

Demographics

Masterton District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2. The Masterton urban area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Masterton District had a population of 27,678 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 2,121 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 4,326 people since the 2013 census. There were 13,401 males, 14,175 females and 102 people of other genders in 10,911 dwellings. 2.7% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 42.7 years. There were 5,127 people aged under 15 years, 4,635 aged 15 to 29, 11,637 aged 30 to 64, and 6,276 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 83.7% European ; 22.6% Māori; 4.6% Pasifika; 5.1% Asian; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 2.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.4%, Māori language by 4.7%, Samoan by 1.2% and other languages by 6.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.9%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 14.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 32.5% Christian, 0.8% Hindu, 0.4% Islam, 1.2% Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.5%, and 7.6% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,976 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 12,756 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 5,898 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $37,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,794 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 10,590 people were employed full-time, 3,300 were part-time, and 543 were unemployed.

Urban area

Masterton's urban area covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
The urban area had a population of 21,606 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,689 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 3,360 people since the 2013 census. There were 10,323 males, 11,205 females and 78 people of other genders in 8,631 dwellings. 2.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.3 years. There were 4,023 people aged under 15 years, 3,810 aged 15 to 29, 8,832 aged 30 to 64, and 4,941 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 81.0% European ; 25.1% Māori; 5.3% Pasifika; 6.1% Asian; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 2.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.2%, Māori language by 5.3%, Samoan by 1.5% and other languages by 6.6%. No language could be spoken by 2.0%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 14.8, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 33.1% Christian, 1.0% Hindu, 0.5% Islam, 1.4% Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.3% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 54.3%, and 7.6% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,124 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 9,903 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 4,926 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $35,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,143 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 8,061 people were employed full-time, 2,406 were part-time, and 459 were unemployed.

Climate

Masterton enjoys a mild temperate climate, grading towards a Mediterranean climate. Due to the geography of the Wairarapa valley and the Tararua Range directly to the west, the town's temperature fluctuates more than the nearby inland city of Palmerston North. Masterton experiences warmer, dry summers with highs above 30 °C possible and colder winters with frequent frost and lows below 0 °C.

Government

Between 1877 and 1989, Masterton Borough Council administered the area. An early mayor was the storekeeper Myer Caselberg.
The Masterton District Council is the Masterton District territorial authority. It is made up of an elected mayor, a deputy mayor/councillor, and seven additional councillors. They are elected under the First Past the Post system in triennial elections, with the last election being held on Saturday 15 October 2022.
The current council members are: Gary Caffell, general ward; Bex Johnson, Tom Hullena, Tim Nelson, Craig Bowyer, at large; David Holmes, Stella Lennox, Brent Goodwin, Māori ward; Marama Tuuta.
Nationally, Masterton is part of the general electorate and the Māori electorate.

Politics 2013 to 2016

Applications for local government reorganisation from the Greater Wellington Regional Council and the Wairarapa district councils in mid-2013 led to a proposal from the Local Government Commission for a region-wide unitary authority. In June 2015, the Commission decided not to proceed with this proposal due to lack of public support. Instead, because about 40 per cent of submissions suggested alternatives to the status quo, the Commission decided to work with councils and the community to achieve some consensus on the challenges it faced, and to collaborate in identifying possible options to address the challenges.

Education

Masterton's schools were reviewed in 2003 to take into account a changing demographic of the population, with several primary schools closing and merging. Today, there are five state primary schools in the township – four state contributing primaries: Douglas Park, Fernridge, Masterton Primary and Solway; and one state full primary: Lakeview. In addition, there are five state full primary schools in the surrounding district: Mauriceville, Opaki, Tinui, Wainuiouru and Whareama, and two state-integrated primaries: St Patrick's, a Catholic contributing primary, and Hadlow, an Anglican full primary.
Masterton Intermediate School, with over 500 students, is the only intermediate school in Masterton, bridging the gap between the state contributing primary schools and the secondary schools.
Two state secondary schools serve Masterton: Wairarapa College is the largest of the two with 1050 students, serving the western side of the town, while Makoura College with 320 students serves the eastern side of town. Four state-integrated schools also serve the town: Chanel College is a coeducational Catholic school with its own intermediate department; Rathkeale College and St Matthew's Collegiate are Anglican boys and girls schools respectively, with St Matthew's having an intermediate department; and Solway College is a Presbyterian girls school with intermediate. There is also a composite Māori immersion school in the town: Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Wairarapa.
Masterton has its own polytechnic, run by UCOL.
The Masterton District Library and Archive, situated on Queen Street, are part of the Lower North Island SMART Libraries group, which involves sharing books and information between 22 libraries.