Rai Valley
Coordinates: 41°13′39″S 173°34′59″E / 41.22750°S 173.58306°E / -41.22750; 173.58306
CountryNew Zealand
DistrictMarlborough
Ward
  • Marlborough Sounds General Ward
  • Marlborough Māori Ward
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial AuthorityMarlborough District Council
 • Marlborough District MayorNadine Taylor
 • Kaikōura MPStuart Smith
 • Te Tai Tonga MPTākuta Ferris
Area
[1]
 • Total27.97 km2 (10.80 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2023)[2]
 • Total190
 • Density6.8/km2 (18/sq mi)

Rai Valley is a rural settlement in Marlborough, New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 6, 68 km (42 mi) northwest of Blenheim and 46 km (29 mi) east of Nelson. The Rai River runs past the locality to join the Pelorus River at the locality of Pelorus Bridge to the south.[3][4] At the 2018 census, the settlement had a population of 177.[5]

The area may have been named for the Rangitāne chief, Rai kau moana.[6]

The locality supports dairy farming in the area,[7] with a dairy and cheese factory established in about 1909.[8]

History

The Valley was one of the last areas explored by Europeans in northern Marlborough. John Tinline discovered it while looking for a route to Nelson in January 1850.[9]

The Rai Valley was densely forested in the 19th century. A township grew up at Carluke, just to the west of Rai Valley locality, around a sawmill built by William Brownlee in 1907. About 100 people worked at the mill, and a light railway connected it to a port on the Pelorus River.[10][11]

Returned servicemen took up many local farms in 1919.[12]

Demographics

Rai Valley is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers 27.97 km2 (10.80 sq mi)[1] and had an estimated population of 190 as of June 2023,[2] with a population density of 7 people per km2. It is part of the larger Marlborough Sounds West statistical area.[13]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
2006141—    
2013147+0.60%
2018177+3.78%
Source: [14]

Rai Valley had a population of 177 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 30 people (20.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 36 people (25.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 81 households, comprising 84 males and 96 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.88 males per female. The median age was 40.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 45 people (25.4%) aged under 15 years, 21 (11.9%) aged 15 to 29, 75 (42.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 33 (18.6%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 93.2% European/Pākehā, 20.3% Māori, 3.4% Pasifika, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 67.8% had no religion, 20.3% were Christian and 1.7% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 12 (9.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 42 (31.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 15 people (11.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 60 (45.5%) people were employed full-time, 21 (15.9%) were part-time, and 3 (2.3%) were unemployed.[14]

Education

Rai Valley Area School is a coeducational composite (years 1–13) school with a decile rating of 6 and a roll of 94.[15]

Notes

  1. 1 2 "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Subnational population estimates (RC, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (regional councils); "Subnational population estimates (TA, SA2), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (territorial authorities); "Subnational population estimates (urban rural), by age and sex, at 30 June 1996-2023 (2023 boundaries)". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023. (urban areas)
  3. ↑ Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. pp. map 59. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
  4. ↑ Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton. pp. map 131. ISBN 1-877333-20-4.
  5. ↑ "Age and sex by ethnic group (grouped total response), for census usually resident population counts, 2006, 2013, and 2018 Censuses (urban rural areas)". nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  6. ↑ Marlborough Historical Society (2005). Click – A Captured Moment – Marlborough's Early Heritage. Blenheim: Marlborough Historical Society. p. 64. ISBN 0-473-10475-X.
  7. ↑ "Marlborough Region – Landscape Pattern". Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966).
  8. ↑ Marlborough Historical Society, pp 84–85
  9. ↑ McIntosh 1940, pp. 116–117.
  10. ↑ McIntosh 1940, pp. 94, 204.
  11. ↑ "Brownlee & Co. Sawmilling Industry". Bits & Pieces (1). September 1993.
  12. ↑ McIntosh 1940, p. 159.
  13. ↑ 2018 Census place summary: Marlborough Sounds West
  14. 1 2 "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. 7023221.
  15. ↑ "Te Kete Ipurangi – Rai Valley Area School". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.

References

  • McIntosh, Alister; Redman, William Edward; Allen, William Raymond, eds. (1940). Marlborough: A Provincial History. Blenheim: Marlborough Provincial Historical Committee.
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