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Horowhenua District

Horowhenua District is a territorial authority district on the west coast of the North Island of New Zealand, administered by Horowhenua District Council. Located north of Wellington and Kāpiti, it stretches from slightly north of the town of Ōtaki in the south to just south of Himatangi in the north, and from the coast to the top of the Tararua Range. It is in the Manawatū-Whanganui local government region. The name Horowhenua is Māori for landslide.

Levin is the main town and the seat of the district council. Other towns include Foxton, Shannon and Tokomaru. The population of the district is 37,500 (June 2023).

History

Horowhenua County was established in 1885 from the southern part of Manawatu County. It stretched from the Manawatū River, Opiki and Tokomaru in the north, to Waikanae and the Waikanae River in the south. The county offices were in Ōtaki until 1896, when they were moved to Levin.

Horowhenua District was established in 1989 from a merger of Horowhenua County, Foxton Borough, Levin Borough and part of the first Manawatū District, as part of New Zealand local government reforms. The southern part of Horowhenua County – the Waikanae and Otaki areas – became part of Kāpiti Coast District.

Populated places

Horowhenua District consists of the following towns, localities, settlements and communities (larger towns shown in bold):

Demographics

Horowhenua District covers 1,063.91 km² (410.78 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 37,500 as of June 2023, with a population density of 35 people per km².

Horowhenua District had a population of 36,693 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 3,432 people (10.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 6,597 people (21.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 17,220 dwellings. The median age was 45.5 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 6,621 people (18.0%) aged under 15 years, 5,835 (15.9%) aged 15 to 29, 15,090 (41.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 9,141 (24.9%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 79.3% European/Pākehā, 27.7% Māori, 7.3% Pasifika, 4.9% Asian, 0.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders, and 1.2% other. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Horowhenua District had a population of 33,261 at the 2018 New Zealand census. There were 13,230 households, comprising 16,143 males and 17,118 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female.

The percentage of people born overseas was 14.1, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.1% had no religion, 36.0% were Christian, 1.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.6% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 2,877 (10.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 7,806 (28.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 2,337 people (8.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 10,905 (40.1%) people were employed full-time, 3,567 (13.1%) were part-time, and 1,311 (4.8%) were unemployed.

Land use

Much of the area was once an extensive wetland and the centre of a substantial flax industry. It has been progressively drained and converted to productive but flood-prone farmland, with a mixture of loam and peat based soils. Some parts of the wetland, particularly those around Lake Horowhenua are being returned to their former state as a conservation area, with the help of local Māori. One of the local tribal authorities is the Muaūpoko Tribal Authority.