Pukeatua

Pukeatua
Village
Coordinates: 38°03′52″S 175°33′28″E / 38.064366°S 175.557837°E / -38.064366; 175.557837
Country	New Zealand
Region	UTC+13 (NZDT)

Pukeatua is a rural farming community in

The area is west of Tīrau, Putāruru and State Highway 1, and east of Te Awamutu and State Highway 3.^[4]

Pukeatua translates as hill of god (puke = hill, atua= god).^[3]

Demographics

Pukeatua locality is in an SA1 statistical area which covers 48.66 km² (18.79 sq mi).^[1] The SA1 area is part of the larger Rotongata statistical area.

Historical population for Pukeatua and surrounds

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	135	—
2013	162	+2.64%
2018	165	+0.37%
Source: [2]

The SA1 area had a population of 165 at the

. There were 60 households, comprising 84 males and 78 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.08 males per female. The median age was 37.6 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 42 people (25.5%) aged under 15 years, 18 (10.9%) aged 15 to 29, 90 (54.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 12 (7.3%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 78.2% European/Pākehā, 14.5% Māori, 3.6% Pacific peoples, 14.5% Asian, and 3.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 45.5% had no religion, 41.8% were Christian, 3.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 1.8% were Buddhist and 5.5% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 27 (22.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 21 (17.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $40,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. 24 people (19.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 72 (58.5%) people were employed full-time, 30 (24.4%) were part-time, and 3 (2.4%) were unemployed.^[2]

Rotongata statistical area

Rotongata statistical area, which also includes Wharepapa South, covers 211.55 km² (81.68 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 940 as of June 2023,^[5] with a population density of 4.4 people per km².

Historical population for Rotongata

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	822	—
2013	819	−0.05%
2018	834	+0.36%
Source: [6]

Rotongata had a population of 834 at the

. There were 294 households, comprising 423 males and 411 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 34.2 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 222 people (26.6%) aged under 15 years, 141 (16.9%) aged 15 to 29, 408 (48.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 60 (7.2%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 77.7% European/Pākehā, 19.4% Māori, 1.8% Pacific peoples, 9.0% Asian, and 2.5% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 16.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 52.5% had no religion, 34.2% were Christian, 2.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Hindu, 1.1% were Buddhist and 2.5% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 132 (21.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 102 (16.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $38,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. 93 people (15.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 384 (62.7%) people were employed full-time, 105 (17.2%) were part-time, and 12 (2.0%) were unemployed.^[6]

Education

Pukeatua School is a Decile 8 primary school,^[7] providing full education for Years 1 to 8.^[8] The school has a roll of 84 as of February 2024.^[9] The school was founded in 1911.^[10][11]

The village also has a small war memorial church and a playcentre.^[12][13]

References