Purau
{{Short description|Settlement in Canterbury, New Zealand}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2015}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=December 2015}}
{{Infobox settlement
| name = Purau
| other_name =
| image_skyline = Purau Beach, Canterbury, New Zealand 08.jpg
| image_caption = Purau
| image_map = {{infobox mapframe|coord={{coord|43|38|30.44|S|172|45|8.23|E}}|zoom=9}}
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
| pushpin_map =
| pushpin_label_position =
| pushpin_map_alt =
| pushpin_map_caption =
| coordinates = {{Coord|43|38|30.44|S|172|45|8.23|E|region:NZ|display=inline,title}}
| coordinates_footnotes =
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = New Zealand
| subdivision_type1 = Region
| subdivision_name1 = Canterbury Region
| subdivision_type2 = District
| subdivision_name2 = Christchurch City
| subdivision_type3 = Ward
| subdivision_name3 = Banks Peninsula
| subdivision_type4 = Community
| subdivision_name4 = Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū Banks Peninsula
| seat_type = Electorates
| seat = {{ubl|Banks Peninsula|Te Tai Tonga (Māori)}}
| leader_title = Territorial Authority
| leader_name = Christchurch City Council
| leader_title1 = Regional council
| leader_name1 = Environment Canterbury
| leader_title2 = Mayor of Christchurch
| leader_name2 = {{NZ officeholder data|Christchurch City Mayor|y}}
| leader_title3 = Banks Peninsula MP
| leader_name3 = {{NZ officeholder data|Banks Peninsula MP|y}}
| leader_title4 = Te Tai Tonga MP
| leader_name4 = {{NZ officeholder data|Te Tai Tonga MP|y}}
| established_title1 =
| established_date1 =
| founder =
| area_total_km2 = 0.21
| population_footnotes = {{NZ population data 2018||||y}}
| population_as_of = June 2022
| population_total = 70
| population_density_km2 = auto
| postal_code_type = Postcode
| postal_code =
}}
Purau is a small town in Canterbury, New Zealand, facing Lyttelton Harbour.
Geography
Purau is located on Banks Peninsula, one of the southern bays forming Lyttelton Harbour.
History
Purau has a long history of Māori settlement. Ngāti Māmoe lived here prior to Ngāi Tahu settling the bay. There are many Māori burial sites in the area.{{cite web|title=Purau |url= http://christchurchcitylibraries.com/tikoukawhenua/purau/ |publisher=Christchurch City Libraries|accessdate=24 June 2012}}
The bay's first English name was "Acheron Bay", and this name persisted until the 1860s. The name derives from the British Admiralty survey ship HMSV Acheron, which was anchored at Purau in early 1849 while its captain John Stokes and surveyor W.J.W. Hamilton conducted the first survey off the New Zealand coastline since Cook's voyage, exploring the Peninsula and nearby Canterbury Plains.{{Cite book |last=Ogilvie |first=Gordon |url=https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125954864 |title=Place Names of Banks Peninsula and the Port Hills |date= |publisher=Canterbury University Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-1-927145-93-7 |location=Christchurch |pages=15 |language=English}}
European occupation started in 1843, when the Greenwood brothers started a farm here. They sold to the Rhodes brothers in 1847 (William Barnard and George, with the latter taking over management of the station).{{cite web|last=McLintock|first=A. H.|title=Rhodes Brothers |url= http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/1966/rhodes-brothers/1 |publisher=An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand|accessdate=24 June 2012|date=1966}}{{cite book |title= The Early Canterbury Runs: Containing the First, Second and Third (new) Series |year=1946 |url= http://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/tm/scholarly/tei-AclEarl-t1-body-d12-d4.html |publisher=Whitcombe and Tombs Limited |author=Leopold George Dyke Acland |accessdate= 22 June 2012 |location=Christchurch |chapter=Land Tax And Advances To Settlers' Department}} When Robert Heaton Rhodes, another of the Rhodes brothers, came to New Zealand in 1850, he took over Purau.{{DNZB|title=George Rhodes|first= Robert|last= Pinney|id=1r6|accessdate=23 April 2017}}
Demographics
Purau is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement, and covers {{Convert|0.21|km2|abbr=on}}.{{Cite web|title=ArcGIS Web Application|url=https://statsnz.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=6f49867abe464f86ac7526552fe19787|access-date=14 October 2021|website=statsnz.maps.arcgis.com}} It had an estimated population of 70 as of June 2022 with a population density of {{Decimals|70/0.21|0}} people per km2. It was part of the Eastern Bays-Banks Peninsula SA2 statistical area in 2018,{{NZ census place summary 2018|eastern-bays-banks-peninsula|Eastern Bays-Banks Peninsula}} and part of Diamond Harbour in 2023.{{NZ census place summary 2018|diamond-harbour|Diamond Harbour}}
{{Historical populations|2006|63|2013|51|2018|69|percentages=pagr|align=left|source=}}
Purau had a population of 69 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 18 people (35.3%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 6 people (9.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 33 households, comprising 33 males and 33 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 52.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 9 people (13.0%) aged under 15 years, 6 (8.7%) aged 15 to 29, 39 (56.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 15 (21.7%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 95.7% European/Pākehā, 13.0% Māori, and 4.3% Pasifika. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 47.8% had no religion, 26.1% were Christian and 4.3% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 18 (30.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 6 (10.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $32,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 9 people (15.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 27 (45.0%) people were employed full-time, 12 (20.0%) were part-time, and 3 (5.0%) were unemployed.{{NZ census 2018|7026638}}
Gallery
File:Panoramic of Purau Bay, Canterbury 20100119.jpg|Panorama of Purau Bay
File:A house in Purau, Canterbury, New Zealand 13.jpg|A house in Purau
File:Purau beach, Canterbury, New Zealand 12.jpg|Beach
File:Bridge across Purau Stream, Purau, Canterbury, New Zealand.jpg|Bridge across Purau Stream
References
{{Commons}}
{{Reflist}}
{{Banks Peninsula}}