The settlement was established around Pūtiki Pā, a tribal meeting ground of Ngāti Tumango and Ngāti Tupoho.[3] It features Te Paku o Te Rangi meeting house, also known as Aotea meeting house.[4]
History
19th century
Pūtiki Pā, recorded variously as Putiki Wharanui, Putiki Wharenui, Putiki Warenui, or by its full name Putiki-wharanui-a-Tamatea-pokai-whenua, as a well established pā well before European arrival.[5]
The settlement was attacked by Ngāti Toa in a bloody two-month siege in 1828 or 1829.[6] About 400 locals were killed in the encounter.[7]
Pūtiki was the main Māori settlement at the Whanganui River mouth when Europeans began settling on the river in the 1840s. Māori from Pūtiki signed a deed of purchase with Edward Gibbon Wakefield for the Wanganui township, but chiefs later said they did not consider the deed to be significant.[8]
Missionary Richard Taylor oversaw the establishment of the region's first mill at Awarua Stream in 1845 (built by Tom Higgie).[10] Wheat was locally grown, milled into flour and used to make bread, a staple of the colonial era diet.[11]
Europeans formed the Wanganui township across the river. The people of Pūtiki had strong economic links with the new settlement and had a protective attitude towards it.[12]
Pūtiki Māori fought alongside the Crown against Māori further upriver in 1847, capturing six men who had killed local farmer John Alexander Gilfillan's wife Mary and three of their children.[8] They also fought alongside the Crown in 1864, in another battle against upriver Pai Mārire Māori on Moutoa Island, to protect the European township. The following year, European women gave Pūtiki Māori a large flag to celebrate the victory.[13][14]
Two platoons Māori Battalion were welcomed back to Pūtiki Pā in May 1919 after fighting in the Gallipoli campaign and on the Western Front during World War I.[13] They were the only battalion to return to New Zealand as a complete unit, and were welcomed back with rousing parades and receptions across the country.[14] The Moutoa flag from 1865 flew at the event.[13][14]
On 5 December 1937 Bishop F.A. Bennett consecrated Saint Paul's Memorial Church on the site of the original 1841 Christian mission.[17] It was the fifth church on the site; the previous four had been destroyed by fire, by a flood, by an earthquake, and by dry rot.[18]
The church was built as a memorial to those who had served the Anglican Church since the mission was first established.[9]
The church is plain and conventional on the outside, but the inside features extensive Māori carvings and artwork.[19]Sir Āpirana Ngata brought tutors and student carvers to create the carvings, and four women were sent to Wellington learn harakeke tukutuku weaving patterns.[18]
On 22 December 1963 Governor-General Sir Bernard Fergusson unveiled a framed memorial cross at the church, dedicated to local Māori and Europeans who had died in both world wars.[20] The cross is now displayed on the church porch, under a memorial plaque to Te Teira and Henare Metekingi who died in World War I.[9]
21st century
In October 2020, the Government committed $239,367 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade Pūtiki Pā and associated marae sites, creating 50 jobs.[21]
Demographics
Putiki covers 3.35 km2 (1.29 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 750 as of June 2024,[2] with a population density of 224 people per km2.
Putiki had a population of 666 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 87 people (15.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 72 people (12.1%) since the 2006 census. There were 267 households, comprising 333 males and 333 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 49.9 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 102 people (15.3%) aged under 15 years, 93 (14.0%) aged 15 to 29, 321 (48.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 144 (21.6%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 74.3% European/Pākehā, 34.7% Māori, 2.3% Pacific peoples, 0.9% Asian, and 1.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 8.1, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 45.9% had no religion, 41.0% were Christian, 3.2% had Māori religious beliefs and 1.4% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 78 (13.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 123 (21.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $31,100, compared with $31,800 nationally. 69 people (12.2%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 264 (46.8%) people were employed full-time, 96 (17.0%) were part-time, and 15 (2.7%) were unemployed.[22]
Education
Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Atihaunui-A-Paparangi is a co-educational state Māori language immersion primary school for Year 1 to 8 students,[23][24] with a roll of 128 as of August 2024.[25]
Notable people
Hoani Wiremu Hīpango, tribal leader and teacher, baptised at Putiki in 1841, buried nearby in 1865
^Smith, S Percy (1910). History and Traditions of the Maoris of the West Coast North Island of New Zealand Prior to 1840. New Plymouth: Polynesian Society.
^McKay, Bill (2015). Worship: A History of New Zealand Church Design. Auckland: Random House New Zealand. pp. 140–143.
^Saint Paul's Anglican Memorial Church, Putiki, Wanganui, New Zealand. Wanganui: St. Paul's Anglican Memorial Church. 1970. Available through the John Kinder Theological Library.
