{{Short description|Town in Tasman District, New Zealand}} {{Other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Brightwater | native_name = Wairoa | native_name_lang = <!-- ISO 639-2 code e.g. "fr" for French. If more than one, use {{lang}} instead --> | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = Brightwater Rutherford Monument 004.JPG | image_caption = [[Ernest Rutherford memorial]] | mapframe = yes | mapframe-zoom = 11 | coordinates = {{coord|-41.379|173.114|type:city_region:NZ-TAS|display=inline,title}} | coor_pinpoint = | coordinates_footnotes = | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = New Zealand | subdivision_type1 = [[Territorial authorities of New Zealand|Territorial authority]] | subdivision_name1 = [[Tasman District|Tasman]] | subdivision_type2 = Ward | subdivision_name3 = Moutere-Waimea Ward | seat_type = [[New Zealand electorates|Electorates]] | seat = {{ubl|[[West Coast-Tasman]]|[[Te Tai Tonga]] ([[Māori electorates|Māori]])}} | government_footnotes = | leader_title = Territorial Authority | leader_name = [[Tasman District Council]] | leader_title1 = [[Mayor of Tasman]] | leader_name1 = {{NZ officeholder data|Tasman District Mayor|y}} | leader_title2 = [[West Coast-Tasman|West Coast-Tasman MP]] | leader_name2 = {{NZ officeholder data|West Coast-Tasman MP|y}} | leader_title3 = [[Te Tai Tonga|Te Tai Tonga MP]] | leader_name3 = {{NZ officeholder data|Te Tai Tonga MP|y}} | established_title = First Settled | established_date = 1843 | established_title1 = Named | established_date1 = 1855 | unit_pref = Metric | elevation_m = 33 | area_footnotes = <ref name="Area"/> | area_total_km2 = 4.67 | population_total = {{NZ population data 2018|Brightwater|y}} | population_as_of = {{NZ population data 2018|||y}} | population_footnotes = {{NZ population data 2018||||y}} | population_density_km2 = auto }}
'''Brightwater''' ([[Māori language|Māori]]: ''Wairoa'') is a [[town]] {{convert|20|km|mi}} southwest of [[Nelson, New Zealand|Nelson]] in [[Tasman District]] in the [[South Island]] of [[New Zealand]].<ref>{{Cite book | first=A. W. | last=Reed | title=The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names | publisher=Reed Books | location=Auckland | year=2002 | isbn=0-7900-0761-4}}</ref> It stands on the banks of the [[Wairoa River (Tasman)|Wairoa River]]. Brightwater was first named Spring Grove. [[Alfred Saunders]], the owner of a local [[flax mill]] situated on the banks of the Wairoa River and a prominent [[Temperance movement in New Zealand|temperance]] activist,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1s1/saunders-alfred|title=Saunders, Alfred|last=McGibbon|first=Ian|date=1990|website=Te Ara: Encyclopedia of New Zealand|publisher=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage|language=en|access-date=2017-02-21}}</ref> renamed it Brightwater because of the clarity of the water in Wairoa River.<ref>{{cite book| title=Discover New Zealand - A Wises Guide |year=1994 |edition=9th |publisher=Wises Publications |page=285}}</ref> The settlement was officially named in the 1880s,<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Brightwater got its name |url=https://www.theprow.org.nz/places/brightwater/ |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250214142024/https://www.theprow.org.nz/places/brightwater/ |archive-date=2025-02-14 |access-date=2026-04-05 |website=www.theprow.org.nz |language=en-NZ}}</ref> but the area was settled as early as 1843.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Nelson-West Coast Parishes |url=https://putake.recollect.co.nz/nodes/view/183 |access-date=2026-04-05 |website=Pūtake |language=en}}</ref>
Brightwater was the birthplace of [[Nobel Prize]]-winning scientist, the "father of nuclear physics", [[Ernest Rutherford]],<ref>{{Cite book |url=http://archive.org/details/batemannewzealandencyclopedia6thedition |title=New Zealand Encyclopedia (6th Edition) |date=2005-11-01 |pages=97}}</ref> and has an elaborate Lord Rutherford Birthplace memorial on Lord Rutherford Road.
==Population== Stats NZ describes Brightwater as a small urban area, which covers {{Convert|4.67|km2||abbr=on}}<ref name="Area">{{Cite web|title=Stats NZ Geographic Data Service|url=https://datafinder.stats.govt.nz/data/|at=Urban Rural 2023 (generalised)|access-date=16 April 2026}}</ref> It had an estimated population of {{NZ population data 2018|Brightwater|y}} as of {{NZ population data 2018|||y|y||,}} with a population density of {{Decimals|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Brightwater|y}}|R}}/4.67|0}} people per km<sup>2</sup>.
{{Historical populations|2006|1,827|2013|1,794|2018|2,133|2023|2,280|percentages=pagr|align=left|source=<ref name="Census 2023"/><ref name="Census 2018">{{NZ census 2018|Brightwater (302600)|brightwater|Brightwater}}</ref>|footnote=The 2006 population is for a larger area of 4.84 km<sup>2</sup>.}} Brightwater had a population of 2,280 in the [[2023 New Zealand census]], an increase of 147 people (6.9%) since the [[2018 New Zealand census|2018 census]], and an increase of 486 people (27.1%) since the [[2013 New Zealand census|2013 census]]. There were 1,131 males, 1,137 females, and 9 people of [[non-binary gender|other genders]] in 813 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%2Bdo1.2018.2023&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> 2.8% of people identified as [[LGBTQ|LGBTIQ+]]. The median age was 38.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 516 people (22.6%) aged under 15 years, 384 (16.8%) aged 15 to 29, 1,068 (46.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 312 (13.7%) aged 65 or older.<ref name="Census 2023"/>
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 95.4% [[European New Zealanders|European]] ([[Pākehā]]); 11.2% [[Māori people|Māori]]; 2.0% [[Pasifika New Zealanders|Pasifika]]; 1.3% [[Asian New Zealanders|Asian]]; 0.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.0%, Māori by 1.7%, Samoan by 0.3%, and other languages by 4.6%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk). [[New Zealand Sign Language]] was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 14.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.<ref name="Census 2023"/>
Religious affiliations were 24.7% [[Christianity in New Zealand|Christian]], 0.3% [[Buddhism in New Zealand|Buddhist]], 0.4% [[New Age]], and 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had [[Irreligion in New Zealand|no religion]] were 65.9%, and 7.5% of people did not answer the census question.<ref name="Census 2023"/>
Of those at least 15 years old, 291 (16.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 1,098 (62.2%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 372 (21.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $46,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 171 people (9.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 996 (56.5%) full-time, 276 (15.6%) part-time, and 21 (1.2%) 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.2018.2013%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=Brightwater (2018)}}</ref>
==Education== [[Image:brightwaterschool2.jpg|thumb|left|alt= The sign outside Brightwater School.|Brightwater School]]
Brightwater School is a year 1 to 8 primary school founded in 1888,<ref name=timeline>{{cite web |title=Tasman Education Timeline |url=https://www.theprow.org.nz/society/tasman-district-education-timeline/ |website=theprow.org.nz}}</ref> with a roll of {{NZ school roll data|3183|y}} as of {{NZ school roll data|||y|y||.}}<ref>{{TKI|3183|Brightwater School}}</ref> The school campus has a dental clinic, reading recovery building, two sports fields, two playgrounds, a hard court area, a large shade structure and a swimming pool.<ref>{{cite web |title=Brightwater School – Tasman, Nelson |url=http://www.brightwater.school.nz/ |website=brightwater.school.nz}}</ref>
Four other schools previously operated in the area: Brightwater School for Girls (1881–1889), River Terrace School (1855–1920), Spring Grove School (1845–1974), and Waimea West School (1846–1938).<ref name=timeline />
==Businesses== Brightwater is mainly an [[agricultural]] town. Because of its climate of little rain, it is hot from October through March, and it commonly experiences frosts during the winter. The main agriculture of the area is [[wine growing]].
==Sports== [[image:Brightwaterskatepark.jpg|thumb|alt= A main attraction to the youth of the area|The Skatepark in the Brightwater Domain]]
Brightwater's main recreational area is the Brightwater Domain. The Domain includes the town hall, a [[skatepark]], a playground, [[tennis courts]] and several playing fields.{{Citation needed |date=August 2023}}
Brightwater has a small number of sports teams (mainly [[rugby football|rugby]] teams), the most famous of which being the Wanderers, the Brightwater rugby team.{{Citation needed |date=August 2023}}
==Notable people== {{Maincat|People from Brightwater}} * [[Ernest Rutherford]] (1871–1937), physicist and [[List of Nobel laureates|Nobel Laureate]]<ref>{{DNZB|last=Campbell|first=John|title=Rutherford, Ernest 1871–1937|id=3R37|access-date=11 June 2023}}</ref> * [[Jack Newman (New Zealand cricketer)|Jack Newman]] (1902–1996), cricketer and business executive<ref>{{Cite web |last=Taonga |first=New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu |title=Newman, Jack |url=https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/5n6/newman-jack |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=teara.govt.nz |language=en}}</ref> * [[Sarah McMurray]] (1848–1943), woodcarver and craftswoman<ref>{{cite news |url=https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/WC19400829.2.84.7 |title=92-Year-Old Pioneer |date=29 August 1940 |work=Wanganui Chronicle |issue=203 |page=8 |access-date=15 January 2025 |via=[[PapersPast]]}}</ref> * [[Nate Wilbourne]] (born 2008), environmentalist<ref>{{Cite web |title=Brightwater School's past catches up |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/8469054/Brightwater-Schools-past-catches-up |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=www.stuff.co.nz}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Commons category inline|Brightwater}}
{{Tasman District}}
[[Category:Populated places in the Tasman District]]