Wairoa
Wairoa is the largest town in the Wairoa District and the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Māhia Peninsula. It is northeast of Napier, and southwest of Gisborne, on State Highway 2. It is the nearest town to the Te Urewera protected area and former national park, which is accessible from Wairoa via State Highway 38. It is one of three towns in New Zealand where Māori outnumber other ethnicities, with 62.29% of the population identifying as Māori.
History
Early history
Te Wairoa was originally a Māori settlement. The ancestral waka Tākitimu travelled up the Wairoa river and landed at Mākeakea, near where Tākitimu meeting house stands today. Te Reinga Falls is the starting point of the Wairoa river and said to be linked with the taniwha Hinekorako and Ruamano, who guided Takitimu to Aotearoa. The Wairoa River mouth is associated with two taniwha, Tapuwae and Te Maaha, who are engaged in an ongoing struggle. There were a number of pā in close vicinity to the river, and the river was a major route for transport and trading. The river was an important source of food and still is to this day, including whitebait, flounder, mullet and eel.Early European settlement in the area included a whaling station and trading post established by William Rhodes in 1839, dealing largely in flax. These establishments offered sufficient income and attraction. Wairoa's initial name was Clyde, but this was changed, largely to avoid confusion with Clive near Napier and Clyde in the South Island. The north part of the town is called North Clyde. The town rose to prominence during the New Zealand Wars, during which time it was a garrison town.
The New Zealand government bought the land on which the town is built in 1864. This land was divided up and then sold as sections in 1866. The Wairoa Harbour Board was established in 1872. The Wairoa lighthouse was built between 1877 and 1878 and its beacon was first lit in 1878. The tower was reinforced in 1879 to provide greater stability after a storm damaged it. The first bridge across the Wairoa river was built in 1888.
20th century
The Wairoa Borough Council was established in 1909. The Napier to Wairoa railway line was started in 1911. Progress was intermittent with the Wairoa river railway bridge being built in 1930. The railway line was completed in 1937. In April 1938, flooding hit the area, causing hundreds of slips which damaged the railway line. Work to restore the railway took place and it was opened again for trains by the end of 1938 and fully utilised by 1939. This led to a decline in the use of the port at Wairoa, with the port used for the last time in 1942. The Wairoa Harbour Board was abolished in 1946. The road bridge across the Wairoa river was damaged in the 1931 Hawke's Bay earthquake and a replacement bridge was completed in 1933.Annie and Rosamond Smyth were murdered in their home in the Salvation Army hall in 1942. The killer was not identified at the time. Herbert Brunton was murdered in 1948, and this also went unsolved. Leo Silvester Hannan made a death bed confession to the three killings in 1962 while in prison for a 1950 murder in Wellington.
In early March 1988, much of the North Island was severely affected by storm damage from Cyclone Bola. In Wairoa, three days of heavy rain in the catchment areas caused severe flooding and damage including the loss of a 60-metre section of town's main bridge, cutting the town in half, and interrupting phone lines and the town's water supply. There was severe flood damage to farms, businesses, homes and the showgrounds. A new bridge, the third at the location, was completed and officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1990.
In 1990 Wairoa won the last New Zealand Top Town Final in the original Top Town series and were the reigning champs until the series started again in 2009. Due to some confusion with a claim by Greymouth to be the last champions, Wairoa was not eligible for the new top town series and unable to defend their title.
Gang conflict
There have long been tensions between the rival Mongrel Mob and Black Power gangs in Wairoa. In 1988, Wairoa's main street: Marine Parade was the scene of a fatal shooting of two Black Power associates. In 2003, a Mongrel Mob member was killed in February and a sniper shot a Black Power gang member dead in a van following an incident near the Wairoa Courthouse in November. In 2010, a Black Power gang member was shot in the face. Two Black Power members retaliated later that year and shot a Mongrel Mob member several times at a Wairoa petrol station. In 2021, gang related violence flared again with five separate incidents of guns being fired at homes in Wairoa. The police launched Operation Atlas to reduce tensions and stop the ongoing violence in Wairoa. In 2022, a shotgun blast hit the window of a child's bedroom and a person received serious leg injuries. This was due to gang-crossfire where two homes were shot at in a drive-by shooting.21st century
In 2017, Rocket Lab built their rocket launch site on the Mahia Peninsula with Wairoa being the closet town to the site. This has led to a number of employment opportunities for Wairoa.The Wairoa branch of the ANZ bank closed in 2018, and the BNZ and Westpac banks closed in 2021. Wairoa also lost its only dentist in 2020 forcing locals to visit Gisborne or Napier for dental treatment.
In February 2023, Wairoa was hit by Cyclone Gabrielle with it being described as "the most catastrophic weather event Wairoa has experienced in living memory". State Highway 2 between Napier and Wairoa was closed until May 2023 because of the damage it suffered. in May 2023, plans were progressing to prevent flooding affecting Wairoa again with the Hawke's Bay Regional Council saying that they wish to invest in a flood protection scheme. The risk of flooding "in some areas as high as 5 percent. This means, for example, that a dwelling designed for a 50-year life has a 93 percent chance of being flooded in its lifetime." It was noted by the mayor Craig Little, "There is actually zero flood protection at the moment" for Wairoa.
In late June 2024, Wairoa experienced torrential rain and high tides, which led to 118 homes being flooded. The flooding was compounded by a blockage at the mouth of the Wairoa River, which caused the river to burst its banks and significant flooding three blocks inland. In response to flooding, the New Zealand Government allocated NZ$3 million to disaster relief efforts in Wairoa. Following the Wairoa flooding, both the Hawke's Bay Regional Council and the Government commissioned investigations into local flood mitigation efforts.
Demographics
Stats NZ describes Wairoa as a small urban area, which covers. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.Wairoa had a population of 4,707 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 180 people since the 2018 census, and an increase of 618 people since the 2013 census. There were 2,304 males, 2,394 females, and 9 people of other genders in 1,620 dwellings. 2.1% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 35.1 years. There were 1,173 people aged under 15 years, 870 aged 15 to 29, 1,869 aged 30 to 64, and 795 aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 41.5% European ; 74.6% Māori; 4.8% Pasifika; 2.5% Asian; 0.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders ; and 1.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.0%, Māori by 22.2%, Samoan by 0.3%, and other languages by 2.7%. No language could be spoken by 2.5%. New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.8%. The percentage of people born overseas was 7.3, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 35.4% Christian, 0.3% Hindu, 0.6% Islam, 15.6% Māori religious beliefs, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 0.6% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 40.5%, and 7.3% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 345 people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 2,049 had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 1,140 people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $31,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 117 people earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 1,476 full-time, 414 part-time, and 174 unemployed.
Wairoa had a population of 3348 people in 1951, which increased to 3796 people in 1956 and; 4301 in 1961.
Climate
Economy
The meat processing plant in Wairoa was first established in 1916. Originally owned by the Wairoa Co-operative Meat Company, the building was destroyed by a fire on 5 February 1931. The AFFCO group bought it in 1990. The meat processing plant employs around 650 people in their peak season. They process mutton, lamb, goat and beef and export much of the product. There is also a rendering plant onsite producing bone meal and tallow. In 2015 the Employment Court deemed a lockout of 170 workers at the plant illegal. Management had locked workers out for five months who refused to sign individual contracts. In 2018, the Court of Appeal ruled that those workers locked out should be paid lost wages. In February 2020, a worker at the plant was killed on the job, crushed by pallets. Worksafe closed the plant briefly and investigated the incident.Forestry is playing an increasing role in the economy of Wairoa. Many farms are being converted to forests which earn carbon credits. There are concerns that the loss of farming will shrink the size of the town's economy and lead to depopulation.
In January 2020, the Government announced funding of $6.1 million to support rebuilding in the central business district. The funding will support a Wairoa Integrated Business and Tourism Facility, a Wairoa Digital Employment Programme and a Wairoa Regional Digital Hub.