Otakeho


Otakeho, meaning place of Takeho, is a locality in southern Taranaki, New Zealand, west of the Otakeho Stream, a boarded up store a war memorial and a few houses.
west of Otakeho is Ngāruahine's Tawhitinui Marae. A kohanga reo has been run at the marae since the 1980s.
Otakeho has a small sandy beach, beyond Dingle Road, at the foot of high cliffs. It is used for fishing and has a poorly protected, nationally threatened, variety of Craspedia, Craspedia Otakeho.
The Ōpunake to New Plymouth bus runs through Otakeho daily in each direction, except at weekends. A bus has run since 1915 and was preceded by Royal Mail coaches, which changed horses there from 1881.

History

Otakeho was, like Parihaka, a part of the Waimate Plains confiscated from Ngāti Ruanui under the Settlements Act 1863, so that precautions were taken during the survey of the main road in 1878. In 1880 there was a camp of No.1 Company of the Armed Constabulary at Otakeho, when the road was being built. Later in the year the confiscated land was being sold, for £16 to £24 per acre. Otakeho may have been an area where ploughing protests occurred, though it stopped on request. A phone line to Manaia was built about 1883. Otakeho Bridge was swept away by a flood in 1893. Gravel was put on the mud roads around the period 1893 to 1913.

Growth

Otakeho grew from the 1880s to the early decades of the twentieth century, becoming a much larger village than the current one, its first store, bakery and post and telegraph office being opened by Mr Blennerhasset in 1882. In 1883 a butcher and smithy opened, a school in 1884, a tinsmith's and in 1896 a public hall. A debating society was formed in 1891. The 1894 school closed in 2003, though the buildings remain. An 1893 Category 2 listed church was designed by Frederick de Jersey Clere, was extended with a vestry in 1954, closed in 2015, deconsecrated in 2017, sold in 2018 and moved to Pihama in 2021. The churchyard wasn't used as a burial ground. The village also had carriers, a dairy factory, which occupied several buildings and three butchers.

Hotel

Tenders for the hotel were invited in 1881, building started in September 1881, and the 20-room Otakeho Hotel opened in January 1882. It was rebuilt after a 1907 fire and burnt down again in January 1980.

Dairy

In 1888 Newton King together with R. Cook and J.C. George founded the Crown Dairy Company which started by taking over three unsuccessful co-operatives at Manaia, Otakeho and Opunake.

Demographics

Otakeho locality covers. The locality is part of the larger Taungatara statistical area.
The population was once almost double the current total, being 75 in 1906, 314 in 1921 and 305 in 1951.
Otakeho had a population of 177 in the 2023 New Zealand census, a decrease of 21 people since the 2018 census, and a decrease of 12 people since the 2013 census. There were 93 males and 84 females in 66 dwellings. 3.4% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 34.6 years. There were 39 people aged under 15 years, 36 aged 15 to 29, 84 aged 30 to 64, and 18 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 88.1% European, 23.7% Māori, 1.7% Pasifika, 1.7% Asian, and 3.4% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori by 5.1%, and other languages by 3.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.7%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.7%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.2, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 28.8% Christian. People who answered that they had no religion were 57.6%, and 11.9% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 12 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 84 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 45 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $46,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 18 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 78 full-time, 30 part-time, and 6 unemployed.

Notable people