Hikurangi

Infobox Settlement
name = Hikurangi
population_total = 1422
population_as_of = 2006
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = New Zealand
subdivision_type1= Region
subdivision_name1= Northland Region
subdivision_type2= District
subdivision_name2= Whangarei District
pushpin_

latd = 35
latm = 35
lats = 54
latNS = S
longd = 174
longm = 17
longs = 12
longEW = E

Hikurangi is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The city of Whangarei is 17 km to the south, and Kawakawa is 39 km northwest. The Glenbervie Forest is southeast of the settlement. State Highway 1 once passed through the town, but now bypasses it to the west. [cite book|title=Reed New Zealand Atlas|year=2004|id=ISBN 0-7900-0952-8|author=Peter Dowling (editor)|publisher=Reed Books|pages=map 5] [cite book|title=The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand|year=2005|id=ISBN 1-877333-20-4|author=Roger Smith, GeographX|publisher=Robbie Burton|pages=map 24] Mt Hikurangi is a volcanic dome rising 365 m to the west of the town. It is 1.2 million years old, and part of the Harbour Fault which also includes Parakiore near Kamo, and Parahaki in Whangarei. [cite web|url=http://www.gsnz.org.nz/gs_downloads/fieldtrips/MP112B_FT4.pdf|title=Introduction to Whangarei geology|author=Bruce Hayward, Mike Isaac, Keith Miller and Bernhard Spörli|format=PDF|year=2002|publisher=Geological Society of New Zealand|pages=p 27]

The population was 1,422 in the 2006 Census, unchanged from 2001.cite web|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-census-data/final-counts/northland-region.htm|title=Final counts – census night and census usually resident populations, and occupied dwellings - Whangarei District|publisher=Statistics New Zealand] Hikurangi is a service town for the local dairy industry.cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.teara.govt.nz/Places/Northland/NorthlandPlaces/15/en|title=Whāngārei City and environs|encyclopedia=Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand]

History

Twelve thousand acres of land at Hikurangi were purchased from local Maori by the District Commissioner of Lands in 1862. The land was considered desirable because it contained mature timber and high quality flax, and transport routes were established. [cite book|title=Hikurangi: The Story of a Coalmining Town|last=Malcolm|first=Madge|isbn=0-473-05007-2|year=1997|pages=p 1] The area became a timber milling centre with the establishment of a road to Whangarei in 1875, and the first of several sawmills soon after. [Malcolm, pp 4-5] Kauri gum-diggers were also active in the area. [Malcolm, pp 15-16]

The town grew around local coal mines, which opened in 1890. The North Auckland railway line from Whangarei reached Hikurangi in 1894. 4.2 million tons of coal were extracted. Flooding was a problem for the mines. During a nationwide coal-miners' strike in 1931, the Wilson Colliery Company closed their mine and deliberately flooded it. The miners formed a company and bought the mine, but it closed two years later because there were few orders for coal during the Great Depression. Three brothers were killed by black damp at one mine in 1933. The last mine closed in 1971. [Hayward et al, p 28] [cite book|title=Guide to Whangarei City and District|last=Parkes|first=W. F.|year=1992|isbn=0-473-01639-7|pages=p 11] [Malcolm, pp 6-15]

The Hikurangi Co-operative Dairy Company was formed in 1904. It established a dairy factory and operated a fleet of trucks to collect cream but also to deliver fertiliser and general goods to farmers. The factory was replaced by a new building in the 1950s. The company amalgamated with the Northland Co-operative Dairy Company in 1985, and the factory closed. [Malcolm, pp 152-7]

Six teenagers were killed in 1930 when a train hit a bus. [Malcolm, p 22-23]

Hikurangi was administered by the Hikurangi District Roads Board until the formation of the Hikurangi Town Board in 1908. The Board became the Hikurangi Town Council in 1955. In 1989, they amalgamated with the Whangari City Council and Whangarei County Council to form the Whangarei District Council. [Malcolm, p 47]

Limestone has been quarried at Hikurangi since the early 20th century. [Malcolm, p 20-21] The quarry still supplies limestone to the cement works at Portland.

Education

Hikurangi School is a coeducational full primary (years 1-8) school with a decile rating of 1 and a roll of 198. [cite web|url=http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/display_school_info.php?school_id=1014|title=Te Kete Ipurangi - Hikurangi School|publisher=Ministry of Education] The first public school in Hikurangi opened in 1883 at View Road. It moved to a site at Valley Road during World War I, and in 1973 was replaced by the current school. [Malcolm, pp 4, 18-19]

Notes