Wairoa

Wairoa
Minor urban area
Wairoa Wairoa's location within the North Island
Coordinates: 39°02′S 177°22′E / 39.033°S 177.367°E / -39.033; 177.367Coordinates: 39°02′S 177°22′E / 39.033°S 177.367°E / -39.033; 177.367
Country	New Zealand
Region	Hawke's Bay
Territorial authority	Wairoa District
Population (June 2016)[1]
• Total	4,250
Postcode(s)	4108

Wairoa riverbank viewed from SH2 bridge over Wairoa River

Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke's Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the SouthWest of Mahia Peninsula. It is 118 kilometres northeast of Napier, and 92 kilometres southwest of Gisborne. It is the largest town in the district of Wairoa. The district (as opposed to the town) has been known historically as 'Te Wairoa'. In keeping with the district's vision of being bilingual by 2040, the use of the phrase 'Te Wairoa' when referring to the district is steadily increasing.

Wairoa is Māori for long water portraying the length of the tranquil river that runs throughout the town.^[2]

Early settlement in the area included a whaling station and trading post, dealing largely in flax. These establishments offered sufficient income and attraction. Its 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.

Wairoa is a manufacturing and farming service town. It is the seat of the Wairoa District Council. The Wairoa District covers the northern half of the bay's coast, and extends from Mahia Peninsula to Lake Waikaremoana, and south to the mouth of the Waikare River. It has a population of 8,481 inhabitants (2013 census).^[3] The District has a land area of 4,119.18 km² (1,590.42 sq mi).

In 2014, following the election of a new Council and the appointment of a new Chief Executive, the district embarked on an ambitious programme of attracting novel and high-tech industry to the district in an effort to arrest and reverse gradual population decline and loss of services that the community had been suffering from for the previous 20 years.

As a result of these economic development efforts, in 2016, Rocket Lab announced that it was establishing its Orbital Launch Site (known as Launch Complex 1) for its Electron Vehicle on the Mahia Peninsula. Space launches are expected to commence in late 2016 with a series of three test launches. Commercial launches are anticipated to commence in 2017. The Electron vehicle is capable of delivering satellites into Low Earth Orbit, using innovative New Zealand technology that is set to revolutionise space operations. The section of Te Wairoa coastline along which satisfactory space launch viewing experiences are likely is known as 'Space Coast New Zealand' - a more modest analogue of the Space Coast in the United States (the Florida Space Coast).

The New Zealand Space Agency has been established to manage New Zealand space treaties and activity.

Wairoa has one secondary school, Wairoa College.This offers many opportunities to those students between the years of 7 - 13 with assessments such as NCEA and WAM ( Wairoa Achievement Model). This town also offers many opportunities for education as it has a wide variety of schools specialising in Maori Culture or Catholic Beliefs along as National Curruclum subjects. Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Ngati Kahungunu O Te Wairoa is the only Maori school in this region. Wairoa Primary, Tiaho, and Frasertown are the Primary schools that offer education to students in years 1 - 6. Ohuka, Te Mahia, Nuhaka, Ruakituri, Mohaka, Waikaremoana, Tiniroto, Tutira, Kotemaori, and St Joseph's School offer education to students in the years 1 - 8. The latter is a special catholic character school.^[4]

Wairoa is situated on SH2, which gives connections to Gisborne to the north east and Napier to the south west. It is connected to the Central North Island by SH38 which goes from Wai-O-Tapu via Murupara and Frasertown to Wairoa, and which connects to Rotorua via Te Urewera, and Lake Waikaremoana. It also lies on the Palmerston North-Gisborne railway, though passenger services ceased in 1988 following Cyclone Bola.

As well as being within easy driving distance from the fabulous Lake Waikaremoana (one of New Zealand's 9 Great Walks), the Morere Hot Springs, the world-renowned trout-fishing Ruakituri River, and the breathtakingly beautiful Mahia Peninsula can all be found in Te Wairoa.

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. Unfortunately 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.^[5][6]

Since 2005, Wairoa has been host to the annual Wairoa Māori Film Festival, New Zealand's premiere Maori and indigenous film festival, which has hosted film makers from across the nation and around the world. In 2015, the festival began to be hosted in part at the newly revitalised Gaiety Theatre, which had recently been fitted out with one of the world's most advanced theatre sound systems (9.1).

A $5M investment by central government in improved medical facilities, and, commencing July 2014, an increased emphasis by the Wairoa District Council on economic development (particularly aimed at encouragement of diversification of agribusiness, ecotourism, digital creative industry attraction, and attraction of new and returning residents) has led to an increasingly positive community view of the district's future.

Mayor Craig Little JP was elected as Mayor in the 2013 District Elections.^[7]

Notable People

• Esme Tombleson, politician

Notes

External links

• Wairoa Help and Information Centre
• Wairoa i-SITE Visitor Information and Travel Centre
• Official website of Wairoa District Council