Maketu

Maketu
Town
St Peters Catholic Church, Maketu
Maketu
Coordinates: 37°45′34″S 176°27′6″E / 37.75944°S 176.45167°E / -37.75944; 176.45167
Country  New Zealand
Region Bay of Plenty
Territorial authority Western Bay of Plenty
Ward Te Puke
Population (2013)
 • Total 1,047

Maketu is a small town on the Bay of Plenty Coast in New Zealand.[1]

Maketu is located in the Western Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. Maketu has an estuary from which the Kaituna River used to flow out of, it is also adjacent to Newdicks Beach located on the south eastern side of Okurei point. Okurei point is the highest most eastern point in Maketu. Maketu's population dropped from 1176 in 2006 to 1047 in 2013.[2]

The bay of Maketu

Maketu is rich with ancestral Maori culture. Specifically the Te Arawa Maori tribe. Maketu was the landing site of the Te Arawa canoe. The Chief who led the voyage of the Te Arawa waka from Hawaiki to New Zealand or Aotearoa was known as Tametekapua. Although many Maori when first arrived to New Zealand settled in Maketu, some continued their journey inland majority using the Kaituna as a way of traveling. The kaituna river continues inland right through to Rotorua. Maketu is named after an ancient kumara (sweet potato) pit in Hawaiki, the mythical place where, according to Māori oral tradition, the Māori sailed from.[1]

Maketu has a predominantly Māori population. Although in recent years due to housing shortages throughout New Zealand there has been an influx of many cultures to Maketu.

In 2011, Maketu was one of many areas along the Bay of Plenty Coast affected by the grounding of the MV Rena and the subsequent oil spill.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 New Zealand Tourism GUide: Bay of Plenty - Maketu
  2. ↑ Sunlive: More than 6000 in Pyes Pa
  3. ↑ "Public notice – beach access restricted". Maritime New Zealand. 13 October 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2011.

Coordinates: 37°46′S 176°27′E / 37.767°S 176.450°E / -37.767; 176.450


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