Stratford, New Zealand

Stratford is at the junction of State Highway 3 and State Highway 43.

On State Highway 3 New Plymouth is 39 km (24 mi) north, Inglewood 21 km (13 mi) north, Eltham 11 km (6.8 mi) south and Hāwera 30 km (19 mi) south.

On State Highway 43 Taumarunui is 146 km (91 mi) to the east. This road is known as "The Forgotten World Highway", due to the scarcity of settlement along the road in contrast to its earlier history. A sign reads "No Petrol for 150 km (93 mi)".

Stratford railway station is the junction of the Marton–New Plymouth and Stratford–Okahukura lines.

Stratford's view of Mount Taranaki (facing west), with Fanthams Peak to the left of the main peak. Stratford is a service town for the many dairy farms of Taranaki.

The Stratford District takes in about one quarter of the Taranaki Region, and includes four major geological features: the Taranaki volcanic cone, its associated ring plain, the Patea River catchment, and the eastern hill country.

The south-eastern face of Mount Taranaki is in the Stratford district, the north-westernmost point of the district being the 2518 m high peak. From the peak the boundaries run almost due east and due south.

Pembroke Road winds up the mountain slope from Stratford to a carpark and lookout at "The Plateau", at 1,172 m (3,845 ft) Manganui skifield is a short hike from the carpark, across the Manganui Gorge.

On the south-eastern face of the mountain, Manaia Road gives access to Dawson Falls and the Konini Lodge, at 890 m (2,920 ft) altitude. The natural Wilkies Pools are a short hike above the lodge.

The Taranaki volcanic ring plain provides a steady contour with a subtle gradient, upon which Stratford and its environs have been settled. The easy gradient and rich volcanic soils and the high level of rainfall provide high quality pasture and agricultural land. Within this area the ring plain is drained by three river catchments: the Manganui River catchment to the north, the Waingongoro River catchment to the south, and the dominant Patea River catchment.

The headwaters of the Patea River are on the eastern face of Mount Taranaki, above Stratford. From there the river flows eastwards, its upper catchment taking in a narrow area of land between the Manganui River catchment to the north and the Waingongoro River catchment to the south.

Stratford is on the banks of the Patea River, at the junction of the Patea River and Paetahi Stream, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) east of the headwaters. Due to the narrow width of the catchment, the southern boundary of the town is on the Patea/Waingongoro divide, while 4 km (2.5 mi) to the north Midhirst is on the Patea/Manganui divide.

Beyond Stratford the catchment widens significantly to include a number of ancient swamps, including Ngaere and Toko, and also the Kahouri and Piakau ring plain streams. The river then takes in the expansive eastern hill country catchments of the Toko, Makuri, Mangaehu, Mangaotuku, Puniwhakau and Makahu Streams, before winding its way southwards through the hills of the South Taranaki district, to its mouth at Patea.

Beyond Stratford the district extends approximately 45 km (28 mi) to the east, between the Waitara River to the north and the Matemateāonga Range to the south, with the Whanganui River and Heao Stream constituting much of the district's eastern boundary. This area is dominated by steep sandstone, greywacke and mudstone hills and winding valleys. Much of the steep and isolated hill country is in native or exotic forestry. The remainder of the district is in sheep and/or beef pastoral farming.

Much of the eastern hill country falls within the catchment of the Patea River and its tributaries. However, to the north the district takes in Waitara River and its tributaries, including the Makara, Makino, Matau, Mangapapa and Mangaowata catchments. At its northernmost point the district also includes the Mt Damper Stream and its associated swamp and falls, which feed into the Tongaporutu River.

In the east the district takes in the Whangamōmona River catchment, and also most of the Tangarakau River catchment, both of which feed into the Whanganui River. This area is separated from the west by the densely forested Whangamōmona Saddle, making it an isolated and distinctive part of the district, and the area once had its own county council.

To the south-east the district also takes in the upper reaches of the Waitotara River catchment, within the Matemateāonga Range and the Waitotara Conservation Area.

Stratford is surrounded by a number of small villages and settlements. To the north on State Highway 3 are Midhirst and beyond that Waipuku, and to the south is the locality of Ngaere. Cardiff, Mahoe, Rowan and Pembroke are beneath the mountain to the west, and Wharehuia, Tuna, Te Popo and Kupe are to the north-east.

To the east, along State Highway 43 and the Stratford-Okahukura railway, lie settlements that in their heyday were bustling villages. Toko and the renowned Whangamōmona have retained their character as villages, while the settlements of Douglas, Strathmore, Huiakama, Te Wera, Pohokura, Marco, Kohuratahi and Tahora now consist of no more than a few houses. Along roads off State Highway 3 are a number of other settlements, some of which were also once bustling villages. Huiroa, Kiore, Matau and Mt. Damper are to the north and west of the highway, and Huinga, Tututawa, Puniwhakau, Makahu, Aotuhia and Tangarakau are to the south and east.

Stratford is the gateway to two National Parks - Egmont National Park to the west, and Whanganui National Park to the east (via Kohi Saddle, Aotuhia).

The Māori name for Stratford is Whakaahurangi, meaning to look to the sky. The name is taken from a story of the Ngati Ruanui chieftainess/Puhi Ariki named Ruapu-tahanga who, fled her husband Whatihua from Waikato, she travelled the track known as Te ara tapu o Ruaputahanga which stretches from Urenui down through Tariki, and ends near Patea). Here she stopped at the side of the Kahouri river near a fresh water spring. It is said she sat distraught and cried into the spring, naming it Te Puna Roimata o Ruaputahanga The spring of Ruaputahangas tears hear camped overnight 3 km (1.9 mi) east of the current town. Being a clear night, Ruaputahanga lay contemplating the stars when slumber overtook her. Withdrawing in respect, her followers observed that their chieftainess slept "with her face to the sky". The site continued to be used as a camping place for Māori, the track she followed linking the south Taranaki tribes to those in north Taranaki, and further north to Kawhia. Each traveling party would recollect the story of Ruapu-tahanga sleeping with her face to the sky.[3] The name is fitting, given the exposure of the area to a broad horizon on the face of the mountain's ring plain.

There is no record of Māori settlement in the vicinity of Stratford. Before British settlement the area was covered in dense forest and swamp. The Vogel schemes of the 1870s provided the necessary impetus to lead to the construction of a railway line south of New Plymouth, and the creation of road access at the same time, to open up access to the rich soils under the mountain.

In 1876, Taranaki Waste Lands Board assistant surveyor Edwin Stanley Brookes, Jnr. cut a meridian line from Waitara to the site of Stratford, and oversaw the subdivision of a block between the Manganui River and the Patea River. The surveying of a new site for a town on the banks of the Patea River was authorised on 11 June 1877, and the northern half of the town (above the Patea River) was laid out by William Skinner in July. More lots were laid out by Peter Cheal in 1879, and in 1880 Skinner was directed to survey the southern half of the town.

Stratford clock tower "glockenspiel"

On 3 December 1877, the name Stratford-upon-Patea was adopted, on the motion of William Crompton of the Taranaki Waste Lands Board. The supposed similarity of the Patea River to the River Avon in England led to the adoption of this name, and Crompton was known to have a literary turn of mind. There was a trend at the time to name towns after the birthplace of prominent British men. The William Shakespeare 'connection' led to the naming of 67 streets after Shakespearian characters from 27 of his plays.

Today New Zealand's only glockenspiel clock tower plays the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet three times a day. The spoken words are provided via external loudspeakers - there is no carillon (multiple bells) as would be more typical for glockenspiels in towers.

Stratford was formally classified as a town in June 1878, and on 31 August 1878 an auction of 455 sections saw the first sections sold. By 1881 the population was 97, comprising 56 males and 41 females, with 22 houses. By 1891 this had grown to a population of 342 and by 1896 1,256. This growth continued steadily until the mid-late 20th century, and has since fluctuated between 5229 (2001) and 5664 (1996), numbering 5,337 at the last census.

Whakaahurangi Marae, a marae (meeting ground) of the Ngāti Ruanui tribe and its Ahitahi sub-tribe, is located in Stratford. It includes a wharenui (meeting house), known as Te Whetū o Marama.[4][5]

Stratford District Council is one of 74 territorial local authorities in New Zealand. It is one of three territorial authorities in the Taranaki region, alongside New Plymouth District Council and South Taranaki District Council.

The council is led by Mayor Neil Volzke.[6]

The first Stratford Town Board was formed in 1882. The Stratford County Council was formed in 1890, and the Stratford Borough Council was formed on 22 July 1898. In the same year, Stratford became the third town in New Zealand to have electric street lighting, on the initiative of inventor and entrepreneur Alexander Walker Reid.[7] The county and borough councils amalgamated on 1 April 1989 to form the Stratford District Council, which was reconstituted on 1 November 1989 as part of the nationwide restructure in local government.

• George Newsham Curtis (1882–1885)
• Charles Stuart Curtis (1885–1890)
• Ebenezer Burgess (1890–1892, 1896–1898)
• William Loftus Tocker (1892–1894)
• J B Patton (1894–1896)

• Harry Norman Liardet (1898–1899, 1902–1903)
• Frederick James Steuart (1900–1901)
• Reginald Brooking Tatton (1901–1902)
• Nathaniel John King (1903–1907)
• Pilcher Frederick Ralfe (1907–1908)
• George A Sangster (1908–1910)
• Jonas Masters (1910–1912)
• William Patrick Kirkwood (1912–1915)
• Josephiah Wedgwood Boon (1915–1917)
• James Watson McMillan (1917–1929, 1933–1938)
• Percy Thomson (1929–1933, 1938–1947)
• Norman Harold Moss (1947–1957)
• George John Wedgwood Boon (1957–1971)
• Leo George Wellington Carrington (1971–1986)
• Lachlan Grant Bond (1986–1989)

• George Albert Marchant (1890–1892, 1905–1912)
• William Monkhouse (1892–1896)
• Joseph Mackay (1896–1899, 1900–1905)
• Richard Dingle (1900)
• William Hathaway (1912–1917)
• Edward Walter (1917–1925)
• Thomas Rheese Anderson (1925–1938)
• Joe C Best (1928–1946)
• Bruce Hutchen (1946–1970)
• Len C Harrison (1970–1977)
• HH Paul Cook (1977–1983)
• David Walter (1983–1989)

• David Walter (1989–1998)
• Brian Robert Jeffares (1998–2007)
• John Edwards (2007–2009) (Died while in office)
• Neil Volzke (2009-)

• Thomas Harry Penn (1898–1902)
• Ernest F Hemingway (1902–1911)
• Phillip Skogland (1911–1936)
• Gerald C Grace (1936–1975)
• P A Tourell (1975–1985)
• F W Bullen (1985–1989)

• William George Malone (1891–1900)
• Charles Penn (1900–1931)
• C L J Campbell (1931–1945)
• T A Jones (1945–1968)
• Ken J Little (1968–1975)
• MD Bell (1975–1977)
• Ross D Smith (1977–1989)

• Poiha Kemp Broughton (1989–2001)
• Wayne Allan Kimber (2001–2004)
• Michael Roy Freeman (2004–2011)
• Sue Davidson (2011-2014)
• Matt O'Mara (2015-2017)
• Sven Hanne (2017-)

• Mark "Bull" Allen (31 July 1967), All Black, TV host
• Christine Arthur (26 August 1963), New Zealand field hockey player
• Arthur Collins (1906–1988), All Black
• John Graham (1 January 1935), All Black, NZRU president, NZ cricket team manager, Auckland University Chancellor, Auckland Grammar School headmaster, businessman
• Stan Lay (1906–2003) Olympic Javelin thrower (born in New Plymouth)
• Dave Loveridge (born 22 April 1952), former All Black
• John McCullough (8 January 1936), All Black
• Lane Penn, representative rugby footballer, coach, All Black selector and NZRU President
• Mark Robinson (born 17 January 1974), former All Black and current NZ Rugby CEO
• Ned Shewry (1889–1962), world champion woodchopper
• Alan Smith (10 December 1942), All Black
• Jeremiah Trueman (born 19 May 1987), New Zealand national basketball representative

• Sylvia Ashton-Warner (1908–1984), novelist, autobiographer and educational pioneer
• Michael Hight (1961), artist - painter
• Michele Leggott (1956), poet and literary scholar
• Dominic Sheehan, author of Finding Home, a novel that illustrates growing up in Stratford
• Cheryll Sotheran (1945-2017), founder of the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa
• Greg Whyte (1958), Author
• Paula Parore, musician, contestant of 'The Voice Australia'

• Dr John Daniel Bergin (17 January 1921 – 22 July 1995), Distinguished physician and neurologist, Catholic pro-life apologist
• Dr Mel Brieseman, missionary to India, Canterbury Medical Officer of Health
• Dr Graham Gordon (10 December 1927 – 29 February 2004), Surgeon, St John's officer, NZMA Council Chairman (1977–1988) and NZMA President (1990–1991)

• David Thomson (1915–1999), Minister of Defence and Minister of Justice in the Third National Government of New Zealand
• Venn Young (1929–1993), Cabinet minister in the Muldoon National Government and homosexual rights activist

• Alice Copping (14 May 1906 – 21 August 1982), Senior lecturer in nutrition, Queen Elizabeth College, University of London
• Dr Alan Kirton (1933 - 2001), agricultural scientist

• Brian Davis, (1934–1998), Archbishop of New Zealand
• Emily Stevens (3 September 1900 – 8 August 1967), wholesale florist, nurserywoman, iris hybridiser