Welcome to the

HAURAKI DISTRICT

The Hauraki district lies at the base of the Coromandel Peninsula, bordered on the east by the Pacific Ocean and on the west by the firth of Thames and the Hauraki Gulf.  The District covers an area of 1144 square kilometres, incorporating the townships of Waihi, Paeroa, Ngatea and surrounding communities. The population as at 2006 was 17,190 people. The Hauraki District benefits from its central location, with Auckland and the Coromandel Peninsula at its doorstep. 

View maps of the Hauraki District

Hauraki enjoys a “clean-green” environment with a wide range of outdoor activities easily accessed. Dramatic scenery and rural tranquility, arts, crafts, wineries, history and heritage, and excellent sports facilities are all to be found in the Hauraki district. 

In 1908 an Act of Parliament provided for extensive drainage work to be undertaken. In 1910, 6,600 hectares was made available for settlement. By 1930 some 17,400 hectares of Crown land had been opened up for farming.  Today, over 1,000 kilometres of drains and canals, together with many kilometres of stopbanks with floodgates protect 64,700 hectares of farmland.

Dairy Farming

Dairy farming is an important industry for the Hauraki District and has traditionally been the principle type of agriculture within the District due to the flat rich soil of the Hauraki Plains, mild climate and moderate rainfall.  Dairy farming is also the largest employer within the District with 33% of the labour force being employed in this activity as at the 1996 census. The administrative, community, commercial and service centre of this agricultural area is Ngatea.  There are no active milk factories in the District.

The following table gives a breakdown of the Hauraki District’s land areas:

Source: Statistic New Zealand, 1996 Census

Land which is used for grazing, arable, fodder and fallow land comprises of 65.6% of the total land area.  A large proportion of this type of land is located on the Hauraki Plains.  In 1996 there were 884 farms within the Hauraki District, of these 101 were sheep-farms.  The number of livestock during that time was as follows:

The model dairy farm in the Waikato District as per the MAF Policy North Region Farm Monitoring Report – July 1998, is 73 ha, milking 196 cows and producing 57,000 kg milk solids (MS) or 32,500 kg milkfat.  Calves surplus to replacements are sold as bobbies for slaughter or for rearing for beef or dairy heifer replacements.  The replacement yearling heifers are grazed off the farm for 12 months.  The farm is managed by an owner-operator who milks the cows and who also employs some labour.  The equity level is 85% and the debt servicing is equal to 59 cents/kgMS.  The disposable profit for the model dairy farm in 1997/98 was $20,000. 

Tourism

The District is home to excellent attractions which include The Ngatea Water Gardens, The Wilderness Gemstone Factory, The Karangahake Walkway, The Historic Maritime Park, Goldfields Railway and the Waihi Gold Mine and many others. These attractions draw visitors from all over NZ and many overseas visitors.

The tourism sector of the District’s economy is a developing industry. The Hauraki District is included in the Coromandel region which is a leading domestic holiday destination and one of the fastest growing international visitor destinations within New Zealand. International visitors account for approximately 20% of the total guest nights in the Coromandel area.  The Coromandel major international markets are Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Australia and North America respectively.  The Coromandel’s major domestic market is the Auckland region, followed by the rest of the North Island and then the Wellington region.   

The summer months are busier than the winter months for the Coromandel region.  In January the region enjoys an occupancy rate slightly above the national average.  Occupancy rate for the winter months in the Coromandel have increased from the 1998 to 1999 years which can be associated with the increased number of international tourist’s selecting to holiday in the Coromandel.  Tourism in the Coromandel employs between 360 and 370 staff throughout the year, with 44 of these being in full time employment.

General Statistics

Forestry:  The District contains 3061ha of exotic forestry, a large proportion of this being of a young age.  Forest harvesting in the industry should increase significantly from 2016 onwards.   

Horticulture:  The main horticulture activities within the Hauraki District are kiwifruit and floriculture.  Floriculture is consolidating as an industry as smaller growers leave the industry and remaining growers take advantage of economies of scale. 

Construction:  Approximately $26,000,000 was spent on capital development in the Hauraki District in 1998.  

Central Government Services: Currently there are 19 primary schools and 3 secondary schools operating within the District. The restructuring of the Health sector has seen the downsizing of rural public hospital with many services being provided through the Regional Hospitals. 

Industry: The district has a large number of light engineering firms serving the Farming and Transport industries. Manufacturing businesses produce a wide range of products including electronic equipment, press metal work, motor cycle helmets, furniture, domestic ware, farm accessories, trellis, timber, concrete products, roading aggregate and meat products.

District Valuations: The last District valuation undertaken in the Hauraki District was in September 1998.  The impact on Residential and Commercial/Industrial valuations varied depending on the location of the property within the district.  Dairy Farm capital values on average decreased by 30.6% from the last valuation (10% of this reduction is due to Dairy company shares previously being included in the valuation).  Life style properties generally experienced growth in capital values of around 10 – 15% since the last valuation. 

Statistics New Zealand is projecting that the Resident Population in the Hauraki District will increase in the short term.  The main growth in population in the past 10 years was in the Waihi and Ngatea urban area.

Also see...Statistics New Zealand, relating to the Hauraki District
          Statistics New Zealand, Hauraki Quarterly Review (309KB)

Who We Are
 

      • Number of rateable properties 9,530
• Capital value $2,100,000,000
• Full range of community facilities, including swimming pools, halls, parks & reserves
• Full range of utilities including water supplies, water treatment plants and transfer stations

Education Facilities within the Hauraki District

There is a wide rage of educational faculties within the Hauraki District; a few have been listed below.

Real Estate

Full ranges of properties are available throughout the district to rent or purchase.   Contacts for various real estate agencies are provided below.