Pūkorokoro / Miranda

Pūkorokoro / Miranda
Coordinates: 37.185442°S 175.314336°E / -37.185442; 175.314336
Country	New Zealand
Region	Waikato region
District	Hauraki District
Ward	Plains Ward
Electorates	Coromandel Hauraki-Waikato
Government
• Territorial Authority	Hauraki District Council
• Regional council	Waikato Regional Council
Area [1]
• Total	18.09 km^2 (6.98 sq mi)
Population  (2018)[2]
• Total	120
• Density	6.6/km^2 (17/sq mi)

Giant sculpture of an oystercatcher

Pūkorokoro / Miranda (until 2015 known as Miranda) is a historical fort and small village in the Firth of Thames, New Zealand. The locality is mostly known for the Pūkorokoro Miranda Naturalists' Trust, a charitable trust to encourage people to visit the coastline and appreciate its wide range of flora and fauna.

Attractions

It is best known as the location of the Miranda Shorebird Centre, owned and operated by the Pūkorokoro Miranda Naturalists' Trust.^[3] The Miranda Hot Springs are another attraction for visitors.^[4]

The local Makomako Marae is a traditional meeting ground for Ngāti Pāoa,^[5] and features the Rangimarie meeting house.^[6]

History

The Ngāti Paoa village of Pūkorokoro^[7] was renamed after the warship HMS Miranda, which brought 300 soldiers of the 70th Surrey Regiment to the area in 1863, together with 600 more men on other ships. Although the local iwi, Ngāti Pāoa, was loyal to the Crown, their settlement Pūkorokoro was shelled by the Miranda, killing many of the villagers.^[8] The soldiers were to build a fort supporting the British troops fighting in the Waikato region during the New Zealand Wars. Several redoubts were eventually built, one of them named after the ship leading the small troop flotilla. A local headland also carries the name, together ensuring that the name became fixed.^[9]

Name

In 2012, the local iwi, Ngāti Pāoa, made the Miranda Naturalists' Trust aware of their longstanding grievance that the historic name of the area—Pūkorokoro—was lost during the Invasion of the Waikato. The Trust responded favourably to a dual-name proposal but said that due to their international profile being tied to the name Miranda, they could not drop "Miranda" from their name yet. The Miranda Naturalists' Trust consulted its membership about their proposed name change in August 2013^[8] and at the subsequent annual general meeting in May 2014, a unanimous decision was passed by the 50 members present in support of the name change to Pūkorokoro Miranda Naturalists' Trust.^[10]

Ngāti Pāoa then proposed, through the Office of Treaty Settlements, that a dual name of Pūkorokoro / Miranda be assigned to the area. Also proposed were to rename the nearby Miranda Hot Springs, and the locality adjacent to the hot springs of the same name. The New Zealand Geographic Board added to the proposal that the local hill Pukorokoro be renamed to receive a macron and that the same would happen to Pukorokoro Stream.^[11]

The hill and stream's altered names (a macron was added as proposed) were gazetted on 26 February 2015 and the other name changes were gazetted on 13 August 2015 as follows:

• the hot spring was assigned the dual name Pūkorokoro / Miranda Hot Springs
• the locality adjacent to the hot spring was assigned the dual name Pūkorokoro / Miranda Hot Springs
• the populated place "Miranda" was changed to Pūkorokoro / Miranda^[12]

Demographics

Pūkorokoro / Miranda settlement is in an SA1 statistical area which covers 18.09 km² (6.98 sq mi).^[1] The SA1 area is part of the larger Miranda-Pūkorokoro statistical area.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	108	—
2013	120	+1.52%
2018	120	+0.00%
Source: [2]

The SA1 area had a population of 120 at the 2018 New Zealand census, unchanged since the 2013 census, and an increase of 12 people (11.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 45 households, comprising 63 males and 57 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.11 males per female. The median age was 47.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 15 people (12.5%) aged under 15 years, 24 (20.0%) aged 15 to 29, 54 (45.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 24 (20.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 90.0% European/Pākehā, 20.0% Māori, 2.5% Pacific peoples, and 5.0% Asian. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 57.5% had no religion, and 32.5% were Christian.

Of those at least 15 years old, 18 (17.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 18 (17.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $32,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 18 people (17.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 60 (57.1%) people were employed full-time, 21 (20.0%) were part-time, and 3 (2.9%) were unemployed.^[2]

Miranda-Pūkorokoro statistical area

Miranda-Pūkorokoro statistical area, which includes Kaiaua and Whakatīwai, covers 81.34 km² (31.41 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 930 as of June 2024,^[13] with a population density of 11 people per km².

Historical population for Miranda-Pūkorokoro statistical area

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
2006	663	—
2013	786	+2.46%
2018	849	+1.55%
Source: [14]

Miranda-Pūkorokoro had a population of 849 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 63 people (8.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 186 people (28.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 360 households, comprising 444 males and 405 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.1 males per female. The median age was 54.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 114 people (13.4%) aged under 15 years, 90 (10.6%) aged 15 to 29, 399 (47.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 243 (28.6%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 86.6% European/Pākehā, 28.3% Māori, 1.8% Pacific peoples, 2.1% Asian, and 0.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 10.2, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 57.6% had no religion, 31.8% were Christian, 1.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% were Buddhist and 0.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 81 (11.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 198 (26.9%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 99 people (13.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 327 (44.5%) people were employed full-time, 120 (16.3%) were part-time, and 18 (2.4%) were unemployed.^[14]

References

1. "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
2. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. 7010812.
3. The Story of the Miranda Naturalists' Trust 1973–2000 – Chambers, Stuart. MNT: Pokeno, New Zealand. (n.d).
4. "Miranda Travel Guide". Jasons Travel Media.
5. "Te Kāhui Māngai directory". tkm.govt.nz. Te Puni Kōkiri.
6. "Māori Maps". maorimaps.com. Te Potiki National Trust.
7. Cumming, Geoff (4 February 2012). "Hauraki pains". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
8. Wilson, Morehu (August 2013). "'Miranda' recalls a black day for iwi" (PDF). Miranda News (89): 9–10. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
9. McCloy, Nicola (2006). Whykickamoocow: Curious New Zealand place names. Random House New Zealand. ISBN 9781869418076.
10. "Change of name" (PDF). Pukorokoro Miranda News (93): 5. August 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
11. "Geographic Name Proposals Report Pukorokoro / Miranda (locality) Pukorokoro Hot Springs (hot springs)" (PDF). LINZ. New Zealand Geographic Board. 16 July 2014. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
12. "Pūkorokoro Hill, Pūkorokoro Stream, Pūkorokoro / Miranda Hot Springs (hot springs), Pūkorokoro / Miranda (populated place), Pūkorokoro / Miranda Hot Springs (rural locality)". New Zealand Geographic Board. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
13. "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
14. "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Miranda-Pūkorokoro (168600). 2018 Census place summary: Miranda-Pūkorokoro

External links

• Pūkorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre
• Miranda Hot Springs