Te Awamutu | |
|---|---|
 Te Awamutu war memorials | |
| Nicknames: T.A., "The Rose Town of New Zealand" | |
 | |
| Coordinates:38°01′S175°19′E / 38.017°S 175.317°E /-38.017; 175.317 | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Waikato |
| District | Waipā District |
| Ward | Te Awamutu-Kihikihi General Ward |
| Community | Te Awamutu-Kihikihi Community |
| Electorates | |
| Government | |
| • Territorial Authority | Waipā District Council |
| • Regional council | Waikato Regional Council |
| • Mayor of Waipa | Mike Pettit[1] |
| • Taranaki-King Country MP | Barbara Kuriger[2] |
| • Hauraki-Waikato MP | Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke[3] |
| Area | |
• Total | 14.18 km2 (5.47 sq mi) |
| Population (June 2025)[5] | |
• Total | 13,950 |
| • Density | 983.8/km2 (2,548/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+12 (NZST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+13 (NZDT) |
| Website | City:teawamutu.co.nz Region:http://www.ew.govt.nz |
Te Awamutu is a town in theWaikato region in theNorth Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of theWaipā District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some 30 kilometres (19 mi) south ofHamilton onState Highway 3, one of the two main routes south fromAuckland and Hamilton.
Te Awamutu has a population of 13,950 (June 2025),[5] making it the fifth-largest urban area in the Waikato behind Hamilton,Taupō,Cambridge andTokoroa.
The town is often referred to as "The Rose Town of New Zealand" because of its elaborate rose gardens in the centre of the town.[6] Many local businesses use "Rosetown" in their name, and the symbol of the rose is widely used on local signs and billboards. The local paper,Te Awamutu Courier, had a symbol of a rose in the masthead on its front page.
TainuiMāori first settled in the area in about 1450, according to noted Tainui historian Te Hurinui-Jones. Te Awamutu means "the river cut short", as it marked the end of the navigable section of theMangapiko Stream.[7]
Te Awamutu was the birthplace of the first MāoriKing,Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 1860).
The first European missionaries visited the area in 1834. A missionary settlement was set up by Benjamin Yate Ashwell of theChurch Missionary Society (CMS).[8][9][10] and Māori Christians in July 1839 after they observed Tainui warriors, who had been fighting atRotorua, return with 60 backpacks of human remains and proceed to cook andeat them in the Otawhao Pā.[11] In 1842 the Rev.John Morgan moved to the Otawhao Mission Station.[12] Otawhao was to the south west of Te Awamutu, on the rise overlooking what is now Centennial Park.[13]
The CMS missionaries established a flourishing trade school that focused on developing agricultural skills. The missionaries introduced European crops such as wheat, potatoes and peaches. In 1846 Morgan provided advice and some capital to help local Māori to construct eight water mills to grind wheat into flour.[14] Morgan assisted in finding a suitable miller to operate the mills and to train Māori in this skill.[15]
Possibly the oldest surviving building in the Waikato[16] is St John's church, built in 1853 as part of the mission station. It is inGothic Revival style.[17] During the 1850s the wider area prospered on the back of sending surplus farm produce to Auckland. For a brief period wheat was even sent overseas. By the late 1850s prices dropped as cheaper flour and other foodstuffs were imported from Australia. This caused huge resentment among local Māori who had grown use to the wealth provided by trade. Some of the more warlike Māori such asRewi Maniapoto blamed the missionaries for having a negative influence on Māoritikanga (cultural practices). He attempted to kill the local missionary and burnt down the trade school and other mission buildings. Some Christian Māori warned Europeans to leave the Waikato as their lives were in danger. Te Awamutu was a major site during theNew Zealand Wars of the 19th century, serving as agarrison town for the colonial settlers from 1864. European settlement began at the conclusion of theWaikato Wars (1863–1865).[18]
The local Mangatoatoa Marae and Te Maru o Ihowa meeting house is a meeting place for theNgāti Maniapotohapū ofNgutu,Pare te Kawa andParewaeono, and theWaikato Tainui hapū ofNgāti Ngutu andNgāti Paretekawa.[19][20]
Rangiaowhia,[21] or Rangiaohia Highway Board administered the roads in the town until Te Awamutu Town Board's[22] election on 1 November 1884.[23] The board first met on 8 November,[24] though there had been an earlier attempt to form a board[25] and there was an unsuccessful challenge to the legality of the election.[26] Te Awamutu Borough Council took over from the board and first met on 10 May 1915.[27] It was merged into Waipā District Council on 23 October 1989.[28]
Te Awamutu literally means in English "The River's End".[29] The town is on gently undulating land close to the banks of a tributary of theWaipā River. TheWaikato Plains lie to the north and east, and thepromontory ofMount Pirongia, 20 kilometres to the west, is easily visible. Inside the township are two streams called theMangapiko Stream and the Mangaohoi Stream. The Mangaohoi ends and becomes the Tributary of the Mangapiko near Memorial park.
The town is close to the extinctKakepuku andPirongia volcanoes (and other volcanoes of theAlexandra Volcanic Group).Maungatautari, another extinct volcanic cone, now the site of New Zealand's largestecological restoration project, is also nearby.
Other towns surrounding Te Awamutu includeCambridge, 25 kilometres to the northeast,Ōtorohanga, 30 kilometres to the southwest, andRaglan 50 kilometres to the northwest. The small town ofKihikihi lies just to the south of Te Awamutu.
The main thoroughfare is Alexandra Street, so named because it was once the main road to the town of Alexandra (since renamed toPirongia to avoid confusion with the town ofAlexandra in theSouth Island).
Te Awamutu covers 14.18 km2 (5.47 sq mi)[4] and had an estimated population of 13,950 as of June 2025,[5] with a population density of 984 people per km2.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 10,146 | — |
| 2013 | 10,854 | +0.97% |
| 2018 | 12,543 | +2.93% |
| 2023 | 13,380 | +1.30% |
| Source:[30][31] | ||
Te Awamutu had a population of 13,380 in the2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 837 people (6.7%) since the2018 census, and an increase of 2,526 people (23.3%) since the2013 census. There were 6,429 males, 6,903 females, and 45 people ofother genders in 5,136 dwellings.[32] 2.7% of people identified asLGBTIQ+. The median age was 40.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 2,532 people (18.9%) aged under 15 years, 2,355 (17.6%) aged 15 to 29, 5,580 (41.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,910 (21.7%) aged 65 or older.[30]
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 80.4%European (Pākehā); 24.1%Māori; 3.2%Pasifika; 6.9%Asian; 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.7%, Māori by 5.5%, Samoan by 0.4%, and other languages by 7.4%. No language could be spoken by 2.5% (e.g. too young to talk).New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 16.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.[30]
Religious affiliations were 33.2%Christian, 1.1%Hindu, 0.4%Islam, 1.2%Māori religious beliefs, 0.7%Buddhist, 0.4%New Age, 0.1%Jewish, and 1.6% other religions. People who answered that they hadno religion were 52.9%, and 8.4% of people did not answer the census question.[30]
Of those at least 15 years old, 1,833 (16.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 5,883 (54.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 3,129 (28.8%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $40,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 924 people (8.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 5,469 (50.4%) full-time, 1,257 (11.6%) part-time, and 264 (2.4%) unemployed.[30]
| Name | Area (km2) | Population | Density (per km2) | Dwellings | Median age | Median income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Te Awamutu North | 2.82 | 1,185 | 420 | 447 | 41.8 years | $42,000[33] |
| Te Awamutu West | 1.18 | 1,482 | 1,256 | 534 | 37.4 years | $44,600[34] |
| Goodfellow Park | 0.95 | 1,788 | 1,882 | 747 | 38.3 years | $36,000[35] |
| Te Awamutu Stadium | 1.17 | 1,815 | 1,551 | 693 | 42.5 years | $42,700[36] |
| Te Awamutu Central | 0.71 | 384 | 541 | 180 | 47.0 years | $34,800[37] |
| Pekerau | 4.01 | 3,084 | 769 | 1,134 | 39.0 years | $41,900[38] |
| Fraser Street | 1.14 | 1,506 | 1,321 | 579 | 44.4 years | $41,100[39] |
| Sherwin Park | 2.21 | 2,130 | 964 | 828 | 39.7 years | $38,200[40] |
| New Zealand | 38.1 years | $41,500 |
For earlier censuses, Te Awamutu was divided into fourarea units, central, east, south and west, as in this table.[41] Māori formed 19.7% of the population in central, 22.8% in east, 23.2% in south and 25.7% in west.[42]
| Year | Population | Households | Median age | Median income | National median | |
| Te Awamutu total | 2001 | 9,180 | 3,531 | $18,500 | ||
| 2006 | 9,819 | 3,828 | $24,400 | |||
| 2013 | 10,308 | 4,125 | $28,500 | |||
| Central | 2001 | 2,892 | 1,179 | 40.5 | $16,900 | |
| 2006 | 3,153 | 1,281 | 42.1 | $21,800 | ||
| 2013 | 3,321 | 1,368 | 41.6 | $26,700 | ||
| East | 2001 | 2,301 | 849 | 34.9 | $17,200 | |
| 2006 | 2,511 | 975 | 38.9 | $23,500 | ||
| 2013 | 2,769 | 1,107 | 42.0 | $27,400 | ||
| South | 2001 | 2,862 | 1,098 | 38.7 | $16,800 | |
| 2006 | 2,928 | 1,131 | 39.8 | $21,300 | ||
| 2013 | 2,913 | 1,176 | 41.8 | $25,100 | ||
| West | 2001 | 1,125 | 405 | 33.6 | $18,100 | |
| 2006 | 1,227 | 441 | 35.4 | $25,400 | ||
| 2013 | 1,305 | 474 | 36.4 | $28,500 |
Te Awamutu Museum was established in 1935. The museum has a number of permanent exhibitions focusing on the history of Te Awamutu and the surrounding area.[43]
The museum contains one of the most famous earlyMāori artefacts, a large carved post known simply asTe Uenuku. This impressive carving has caused much controversy because its style is markedly different from any other early Māori work, yet it is clearly of a Māori design.
Te Awamutu itself is located onSH3, one of the major routes used when touring the North Island of New Zealand.
The town has three large supermarkets, electronics retailers, a well equipped sports / leisure centre and The Kihikihi Trail cycleway,[44] which opened in 2017.[45]
The town has a large dairy factory, and serves as an important centre in the local dairy industry.
Te Awamutu has two state primary schools: Te Awamutu Primary School, with a roll of 601,[46][47] and Pekapekarau School with a roll of 278.[48][49] Te Awamutu Primary was founded in 1877.[50] Pekapekarau opened in 1958 as Te Awamutu No 2 School, then was given the name Pekerau School, a misspelling of Pekarau. It changed its name to Pekapekarau School in 2022.[51]
Many of these students then progress on to Te Awamutu Intermediate, established 1959,[52] with a roll of 446,[53][54] and Te Awamutu College, with a roll of 1372.[55][56] Te Awamutu District High School was established in 1921, split between two or more sites. It was replaced by Te Awamutu College in 1947.[57]
There are also three other schools in the town:
All these schools are co-educational. Rolls are as of July 2025.
The town's best known residents are theFinn Brothers,Tim andNeil, whose musical careers have stretched fromSplit Enz through the internationally successfulCrowded House to their current solo and collaborative works. The town is mentioned in Split Enz's song "Haul Away", and also in Crowded House's 1986 song "Mean to Me", the debut single from theirself-titled debut album.
WriterHeather Morris, author ofThe Tattooist of Auschwitz, was born in the town in 1953.[67][68] She was inducted into the Te Awamutu Walk of Fame in 2019.[69]
MusicianSpencer P. Jones (The Beasts of Bourbon,Paul Kelly and The Coloured Girls) was also born in Te Awamutu.
Two Anglican priests of note were the last incumbent vicars of the old St Johns Church. They were The RevMartin Gloster Sullivan, vicar prior to WW2 who in 1950 became Dean of Christchurch Cathedral and, later Dean of St Pauls Cathedral London, and The Rev John David Hogg who was to become the Anglican Archdeacon of Waikato and Vicar General of the Waikato Diocese.[70]
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