Edgecumbe facts for kids

Edgecumbe (also called Pūtauaki in Māori) is a town in New Zealand. It's located on the North Island, in the Bay of Plenty Region. You can find it about 15 kilometers west of Whakatāne. It's also 8 kilometers south of the coast.

Edgecumbe is an important town for the farms around it. It sits on the flat plains of the Rangitaiki River, which flows right through the town.

A main road, State Highway 2, goes through Edgecumbe. There's also an old railway line, but it's not used anymore.

The Edgecumbe Dairy Factory opened in 1915. It's a big employer, with 358 people working there. That's about one-fifth of everyone living in Edgecumbe!

History of Edgecumbe

Edgecumbe got its name from a small village in Cornwall, United Kingdom. That village is located between Penryn and Helston.

In 1928, Edgecumbe became connected by train to bigger cities like Tauranga and Auckland. This was thanks to the new East Coast Main Trunk Railway.

In 1987, a powerful earthquake hit Edgecumbe. It caused a lot of damage and made many people leave the town.

The town has also faced heavy floods. This happened in July 2004, May 2005, and April 2017. These floods damaged many homes. In the 2005 flood, the river almost overflowed its banks.

The 1987 Edgecumbe Earthquake

This memorial remembers the 1987 earthquake.

The 1987 earthquake was a huge event for Edgecumbe. It happened on March 2, 1987, just after 1:42 PM. The earthquake measured 6.3 on the Richter magnitude scale. It was a shallow earthquake, meaning it happened only about 8 kilometers below the Earth's surface.

This earthquake was one of the most damaging ones in New Zealand's North Island in recent times. About half of the houses in Edgecumbe were damaged. A local milk factory was also badly hit, with large storage tanks falling over. Nearby towns like Kawerau and Whakatāne also felt strong shaking. An 80-tonne train engine was even knocked onto its side!

Luckily, no one died directly from the earthquake. However, one person had a heart attack, possibly because of the quake. A smaller shake (called a foreshock) happened minutes before the main quake. This cut the power and gave people time to move away from dangerous areas. The biggest shake after the main one (an aftershock) measured 5.2 and happened at 1:52 PM.

The earthquake also caused a long crack, about 7 kilometers long, to open up in the ground near Edgecumbe. This crack is now known as the 'Edgecumbe Fault'. In some places, the land next to the fault dropped by 2 meters.

The earthquake's center was about 2.24 kilometers south-south-east of Matata. This is about 15 kilometers north-north-west of Edgecumbe. The strong shaking caused many ground problems. These included sand boils (where sand and water burst out of the ground) and landslides on hills. Because of the earthquake, many people moved away, and Edgecumbe's population went down. The town is slowly growing again.

The 2017 Edgecumbe Flood

In April 2017, heavy rain from the remains of Cyclone Debbie hit the region. On April 6, at 8:30 AM, the Rangitaiki River broke through a protective wall (called a stopbank) next to Edgecumbe. This caused widespread flooding across the town.

A state of emergency was declared for the Whakatāne District. About 2000 people had to leave their homes and go to Kawerau and Whakatāne. More than 300 homes were damaged, and some could not be lived in anymore.

No one died in the flood. However, over half of the people living there were greatly affected by it.

This flood also led to the largest animal rescue in New Zealand's history. About 1000 animals were saved by the SPCA. They had help from local rescue teams and veterinarians. This event showed that New Zealand needed better plans for animal rescues during emergencies.

People and Population in Edgecumbe

Edgecumbe covers an area of 2.01 square kilometers. In 2018, it had an estimated population of 1,644 people. This means there were about 818 people per square kilometer.

At the 2018 New Zealand census, Edgecumbe had 1,644 people. This was a small increase from the 2013 and 2006 censuses. There were 546 households in the town. There were more males (855) than females (786).

The average age in Edgecumbe was 34.5 years. This is a bit younger than the national average of 37.4 years. About 24.5% of the people were under 15 years old.

Most people in Edgecumbe were European/Pākehā (66.6%). A large number were also Māori (46.4%). Other groups included Pacific peoples (3.3%) and Asian (4.7%).

About 9.3% of the people were born overseas. This is lower than the national average of 27.1%.

When asked about religion, 56.2% said they had no religion. About 28.5% were Christian. Some people also followed Māori religious beliefs (4.6%) or other religions.

About 10.1% of people aged 15 or older had a university degree. However, 25.6% had no formal qualifications. The average income was $25,200, which was lower than the national average. About 49.8% of people aged 15 or older worked full-time.

Geography of Edgecumbe

Edgecumbe is located inland from the coast. It sits at the end of the very fertile Rangitaiki Plains. The beach nearby is part of Maketu.

You can see the volcanic cone of Mount Edgecumbe from Edgecumbe. This mountain is about 15 kilometers to the south, near the town of Kawerau.

Climate in Edgecumbe

Clubs and Community in Edgecumbe

The Plains Rangers AFC is an Association Football (soccer) club. They play at the Edgecumbe Domain. You can also find rugby and hockey played there.

The Edgecumbe Volunteer Fire Brigade is on SH2. They help protect the town and the areas around it.

The town has its own local rugby club. There is also a Kart Sport track for racing small vehicles.

Education in Edgecumbe

Edgecumbe has two main schools:

• Edgecumbe School is a primary school for students in Year 1 to 8. It teaches both boys and girls.
• Edgecumbe College is a high school for students in Year 9 to 13. It also teaches both boys and girls.

Notable People from Edgecumbe

• Eve Rimmer, a famous paraplegic athlete.