Matapu


Matapu is a locality located in South Taranaki District within the southern Taranaki Region of New Zealand. Hāwera is to the south-east, Eltham to the north-east, Kaponga to the north-west and Manaia to the south-west.

Demographics

Matapu locality covers. The locality is part of the larger Okaiawa statistical area.
Matapu had a population of 120 in the 2023 New Zealand census, unchanged since the 2018 census, and unchanged since the 2013 census. There were 63 males and 57 females in 39 dwellings. 2.5% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 32.2 years. There were 36 people aged under 15 years, 24 aged 15 to 29, 48 aged 30 to 64, and 15 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 77.5% European, 37.5% Māori, and 5.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.0%, Māori by 10.0%, and other languages by 5.0%. No language could be spoken by 5.0%. The percentage of people born overseas was 5.0, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 22.5% Christian, 5.0% Hindu, and 5.0% Māori religious beliefs. People who answered that they had no religion were 55.0%, and 12.5% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 6 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 48 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 33 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $40,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 6 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 48 full-time and 12 part-time.

Marae

Matapu has three marae, associated with Ngāruahine hapū.
In October 2020, the Government committed $1,259,392 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Aotearoa Marae and 7 other Ngāti Raukawa marae, creating 18 jobs.

Education

Matapu School is a coeducational full primary school with a decile rating of 7 and a roll of 75. In 2005, Okaiawa and Mangatoki Schools closed and merged with Matapu School.