| Masterton | |
|---|---|
| Location of Masterton District in Wellington Region | |
| Country | New Zealand |
| Region | Wellington |
| Territorial authority | Masterton District |
| Town founded | 1854 |
| Electorate | Wairarapa |
| Government | |
| • MP | John Hayes (National) |
| • Mayor | Garry Daniell |
| Area | |
| • Territorial | 2,299 km2 (887.6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 111 m (364 ft) |
| Population (June 2011 estimate)[1] | |
| • Territorial | 23,500 |
| • Density | 10.2/km2 (26.5/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 20,200 |
| Time zone | NZST (UTC+12) |
| • Summer (DST) | NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Postcode | 5810 |
| Area code(s) | 06 |
| Website | www.mstn.govt.nz |
Masterton is a large town and local government district in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a region separated from Wellington by the Rimutaka ranges. It is 100 kilometres north-east of Wellington, 28 kilometres south of Eketahuna, on the Ruamahanga River.
Masterton is a thriving community with an urban population of 20,200, and district population of 23,500 (June 2011 estimates).[1]
The Wairarapa Line railway allows many residents easy access to work in the cities of Wellington, Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt.
Local industries involve service industries for the surrounding farming community. Industrial development is growing in Masterton, with three new industrial parks being developed in Waingawa, Solway and Upper Plain. The town is the headquarters of the annual Golden Shears sheep-shearing competition.
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Despite the fact that Masterton is a town, not a city, it is still home to many suburbs. These include:
Named after pioneer Joseph Masters, Masterton was first settled by Europeans on 21 May 1854. It gained borough status in 1877. It did not quite qualify to be a city by 1989 when the minimum population requirement for that status was lifted from 20,000 to 50,000.
The Wairarapa Line railway opened to Masterton on 1 November 1880.
At the 2006 census, Masterton District had a population of 22,623, an increase of 6 people, <0.1 percent, since the 2001 census. There were 9030 occupied dwellings, 1248 unoccupied dwellings, and 123 dwellings under construction.[2]
Of the population, 10,869 (48.0%) were male, and 11,754 (52.0%) female.[2] The district had a median age of 40.4 years, 4.5 years above the national median age of 35.9 years. People aged 65 years and over made up 16.8% of the population, compared to 12.3% nationally, and people under 15 years made up 21.3%, compared to 21.5% nationally.[2]
Masterton's ethnicity was made up of (national figure in brackets): 77.9% European (67.6%), 16.9% Maori (14.7%), 1.7% Asian (9.2%), 2.7% Pacific Islanders (6.9%), 0.26% Middle Eastern/Latin American/African (0.9%), 12.1% 'New Zealanders' (11.1%), and 0.05% Other (0.04%).[2]
Masterton had an unemployment rate of 4.8% of people 15 years and over, compared to 5.1% nationally.[2] The median annual income of all people 15 years and over was $21,700, compared to $24,400 nationally. Of those, 46.7% earned under $20,000, compared to 43.2% nationally, while 12.3% earned over $50,000, compared to 18.0% nationally.[2]
Masterton enjoys a mild temperate climate grading towards a Mediterranean climate. Due to the geography of the Wairarapa valley and the Tararua Range directly to the west, the town's temperature fluctuates more than nearby inland city of Palmerston North. Masterton experiences warmer, dry summers with highs above 30°C possible and colder winters with frequent frost and lows below 0°C.
| Climate data for Masterton | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 23.9 (75.0) |
23.9 (75.0) |
21.8 (71.2) |
18.7 (65.7) |
15.2 (59.4) |
12.8 (55.0) |
12 (54) |
13 (55) |
15.1 (59.2) |
17.3 (63.1) |
19.5 (67.1) |
21.9 (71.4) |
18 (64) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 11.7 (53.1) |
11.3 (52.3) |
10.4 (50.7) |
8 (46) |
5.5 (41.9) |
3.6 (38.5) |
3 (37) |
3.8 (38.8) |
5.5 (41.9) |
6.8 (44.2) |
8.5 (47.3) |
10.3 (50.5) |
7.4 (45.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 55 (2.17) |
59 (2.32) |
84 (3.31) |
70 (2.76) |
97 (3.82) |
101 (3.98) |
104 (4.09) |
96 (3.78) |
83 (3.27) |
83 (3.27) |
77 (3.03) |
72 (2.83) |
979 (38.54) |
| Source: NIWA Climate Data[3] | |||||||||||||
The Masterton District Council (MDC) governs the Masterton District territorial authority. It is made up of an elected mayor, a deputy mayor/councillor, and 9 additional councillors. They are elected under the First Past the Post system in triennial elections, with the next election being held on Saturday 9 October 2010.
The Mayor of Masterton and five of the councillors are elected at large, while one councillor is elected from the Rural Ward (outside the Masterton urban area), and four are elected from the Urban Ward (Masterton urban area).
As of 12 May 2010, the current council members are:-
| Mayor | Garry Daniell |
| Councillors – General | Jane Terpstra (Deputy Mayor) Judith Callaghan Brent Goodwin David Holmes Chris Peterson |
| Councillors – Rural | Roddy McKenzie |
| Councillors – Urban | Jonathan Hooker Lyn Patterson Edwin Perry (vacant) |
The vacant Urban Ward seat came following the death of councillor Jeff Workman on 11 May 2010. As the seat was vacated within six months of a planned election, a by-election is not required and the seat will remain vacant until the 9 October 2010 election.
Following the reform of schools in 2004, the Masterton district has 12 primary schools (Douglas Park, Fernridge, Hadlow, Lakeview, Mauriceville, Masterton Primary, Opaki, Solway, St Patricks, Tinui, Wainuiouru, Whareama), an intermediate school (Masterton Intermediate), and 6 secondary schools (Chanel College, Makoura College, Rathkeale College, Solway College, St Matthew's Collegiate, Wairarapa College). There is also a Māori immersion school, Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Wairarapa.
Masterton has its own polytechnic, run by UCOL.
The only daily newspaper based in Masterton is the Wairarapa Times-Age, formed by a merger between the Wairarapa Age and the Wairarapa Daily Times on April 1, 1938. The Times-Age circulates throughout the greater Wairarapa region. The current senior management is Andrew Denholm, commercial manager, Louise Clark, advertising manager, Dave Saunders, editor and Kim Hildred, circulation and newspaper sales manager. The Times-Age also published Wairarapa Midweek, a weekly community paper circulation 19,000. The Wairarapa Times-Age is part of the APN newspaper group.
The Masterton telephone exchange opened in 1897 with 53 subscribers. On 31 May 1919, Masterton became the first town in New Zealand to have a completely automatic (Rotary) telephone exchange.
Masterton and nearby Carterton were the first towns in New Zealand to introduce the emergency number 111, in September 1958.[4]
Before the 1991 to 1993 changes, the area code for Masterton was 059. Today the area code is 06, and numbers begin with 370, 372, 377, 378, 379, and 946. 946 numbers are companies only.
Masterton is serviced by two local radio stations. Wairarapa's 89.5 / 105.5 / 105.9 MORE FM Wairarapa broadcasts locally from 6am to 1pm daily from studios in Kuripuni. The station was founded by controversial Broadcaster Paul Henry, as TODAY FM 89.3 in Carterton in 1991. Later the station was rebranded as Hitz 89FM, Wairarapa's Best Music. The MORE FM Breakfast Show has been hosted by well-known local broadcaster Brent Gare, since 2004. The Saturday sports show at 8am has been hosted by local sports-caster Chris "Coggie" Cogdale since 1992. Classic Hits 90.3 has a local breakfast show Mon to Friday 6 - 10am hosted by Jordan Brannigan, at all other times a network feed is taken from Classic Hits Auckland.
In 2007 there were two wireless internet service providers based in Masterton, providing high speed broadband access to the towns and rural areas of the Wairarapa. WISE Net (purchased by Orcon Internet Limited in 2006, and in January 2007 Canning & Associates purchased Orcon WiseNet Wireless Network) and WIZwireless LTD formerly Canning & Associates. ADSL access is widely available.
Masterton is serviced by all the major national television channels.
The main television transmitter for the town, and most of the southern half of the district, is the Otahoua transmitter atop Bennett's Hill, north-west of the town. TV3 transmits from the Popoiti transmitter east of Greytown. In the northern half of the district, Palmerston North's Mount Wharite transmitter provides the television service. Freeview HD is now available (via a UHF aerial) as of July 2011, broadcasting from the Popoiti transmitter near Greytown, Masterton residents will need to point their UHF aerial towards Popoiti to take advantage of the new service. Freeview is also available via satellite. Old Analogue Television will be switched off for Masterton at 2AM on Sunday 29 September 2013 .[5]
Masterton is very well served by public transport with rail, bus and air links. Despite Masterton and the Wairarapa valley being reasonably close to Wellington, they are separated by the Rimutaka Ranges with State Highway 2 cutting a winding hill road through the range, and the Rimutaka railway tunnel. Unlike other parts of the country, the Wairarapa has seen passenger rail services remain, largely due to its proximity to Wellington and the Rimutaka Tunnel's advantage over the Rimutaka Hill road. There has been talk of constructing a road tunnel through the ranges for decades, but this has been ruled out due to the extremely high cost.[6] According to the latest transportation plan from the Greater Wellington Regional Council,[7] the only work planned is for upgrades to the Rimutaka Hill road and the addition of passing lanes between Featherston and Masterton.
Masterton is linked to Wellington and the Hutt Valley by the Wairarapa Connection, a Tranz Metro passenger service run for Greater Wellington Region's Metlink, primarily operating at peak times serving commuters from Masterton and the Wairarapa with five return services on Monday to Thursday, six on Friday and two at weekends and public holidays. There are three railway stations in the town; Masterton, Renall Street and Solway.
There is a local Metlink bus service in Masterton operated by Tranzit. The buses operate on five routes: three suburban and two regional [1] including:
| Metlink Bus Services | Termini |
|---|---|
| Route 200 Masterton/Featherston |
Wairarapa Hospital Featherston Station |
| Route 201 Masterton West |
Masterton – Church Street Worksop Road (Woolworths) |
| Route 202 Masterton South & East |
Masterton – Church Street Masterton – Church Street |
| Route 203 Masterton – Lansdowne Circuit |
Masterton – Church Street Worksop Road (Woolworths) |
| Route 205 Featherston/Martinborough |
Featherston Station Martinborough |
There is also the MPN: Masterton to Palmerston North (via Woodville) service, not operated under the Metlink brand.
Hood Aerodrome is south of Masterton. From early 2009 Air New Zealand provides flights to Auckland, operated by subsidiary Eagle Air six days a week, mainly to serve business customers in the Wairarapa.[8] There have been a few unsuccessful attempts at commercial air travel in Masterton, mostly due to its proximity to major airports in Wellington and Palmerston North. The most significant was by South Pacific Airlines of New Zealand (SPANZ), which operated daily flights using DC3s during the sixties to destinations nationwide until the airline's closure in 1966.
Masterton has Sister City relationships with:
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