Community and school in Ohakune: a descriptive, participant-observer survey

Abstract

In this survey Ohakune is the name for a part rural, part urban area of 90 square miles lying at the northern end of the Wellington province in the North Island of New Zealand. It forms part of the Waimarino district of the southern King Country, the old preserves of the Maori King. The boundaries are shown on the attached map.(Figure 1, Page 1 a). Within the area are contained the borough of Ohakune, population 1,600 (1956 Census) and two ridings of the Waimarino County with an estimated population of 1,200. The total population of 2,800 includes approximately 600 Maoris and a small number of Chinese. within the county there are three areas of closer settlement- Rangataua, Karioi (two) and Tangiwai. Three and a half miles from the western boundary lies the borough of Raetihi, population 1,200. Raetihi, longer established, better equipped with the amenities of modern living, and with a more extensive and richer hinterland, provides an alternative focal point for the Ohakune district. Because Raetihi is linked by a branch line to the Main Trunk Railway which passes through Ohakune, the presence of the railway in Ohakune does not compensate for the economic draw-off to Raetihi.