{{Short description|Rural locality in Wellington Region, New Zealand}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=June 2021}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Akatarawa | native_name = | native_name_lang = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead --> | settlement_type = Rural locality | image_skyline = File:Bush tramway showing wooden rails, at Akatarawa, Price's Bush, circa 1903 ATLIB 336634.png | image_alt = | image_caption = Price's Bush Tramway, 1903 | nickname = | motto = | coordinates = {{coord|-41.011597|175.170107|display=inline,title}} | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 9 | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = New Zealand | subdivision_type1 = Region | subdivision_name1 = Wellington Region | subdivision_type2 = Territorial authority | subdivision_name2 = Upper Hutt | seat_type = Electorates | seat = {{ubl|Mana|Remutaka|Ikaroa-Rāwhiti (Māori)|Te Tai Hauāuru (Māori)}} | government_footnotes = | leader_title = Territorial Authority | leader_name = Upper Hutt City Council | leader_title1 = Regional council | leader_name1 = Greater Wellington Regional Council | leader_title2 = Mayor of Upper Hutt | leader_name2 = {{NZ officeholder data|Upper Hutt City Mayor|y}} | leader_title3 = Mana MP/Remutaka MP | leader_name3 = {{NZ officeholder data|Mana MP|y}}/{{NZ officeholder data|Remutaka MP|y}} | leader_title4 = Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP/Te Tai Hauāuru MP | leader_name4 = {{NZ officeholder data|Ikaroa-Rāwhiti MP|y}}/{{NZ officeholder data|Te Tai Hauāuru MP|y}} | founder = | unit_pref = Metric<!-- or US or UK --> | area_total_km2 = 334.15 | area_land_km2 = | area_water_km2 = | area_water_percent = | area_footnotes = <ref name="Area"/> | elevation_m = | population_footnotes = {{NZ population data 2023 SA2||||y}} | population_total = {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Akatarawa|y}} | population_as_of = {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|||y}} | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = | timezone1 = | utc_offset1 = | timezone1_DST = | utc_offset1_DST = | postal_code_type = | postal_code = | area_code_type = | area_code = }}
The '''Akatarawa Valley''' is a valley in the Tararua Range of New Zealand's North Island. It provides a link from the upper reaches of the Hutt Valley to Waikanae on the Kāpiti Coast through rugged hill country. The valley is lowly populated and contains the localities of Reikorangi and Cloustonville. At the Hutt Valley end, the Akatarawa Valley is rugged and the Akatarawa River flows through it. The terrain is less difficult at the Kapiti end, where the Waikanae River flows through part of the valley on its route from its headwaters in the Tararuas to the Tasman Sea, and is met in the valley by tributaries such as the Ngatiawa River and the Reikorangi Stream.
Many residents are craftspeople or gardeners, and some gardens are open for public viewing. Also located in the valley is a former Salvation Army youth and family camp that has been upgraded and now operated by the Wellesley Group, and [https://www.staglands.co.nz/ Staglands Wildlife Reserve & Cafe], a conservation project established in 1972. It supports many native and rare birds, insects, and animals in conjunction with the New Zealand Department of Conservation.
An early proposal for the North Island Main Trunk Railway's route out of Wellington featured a line deviating from the Hutt Valley Line portion of the Wairarapa Line and running through the Akatarawa Valley to the west coast; see Haywards–Plimmerton Line. This proposal was considered in the 1870s but abandoned when the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company chose a route directly out of Wellington via Johnsonville and Porirua.<ref>{{cite book|title=Uncommon Carrier - The History of the Wellington & Manawatu Railway Company, 1882-1908|last1=Cassells|first1=KR (Ken) |year=1994|publisher=New Zealand Railway and Locomotive Society|ISBN=0908573634}}</ref> A railway through the Akatarawa Valley has not been seriously considered since this stage, though Price's Bush Tramway and other industrial tramways were built to serve private logging interests. The tramways and mills they served are now closed and little evidence remains of their existence.<ref>Nic Campbell, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20090201000205/http://trainweb.org/enzedrail/industrial/wellington.htxt.html Ramblings With Old Nic 11: Wellington Industrial and Tram Lines]'', 2003.</ref>
==Demographics== Akatarawa statistical area covers {{Convert|334.15|km2||abbr=on}}<ref name="Area">{{Cite web|title=Stats NZ Geographic Data Service|url=https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/data/|at=Statistical Area 2 2023 (generalised)|access-date=27 January 2026}}</ref> and includes the part of Moonshine Valley within Upper Hutt. It had an estimated population of {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Akatarawa|y}} as of {{NZ population data 2023 SA2|||y|||,}} with a population density of {{Decimals|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2023 SA2|Akatarawa|y}}|R}}/334.15|1}} people per km<sup>2</sup>.
{{Historical populations|2006|555|2013|606|2018|648|2023|762|percentages=pagr|align=left|source=<ref name="Census 2023"/><ref name="Census 2018">{{NZ census 2018|Akatarawa (241200)|akatarawa|Akatarawa}}</ref>}} thumb|Karapoti Gorge Akatarawa had a population of 762 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 114 people (17.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 156 people (25.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 390 males, 369 females, and 6 people of other genders in 261 dwellings.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_005&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=doTotal%2Bdo1.241200.2023&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_DWD_003|publisher=Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses}}</ref> 3.1% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 41.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 132 people (17.3%) aged under 15 years, 126 (16.5%) aged 15 to 29, 396 (52.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 108 (14.2%) aged 65 or older.<ref name="Census 2023"/>
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 94.9% European (Pākehā); 12.2% Māori; 2.0% Pasifika; 2.4% Asian; 0.4% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 99.2%, Māori by 2.8%, Samoan by 0.4%, and other languages by 9.1%. No language could be spoken by 1.2% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 1.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 23.6, compared with 28.8% nationally.<ref name="Census 2023"/>
Religious affiliations were 26.0% Christian, 0.4% Islam, 1.2% New Age, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 60.2%, and 10.2% of people did not answer the census question.<ref name="Census 2023"/>
Of those at least 15 years old, 165 (26.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 363 (57.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 102 (16.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $49,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 123 people (19.5%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 378 (60.0%) full-time, 93 (14.8%) part-time, and 6 (1.0%) unemployed.<ref name="Census 2023">{{Cite web|url=https://explore.data.stats.govt.nz/vis?fs[0]=2023%20Census%2C0%7CTotals%20by%20topic%23CAT_TOTALS_BY_TOPIC%23&pg=0&fc=Variable%20codes&bp=true&snb=9&df[ds]=ds-nsiws-disseminate&df[id]=CEN23_TBT_008&df[ag]=STATSNZ&df[vs]=1.0&dq=hq011%2Bhq010%2Bhq009%2Bhq008%2Bhq007%2Bhq006%2Bhq005%2Bhq004%2Bhq003%2Bhq002%2Bhq001%2Bhq000%2Bws1%2Bsp99%2Bra80%2Bra08%2Bra07%2Bra06%2Bra05%2Bra01%2Bra04%2Bra03%2Bra02%2Bra00%2Brb1%2Bls66%2Bls03%2Bls02%2Bls05%2Bls04%2Bls01%2Beg6%2Beg5%2Beg4%2Beg3%2Beg2%2Beg1%2BbiTotal%2Bbi0%2Bbi1%2BasTotalLG%2Bas4%2Bas3%2Bas2%2Bas1%2Bws4%2Bws3%2Bws2%2Bge3%2Bge2%2Bge1%2Brc%2BasMed%2BegTotal%2BlsTotal%2BgeTotal%2BrbTotal%2BraTotal%2BhqTotal%2BibTotal%2Bib7%2Bibmed%2BwsTotal.241200.2013%2B2018%2B2023&to[TIME]=false&ly[rw]=CEN23_TBT_IND_003&ly[cl]=CEN23_YEAR_001|publisher=Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer|access-date=3 October 2024|title=Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses|at=Akatarawa (241200)}}</ref>
== See also == * Akatarawa Saddle
== References ==
{{reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.staglands.co.nz/ Staglands Wildlife Reserve - official website] * https://web.archive.org/web/20070717003248/http://www.wellesleycountryclub.co.nz/
{{Upper Hutt}} Category:Valleys of the Wellington Region Category:Upper Hutt Category:Waikanae Category:Populated places in the Wellington Region Valley