Tākaka

From 1853 to 1876, Tākaka was administrated as part of the Nelson Province. Sawmilling was an important business for Takaka in the 1870s. The Takaka tramway was built in 1880. Prior to that time timber was transported to the port by teams of bullocks which would often leave the main street of Takaka looking like a rutted bog.[4] After flooding in 1904 did significant damage to the tramway, it was sold in 1905 and the locomotive, rolling stock and rails were shipped to Onehunga by sea.[5][6]

Takaka contributed soldiers to the Boer War, the First World War and the Second World War with 1, 44 and 25 respectively dying in each conflict.[7]

In June 2005, much of the town was temporarily evacuated after fire swept through Tākaka's biggest industrial complex, a dairy factory. There were fears that volatile chemicals stored at the plant might explode, leading to the release of poisonous gases, which later proved to be unfounded.

In July 2020, the name of the town was officially gazetted as Tākaka by the New Zealand Geographic Board.[8]

The area around Tākaka Hill has a cave system, including New Zealand's deepest vertical shaft, Harwood's Hole.

Tākaka and Golden Bay are known for rock climbing, particularly around the area of Paynes Ford. This area is situated about 20 minutes walk from Tākaka and has over 200 bolted climbs. The most famous climb is 1080 and the letter G because of its unique "no-hands-rest" at the top and its views of Golden Bay.

The town is also known for Te Waikoropupu Springs (colloquially known as Pupu Springs).

The antipode of Tākaka is the town of Coriscada, Portugal.

Takaka is one of the warmest locations in the South Island, due to its northerly position and maritime influences from the Golden Bay. Because of the hills in the Kahurangi National Park to the south-west of Takaka, the town receives substantially less rainfall than the West Coast. Takaka's location on the leeward side of these hills allow the wind to become warmer and drier as it flows down towards the town, allowing an average of 22 days a year to exceed 26.7 °C (80 °F). On the contrary, being a few kilometres inland, cold air can settle over Takaka on winter mornings, resulting in an average of 17.2 frosty days per year.

source 1=Climate-data.org[9]| source 2=weatherbase.com[10]

Farming, sawmilling, limestone quarrying and tourism are major local industries. The area around Tākaka is mineral-rich, with gold, iron ore, copper, silver and asbestos all found locally, although not all in commercially viable amounts.

Dairy factory

The Takaka Fonterra Dairy Factory (2021)

There is also a small Fonterra factory located in the township of Tākaka that produces skim milk powder.[11] There are 83 dairy farms supplying the factory. It can process about 525,000 l a day into skim milk powder.[12] Cream is produced as a by-product. This is shipped to the Clandeboye factory for further processing.[13] The $80 million Takaka dairy factory was damaged by a fire in 2005. More than 60 firefighters battled the fire, which was caused by contractors completing welding work.[14] It has subsequently been rebuilt.[15] In 2009, it was reported that it employed nearly 50 staff and contributed $3 million in wages to the local economy.[16]

In 2006, Takaka had a population of 1152, growing to 1236 in 2013 and 1335 in 2018.  The median age of the residents in 2018 was 47 years old. In terms of ethnicity, 94.8% of residents identified as European, 10.8% identified as Maori and 12.6% identified as of Maori descent. The majority of residents were born in New Zealand (81.1%). Many residents identified with no religion (64.5%) while a sizeable minority (24.9%) identified as Christian. Only 43.4% of residents were in full-time employment. The median income was $24,800 with 8.1% earning over $70,000.

In 2018, there were 558 occupied private dwellings and a further 42 unoccupied private dwellings.[17]

Golden bay High School (2021)

Golden Bay High School is a co-educational state intermediate and high school for Year 7 to 13 students,[18][19] with a roll of 346 as of March 2020.[20]

There are two primary schools for Year 1 to 6 students: Takaka Primary School,[21][22] with a roll of 151,[23] and Central Takaka School[24] with a roll of 33.[25]

There is also a primary school in nearby Motupipi.[26]

Interior photo of the Golden Bay Museum (2021)

The Golden Bay Museum is located in 73 Commercial Street. It has displays on Abel Tasman's 1642 voyage which visited Golden Bay and Golden Bay's industrial past and a pilot whale skeleton. The museum building was opened on 15 October 1990. It is owned by Tasman District Council who provide an annual grant to run the museum.[27]

Limestone archway in the Labyrinth Rocks Park, Takaka (2021)

The Labyrinth Rocks park is located on Scott Road. It is a two hectare park of limestone rock formations and native bush. The canyons have a maze-like quality and there are trails that run through them and link them all. There are a number of short tunnels and archways. Entrance was free in 2021.

The still water of one of the swimming holes at Paines Ford

Paines Ford (also known as Paynes Ford) is a swimming hole and rock climbing spot on the confluence of the Waingara and Takaka rivers.[28] An easy trail from the carpark follows the route of a tramline, that existed to haul timber out of the surrounding forest in the early 1880s, to a number of swimming holes surrounded by limestone rock formations.[29] The entrance and carpark is located at 1886 Takaka Valley Highway SH60, which is 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of central Takaka.