Recent marketing makes puns with the name, for example, "New Zealand gets its milk from Bulls" or the sign for the local police station "Const-a-bull".
Etymology
Wooden bull in Bulls
There are two recorded Māori toponyms for the area – Te Ara Taumaihi and Ō-hine-puhiawe. The origins of Te Ara Taumaihi have yet to be explicitly explored. Ō-hine-puhiawe, a land block where Parewahawaha marae is situated, acts as a synecdoche to refer to the current town area. The modern town name is named after James Bull who owned the first general store there. The town was originally called Bull Town, but this was changed to Clifton and then renamed back to Bulls at the urging of Sir William Fox.[4]
History and culture
The eastern end of the State Highway 1 bridge over the Rangitikei River south-east of the town collapsed suddenly in 1973 while being crossed by a bus. No-one was killed and the collapsed part was rebuilt.[5]
The former Lake Alice Psychiatric hospital is 7 km (4 mi) north of Bulls, the hospital closed in 1999. Lake Alice was a large contributor to the Bulls and Marton economy.
Bulls is covered by the Whanganui Chronicle, a daily paper part of the NZ Herald network that serves the Whanganui, Ruapehu and Rangitīkei regions.
Slasher film X was partially filmed in Bulls, namely the interior shots of the farmhouse which were filmed inside the Bulls town hall.[6]
The marae features the Parewahawaha meeting house, a whare tūpana opened on 15 April 1967 by Maori Queen Te Atairangikaahu. At the time it was opened, Te Rangi Pumamao was the rangatira at Parewahawaha. He had finished construction of the house, as previous builders had died.[9]
In October 2020, the Government committed $1,248,067 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae and five others, creating 69 jobs.[10]
Demographics
Bulls covers 6.83 km2 (2.64 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 2,380 as of June 2024,[2] with a population density of 348 people per km2.
Bulls had a population of 2,055 at the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 120 people (6.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 465 people (25.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 879 households, while the median age was 32.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally), with 462 people (22.5%) aged under 15 years, 444 (21.6%) aged 15 to 29, 873 (42.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 275 (13.4%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 79.7% European/Pākehā, 28.3% Māori, 7.2% Pacific peoples, 3.9% Asian, and 2.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 15, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 6.15% had no religion, 25.0% were Christian, 1.9% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.7% were Hindu, 0.6% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.8% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 169 (8.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 427 (20.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median household income was $88,000, compared with $97,000 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1171 (57%) people were employed full-time, 189 (9.2%) were part-time, and 74 (3.6%) were unemployed.[12]
Many Air Force personnel from RNZAF Base Ohakea live in Bulls. In recent years several defence houses have been sold to civilian buyers which has seen a steady decline of servicemen from the area, but a moderate presence remains nonetheless.
In 2017 it was announced that the Republic of Singapore Air Force is looking at establishing a permanent F-15 fighter jet training base at Ohakea with an estimated presence of 500 Singaporean personnel. Ohakea and surrounding areas such as Bulls and Feilding would see a significant increase in military families and personnel to the area. In December 2018 it was announced that this would no longer go ahead.[18]
In 2018 the incumbent government announced the purchase of four Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft for maritime surveillance. This announcement came with the news that the current New Zealand Defence Force unit responsible for maritime surveillance, No. 5 Squadron RNZAF, would be required to move to RNZAF Base Ohakea. This move would see a further increase in the number of service personnel living in the area. RNZAF took delivery of these aircraft in 2023.[19]
Education
Bulls has two co-educational state primary schools for Year 1–8 students.
Bulls School was established in 1867 and is the oldest school in the Rangitikei District;[20][21] it has a roll of 171 as of November 2024.[22]
Clifton School, which opened more recently on the southern end of the township,[23][24] has a roll of 159.[25]
The nearest state secondary school (year 9–13) is Rangitikei College, 16 km (9.9 mi) away in Marton.
NR - consists of former Taihape Ward and partially northern part of former Hunterville Ward since 2019; CR - consisted of former Marton Ward, most of southern part of Hunterville Ward and partially northern part of Turakina Ward since 2019; SR - consisted of Bulls Ward and most of southern part of Turakina Ward since 2019
