Awanui
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (May 2010) |
Awanui | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 35°2′52″S 173°15′22″E / 35.04778°S 173.25611°E | |
Country | New Zealand |
Region | Northland Regional Council |
Area | |
• Total | 0.96 km2 (0.37 sq mi) |
Population (June 2023)[2] | |
• Total | 620 |
• Density | 650/km2 (1,700/sq mi) |
Postcode | 0486 |
Awanui is an historical river port in the far north of New Zealand, on the banks of the
The Tangata Whenua of the locality are represented by two neighbouring
For much of the 20th century, Awanui was dominated by the Kaitaia Co-operative Dairy Factory, located immediately north of the township. The factory was constructed in 1926, which included the current wharf structure at Unahi.
In the 1920s,
History and culture
Subritzky family
Early in 1868, John Anton Subritzky and his family sold up their business interests in Maldon, Australia and sailed to New Zealand aboard the barquentine Prince Alfred, arriving first in the Port of Auckland, and then sailing aboard a family schooner to Houhora and the Mount Camel Station, a large estate owned by his older brothers Captain Ludolph Johann and Heinrich Wilhelm.
Within a short time the Subritzky family owned or controlled almost all of the North from Awanui northward - the town of Awanui was built by the Subritzkys and their extended family, both Pakeha and Maori. The hub of the Subritzky family operations was the Mount Camel Station, and their influence on the Far North for the next fifty years stretched far and wide. They imported cattle and developed their own breed of shorthorn. They developed a shipping link with Auckland, transporting many of the early pioneering families into the northern districts. The Subritzkys also established flax mills and began processing fibres for sales and export. Then came the days of the gum diggers, and for the rest of the 1800s and well into the 1900s it was the gum trade which provided much of the prosperity in Northland.
Elingamite tragedy
On the 5 November 1902, the steamer
A ship's look-out managed to cry out "Breakers ahead!", but it was too late, and the ship ploughed on straight ahead and was broken on the rocks of West King Island. Within minutes the ship took on a large volume of water. There were six lifeboats on board and they were immediately launched. The captain stayed with his ship until she was fully under, when he was washed into the sea and picked up by one of the lifeboats.
Under the command of the Executive Officer L. Berkett, Number Two lifeboat struck out to find help. He took the lifeboat round
Meanwhile, at Houhora the locals took things into their own hands. They despatched a rider to Awanui to alert the crew of the Greyhound, which was known to be in port. They also knew that a passenger ship, the Zealandia, was sailing up the coast en route to Australia and would soon be passing Mount Camel. Members of the Wagener, Northwood and McIntosh families put to sea in Peter McIntosh's whaleboat and succeeded in getting the Zealandia to hove to. They informed the captain and he immediately got under way at all speed, however, leaving behind a very exhausted whaleboat crew to their own devices some 25 miles out to sea. [nb 1]
On the evening of the 10 November 1902, Captain Alfred Subritzky,[9] master of the Greyhound, was asleep at his home in Awanui, and his ship tied up alongside the Subritzky wharf. He was awoken by the sound of hoofbeats, a man galloping on a horse calling his name "Captain Subritzky!" The rider drew up outside the house, having ridden hard down from Houhora, all the while yelling "The Elingamite's gone down! The Elingamite's gone down!" "Where's she gone down son?" asked Captain Subritzky. "She hit the Three Kings, sir," he replied.
After checking his pocket watch, Captain Subritzky realised that the tides were all wrong and the bar at the harbour entrance was hardly covered by the incoming sea. He hurried to the Greyhound, roused the crew and made ready for sea wearing sea-boots and pyjamas. They poled down the Awanui River, then ran up all available canvas - the ship still had to clear the bar. The Greyhound raced at the bar with the auxiliary engine running and the sails set "Goose Wing" fashion, one boom on the port beam, one boom on the starboard beam and the wind blowing from directly astern. The bow section cleared and then there was a terrific thump as the keel struck the bar, but the vessel shuddered her way over then ploughed northward and into the open sea. The race for the survivors was on.
The
World War II
A Royal New Zealand Air Force aerodrome and base was located nearby at Waipapakauri during World War II. At the end of hostilities in 1945, the airbase was closed and facilities abandoned, the far more suitable Kaitaia Airport nearby being developed with a paved runway.
Marae
Awanui has three
Demographics
Statistics New Zealand describes Awanui as a rural settlement. It covers 0.96 km2 (0.37 sq mi)
Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
---|---|---|
2006 | 351 | — |
2013 | 339 | −0.50% |
2018 | 402 | +3.47% |
Source: [14] |
Awanui had a population of 402 at the
Ethnicities were 49.3% European/Pākehā, 74.6% Māori, 6.7% Pacific peoples, 1.5% Asian, and 2.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
Of those people who chose to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 36.6% had no religion, 38.1% were Christian, 15.7% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.5% were Hindu and 1.5% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (5.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 84 (28.6%) people had no formal qualifications. 15 people (5.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 132 (44.9%) people were employed full-time, 45 (15.3%) were part-time, and 33 (11.2%) were unemployed.[14]
Education
Awanui School is a contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a roll of 39 students as of February 2024.[15][16] Awanui School first opened in 1872 as a native school, and moved to its current site in 1915.[17]
Te Rangi Āniwaniwa is a composite school serving years 1-15, with a roll of 190 students as of February 2024.[15][18] Te Rangi Āniwaniwa opened in 1993,[19] and teaches entirely in the Māori language.[18]
Both schools are coeducational.
Notes
- ^ The whaleboat used by the Houhora families in this rescue now rests in the Auckland War Memorial Museum.
References
- ^ a b "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ a b "Subnational population estimates (RC, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (regional councils); "Subnational population estimates (TA, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (territorial authorities); "Subnational population estimates (urban rural), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (urban areas)
- ^ Hayward-Howie, Pare (29 January 2013). "Charlie Hayward - Awanui, near Kaitaia. Born 1919". Maori Childhood 1920s - 1930s. Archived from the original on 30 October 2014. Retrieved 30 October 2014.
- ^ 2013 Census QuickStats about a place : Awanui
- ^ "Māori Maps". Maorimaps.com. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Awanui and the Kaitaia Dairy Company Wharf". Donhammondimage.co.nz. 10 December 1924. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ^ "Northland places". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
- ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
- ^ Captain Alfred Subritzky
- ISBN 0473018497
- ^ "Te Kāhui Māngai directory". tkm.govt.nz. Te Puni Kōkiri.
- ^ "Māori Maps". maorimaps.com. Te Potiki National Trust.
- ^ 2018 Census place summary: Rangaunu Harbour
- ^ a b "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. 7000025–7000027.
- ^ a b "New Zealand Schools Directory". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Education Counts: Awanui school
- ^ "History". Awanui School. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
- ^ a b Education Counts: Te Rangi Aniwaniwa
- ^ "Te Rangi Āniwaniwa Charter" (PDF) (in Māori). Te Rangi Āniwaniwa. 2020. p. 2. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
Nā, ka tūwheratia Te Rangi Āniwaniwa i te tau 1993
Further reading
- The Gumdigger - The Story of Kauri Gum, Reed A.H. NZ 1948, page: 57 (various other pages)
- To The Northward (A history of the Mangonui County area, which included the Aupouri Peninsula, Kaitaia and Whangaroa). Keene F.M. Bryant Print, Whangarei NZ. 1977. (various pages)
- The Subritzky Legend - A historic publication of New Zealand's first Polish settler family. M.R.G. Subritzky (John Dunmore, Heritage Press Ltd), NZ 1990. ISBN 0-908708-20-3
- Subritzky Shipping - A Heritage of Sail 1843 - 1993. M.R.G. Subritzky 1993. 1st Edition 1993 (Cloudy Bay Publishing) NZ, 2nd Edition 1994, ISBN 0-473-01849-7
- The German Connection - New Zealand and German - speaking Europe in the Nineteenth Century. Edited by Bade, J.N. (Oxford University Press, Auckland University) NZ 1996, Part IV "The Contribution of German Settlers to Business and Enterprise in New Zealand," Chapter 22 The Subritzky's. ISBN 0-19-558283-7
- Kaitaia - Portraits from the Past 1900 - 1939, Parker K. (Bridgewater & Top Print Kaitaia) 1999, NZ. (various) Chapter 3 "Changes Faces of Transport", Chapter 4 "The Many uses of Land", Chapter 20 "Regional Potpourri - Houhora Home of the Subritzky and Evans families". ISBN 0-473-05930-4
- Tea Tree Berry Kid - The Influence of the Far North. Evans A.I. NHPS (Northland Historical Publications Society) NZ, 1996, pages: 3, 7,17, 32. ISBN 978-0-9597926-7-6
External links
- Photo of S.S. Apanui at Awanui Northern Steam Ship passenger service closed May 1931