Urenui


Urenui is a settlement in northern Taranaki, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on State Highway 3 close to the shore of the North Taranaki Bight, 13 kilometres east of Waitara and 6 km south-west of Mimi. The Urenui River flows past the settlement into the North Taranaki Bight.
The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "great courage" for Urenui, noting that courage is "a figurative expression". A fuller explanation is that the name was given by Manaia in honour of his well-endowed son. Ure means "penis", and nui means "large".
Mail sent to addresses at Urenui must show both a PO box number and a street address.

Demographics

Urenui had a population of 426 at the 2013 New Zealand census, a decrease of 3 people since the 2006 census. There were 210 males and 216 females. 91.2% were European/Pākehā, 19.9% were Māori, 0.7% were Pacific peoples and 0.0% were Asian.

Marae

Approximately 3 km eastward of the town is the Urenui Marae, the only remaining marae of Ngāti Mutunga. It includes Te Aroha meeting house.

Education

Urenui School is a coeducational contributing primary school with a roll of students as of The school was founded in 1876 and celebrated its 125th jubilee in 2001.

Notable people