Whau Valley

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Whau Valley
Local Authority Whangarei
Characteristics:
Population 2,745 (data: 2006)
Surrounded by:
North Kamo
North-east Tikipunga
East Otangarei
South-east Mairtown
South Kensington
North-west Three Mile Bush

Whau Valley is a suburb of Whangarei, in Northland Region, New Zealand. State Highway 1 runs through it.[1] The valley was named for the whau trees which grew there in the 1850s.[2]

The population was 2,745 in the 2006 Census, an increase of 78 from 2001.[3]

At the end of the 4 km long Whau Valley Road is the principal water reservoir for Whangarei City, created by the Whau Valley Earth Dam. The reservoir is stocked with rainbow and brown trout.[4][5]

Contents

[edit] History

Some of the early settlers in what was then called Whauwhau Valley were William Hawken and his family, who arrived in 1859, and John MacDonald and his family, in 1860. The MacDonald family was part of the group of people from Nova Scotia who settled in the Whangarei area.[6]

Coal was discovered in the Whauwhau Valley in the 1860s. Henry Walton and William Grahame took a 99 lease on the land and developed a mine. A wooden tramway was built from the mine to the Hatea River so coal wagons could be pulled by horses to be loaded onto ships. The railway line between Kamo and Whangarei, opened in 1882, replaced the tramway. Output of the mine was 45,359 long tons (46,087 t) by 1885.[7]

[edit] Education

Whau Valley School is a contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a decile rating of 2 and a roll of 212.[8]

St Francis Xavier School is a Catholic contributing primary (years 1-6) school with a decile rating of 6 and a roll of 438.[9]

Whangarei Adventist Christian School is a full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 4 and a roll of 26.[10]

All these schools are coeducational. St Francis Xavier and Whangarei Adventist schools are state integrated.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton, map 24. ISBN 1-877333-20-4. 
  2. ^ Pickmere, Nancy Preece (1986). Whangarei: The Founding Years, p 70. 
  3. ^ Final counts – census night and census usually resident populations, and occupied dwellings - Whangarei District. Statistics New Zealand.
  4. ^ Parkes, W. F. (1992). Guide to Whangarei City and District, p 54. ISBN 0-473-01639-7. 
  5. ^ Northland Fishing. Fish & Game New Zealand. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
  6. ^ Pickmere, 69-70
  7. ^ Pickmere, pp 56, 144
  8. ^ Te Kete Ipurangi - Whau Valley School. Ministry of Education.
  9. ^ Te Kete Ipurangi - St Francis Xavier School, Whangarei. Ministry of Education.
  10. ^ Te Kete Ipurangi - Whangarei Adventist Christian School. Ministry of Education.

[edit] External links

Coordinates: 35°41′55″S, 174°18′46″E