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Kowhai Park

Are we of Maori descent?

Derived from the Census question, "Are you descended from a Maori (that is, did you have a Maori birth parent, grandparent or great-grandparent etc)?"

A person has Maori descent if they are of the Maori race of New Zealand; this includes any descendant of such a person. The term "Maori descent" is based on a genealogical or biological concept, rather than on cultural affiliation to the Maori ethnic group. Information on cultural affiliations, or ethnicity, is collected in the census question on ethnic group. It is important to view this question in conjunction with the question about Ethnicity as some people who have Maori ancestry may not identify themselves ethnically as Maori.

Kowhai Park's Maori descent statistics should be viewed in conjunction with Ethnicity data, Languages Spoken and Religion statistics to provide a more complete picture of the Maori population.

Maori DescentKowhai Park
20062001Change
Usual residencenumber%Wanganui District %number%Wanganui District %2001 to 2006
Maori descent41119.122.436016.422.151
No Maori descent1,50670.164.11,56371.364.9-57
Don't know482.22.0421.91.76
Not elsewhere included1838.511.422810.411.2-45
Total2,148100.0100.02,193100.0100.0-45

Source: Statistics New Zealand, Census of Population and Dwellings, 2006, 2001 and 1996.

Please refer to the specific data notes for more information.

This dataset is sourced from the Census question 'Are you descended from a Maori (that is, did you have a Maori birth parent, grandparent or great-grandparent etc)?'

The wording of the Census question is taken to imply that there is no limit to how many generations a person may look back to identify Maori ancestry.

A person has Maori descent if they are of the Maori race of New Zealand; this includes any descendant of such a person. The term 'Maori descent' is based on a genealogical or biological concept, rather than on cultural affiliation to the Maori ethnic group. Information on cultural affiliations, or ethnicity, is collected in the census question on ethnic group. It is important to view this question in conjunction with the question about Ethnicity as some people who have Maori ancestry may not identify themselves ethnically as Maori. There is no reason to expect the populations stating Maori ethnicity to equate to those stating Maori descent in this question.

Maori in this context are inclusive of New Zealand Maori, but Cook Island Maori people are not included.

'Not Elsewhere included' primarily includes people who did not answer this Census question, or provided an answer which was unintelligible.

There are no time series issues with this dataset between 1996, 2001 and 2006.

Analysis of Maori descent statistics in Kowhai Park in 2006 compared to Wanganui District shows that there was a lower proportion of people who identified themselves as having Maori descent and a higher proportion of people in who identified themselves as having no Maori descent.

Overall, 19.1% of the population identified themselves as having Maori descent, compared with 22.4% for Wanganui District.

The number of people identifying themselves as having Maori descent increased by 51 between 2001 and 2006.

Maori descendants in Kowhai Park and Wanganui District, 2006 (Usual residence) 11.4% Not elsewhere included, Wanganui District 2.0% Don 64.1% No Maori descent, Wanganui District 22.4% Maori descent, Wanganui District 8.5% Not elsewhere included, Kowhai Park 2.2% Don 70.1% No Maori descent, Kowhai Park 19.1% Maori descent, Kowhai Park
Change in Maori descendants in Kowhai Park, 2001 to 2006 (Usual residence) -45 Not elsewhere included +6 Don -57 No Maori descent +51 Maori descent
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Status Box
Area: Kowhai Park
Data: Usual residence
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