# Tauwharenīkau

Tauwharenīkau is a rural locality and a statistical area in the South Wairarapa District and Wellington Region of New Zealand's North Island. The locality is on SH 1 about 5 km east of Featherston and 7 km southwest of Greytown by road, and the statistical area covers the Tauwharenīkau River valley and plain north of SH 53. The statistical area surrounds but does not include Greytown.
The name Tauwharenīkau, spelt Tauherenikau until 2023, means "the house made of nīkau palm fronds".
Tauherenikau Racecourse opened in 1874.
Tauherenikau School operated from 1878 to 1936. It closed as the roll had dwindled to five students. The peak roll was 46 in 1917.
Fernside Homestead is a large wooden house built in 1924 on the west side of the river near Tauwharenikau.

## Demographics

Tauwharenīkau is in three SA1 statistical areas which cover 69.51 km$^2$ (26.84 sq mi). The SA1 areas are part of the larger Tauherenikau statistical area.
The locality had a population of 465 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 27 people (6.2%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 93 people (25.0%) since the 2006 census. There were 192 households, comprising 243 males and 222 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.09 males per female, with 75 people (16.1%) aged under 15 years, 51 (11.0%) aged 15 to 29, 258 (55.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 84 (18.1%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 94.2% European/Pākehā, 7.7% Māori, 1.3% Pasifika, 2.6% Asian, and 2.6% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.6% had no religion, 36.1% were Christian and 2.6% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 93 (23.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 75 (19.2%) people had no formal qualifications. 99 people (25.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 225 (57.7%) people were employed full-time, 78 (20.0%) were part-time, and 9 (2.3%) were unemployed.

### Tauherenikau statistical area

Tauherenikau statistical area covers 337.66 km$^2$ (130.37 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 1,530 as of June 2023, with a population density of 4.5 people per km$^2$.
The statistical area had a population of 1,353 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 132 people (10.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 381 people (39.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 522 households, comprising 678 males and 675 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 47.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 249 people (18.4%) aged under 15 years, 165 (12.2%) aged 15 to 29, 705 (52.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 234 (17.3%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 92.5% European/Pākehā, 8.0% Māori, 1.3% Pasifika, 2.2% Asian, and 2.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 20.2, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.8% had no religion, 39.0% were Christian, 0.7% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.9% were Buddhist and 1.8% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 312 (28.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 165 (14.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $37,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 300 people (27.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 567 (51.4%) people were employed full-time, 252 (22.8%) were part-time, and 24 (2.2%) were unemployed.

## Climate

Climate data for Tauwharenikau (1981–2010) :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.6 (74.5) | 23.6 (74.5) | 21.7 (71.1) | 18.6 (65.5) | 15.8 (60.4) | 13.4 (56.1) | 12.6 (54.7) | 13.4 (56.1) | 15.4 (59.7) | 17.2 (63.0) | 19.2 (66.6) | 21.4 (70.5) | 18.0 (64.4) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 17.8 (64.0) | 17.7 (63.9) | 16.1 (61.0) | 13.3 (55.9) | 10.9 (51.6) | 8.9 (48.0) | 8.2 (46.8) | 8.8 (47.8) | 10.6 (51.1) | 12.2 (54.0) | 13.8 (56.8) | 16.2 (61.2) | 12.9 (55.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 12.0 (53.6) | 11.9 (53.4) | 10.5 (50.9) | 7.9 (46.2) | 6.0 (42.8) | 4.4 (39.9) | 3.8 (38.8) | 4.2 (39.6) | 5.7 (42.3) | 7.3 (45.1) | 8.5 (47.3) | 11.0 (51.8) | 7.8 (46.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 45.2 (1.78) | 87.6 (3.45) | 88.1 (3.47) | 74.6 (2.94) | 100.2 (3.94) | 106.2 (4.18) | 88.3 (3.48) | 98.3 (3.87) | 84.6 (3.33) | 80.1 (3.15) | 81.1 (3.19) | 81.0 (3.19) | 1,015.3 (39.97) |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 233.5 | 182.9 | 177.8 | 150.1 | 120.6 | 91.7 | 115.1 | 117.5 | 134.8 | 182.5 | 190.8 | 208.5 | 1,905.8 |
| Source: NIWA ||||||||||||||