Matamata

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Town in Waikato, New Zealand

title: "Matamata" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["matamata", "populated-places-in-waikato"] description: "Town in Waikato, New Zealand" topic_path: "general/matamata" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matamata" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in Waikato, New Zealand ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Matamata
image_skyline	Matamata i-SITE.jpg
image_caption	Matamata information centre
mapframe	yes
mapframe-zoom	9
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	New Zealand
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	Waikato
subdivision_type2	Territorial authority
subdivision_name2	Matamata-Piako District
subdivision_type3	Ward
subdivision_name3	Matamata General Ward
seat_type	Electorates
seat
pushpin_map	New Zealand
leader_title	Territorial Authority
leader_name	Matamata-Piako District Council
leader_title1	Regional council
leader_name1	Waikato Regional Council
leader_title2	Mayor of Matamata-Piako
leader_name2
leader_title3	Waikato MP
leader_name3
leader_title4	Hauraki-Waikato MP
leader_name4
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	9.59
elevation_m	63
population_as_of
population_footnotes
population_total
population_density_km2	auto
postal_code_type	Postcode
timezone	NZST
utc_offset	+12
timezone_DST	NZDT
utc_offset_DST	+13
postal_code	3400
area_code	07
coordinates
::

::callout[type=note]

Matamata () is a town in Waikato, New Zealand. It is located near the base of the Kaimai Ranges, and is a thriving farming area known for Thoroughbred horse breeding and training pursuits. It is part of the Matamata-Piako District, which takes in the surrounding rural areas, as well as Morrinsville and Te Aroha. State Highway 27 and the Kinleith Branch railway run through the town. The town has a population of as of

A nearby farm was the location for the Hobbiton Movie Set in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings. The New Zealand government decided to leave the Hobbit holes built on location as tourist attractions. During the period between the filming of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey they had no furniture or props, but could be entered with vistas of the farm viewed from inside them. A "Welcome to Hobbiton" sign has been placed on the main road. In 2011, parts of Hobbiton began to close in preparation for the three new movies based on the first Tolkien novel, The Hobbit.

Demographics

In 1876 Matamata had 7 homesteads housing 40 European settlers. In 1901 the Matamata Road Board had 300 residents, 50 dwellings, 60 rate payers and 80 rateable properties.

Matamata covers 9.59 km2 and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/EN-Hobbiton-Matamata-NZ-Attribution-Share-Alike25.jpg" caption="were filmed"] ::

Matamata had a population of 9,132 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 1,089 people (13.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 1,872 people (25.8%) since the 2013 census. There were 4,386 males, 4,716 females and 27 people of other genders in 3,696 dwellings. 2.1% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 47.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 1,536 people (16.8%) aged under 15 years, 1,428 (15.6%) aged 15 to 29, 3,429 (37.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 2,742 (30.0%) aged 65 or older.

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 84.5% European (Pākehā); 17.0% Māori; 2.1% Pasifika; 6.4% Asian; 0.7% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.1% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.2%, Māori language by 3.0%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 7.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.0, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 32.7% Christian, 1.2% Hindu, 0.3% Islam, 1.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.8% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, and 1.4% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 53.4%, and 8.7% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 960 (12.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 4,248 (55.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 2,388 (31.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $35,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 555 people (7.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 3,384 (44.5%) people were employed full-time, 951 (12.5%) were part-time, and 141 (1.9%) were unemployed.

::data[format=table title="Individual statistical areas"] | Name | Area (km2) | Population | Density (per km2) || Dwellings | Median age | Median income | New Zealand | 38.1 years | $41,500 | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Matamata North | 3.03 | 3,300 | 1,089 | 1,374 | 46.7 years | $35,800 | | | | Matamata West | 4.09 | 3,480 | 851 | 1,332 | 43.4 years | $36,100 | | | | Matamata East | 2.47 | 2,355 | 955 | 993 | 53.6 years | $34,300 | | | ::

Etymology

The name Matamata was originally applied to a settlement near the Anglican mission at Waharoa. The name Matamata was used for Josiah Firth's estate and as a town developed near the estate it took the name.

History

The first European thought to have visited the Matamata area was the trader Phillip Tapsell in about 1830. In 1833 the Reverend Alfred Nesbit Brown visited the area and in 1835 opened a mission near Matamata Pa, but this closed the following year when intertribal warfare broke out. In 1865 Josiah Firth negotiated with Ngāti Hauā leader Wiremu Tamihana and leased a large area of land, including the future site of the town which he named after the pā. Firth constructed a dray road to Cambridge and cleared the Waihou River so that it was navigable by his (small) boats.

Firth's estate later failed and by 1904 had been wholly obtained by the Crown and was subdivided into dairy farm units to take advantage of the new technology of refrigeration. It became a dependent Town District in 1917, an independent Town District in 1919 and was constituted a borough in 1935.

Railway station

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/97/Matamata_station.jpg" caption="language=en-gb}}"] ::

Matamata was a station on the Kinleith Branch, from Monday 8 March 1886. It was built by Mr D Fallon for the Thames Valley & Rotorua Railway Co. New Zealand Railways Department took over the line on 1 April 1886. Initially 40 minutes north of the temporary terminus at Oxford (Tirau) and about an hour from Morrinsville. For a while Matamata seems to have become a flag station, though it did have cattle yards and a 60 ft by 30 ft a goods shed. By 1886 it also had a coal shed able to hold 50 tons, a stationmaster's house, 2 cottages, urinals and a 20000 impgal brick water tank supplied by a 60 ft diameter windpump from a well, which was deepened that year. By 1896 Matamata had gained a 4th class station, platform, cart approach and a passing loop for 32 wagons. A telephone came in 1912 and a verandah in 1914. Authority to shift the verandah at Avondale station to Matamata when new station is built, and re-erect, amount £35. House for stationmaster. Platform extended to 175 feet. To extend it to 300 feet will cost £90. Authority for £60 for platform extension. 1919 extension of the verandah have been authorised. In 1919 part of the old Drury station building was erected as a luggage room at Matamata. Improvements are to be put in hand, estimated cost £6,000. Lighting of station and houses. 1927 Additional seating accommodation on platform. 1953 Approval for bicycle shed, estimated cost £90. There was a Post Office at the station until 1911. It had two members of staff from 1913. Matamata was included in the annual returns of railway traffic. For example, in 1924 it sold 26,367 tickets and exported 26,084 sheep and pigs. In 1950 8,868 tickets were sold and it transported 42,322 sheep and pigs. A petrol engined shunter was used in the station yard from 1936. Several Drewry 0-4-0 shunters were introduced in 1936.

The station building was replaced on Monday 17 May 1965 by a new £23,500 steel portal frame and block-work building, with a new platform and approach road from Hetana Street, built by Way & Works Branch staff. The old station was sold for removal by July 1967.

Matamata closed to passengers on 12 November 1968, but reopened to serve the Geyserland Express from 9 December 1991 until 7 October 2001.

Since closure the station has been the Railside by the Green community centre since 2002, though it is fenced off from the platform. Occasional excursions still use the platform.

Sports

Matamata is home to the Matamata Swifts soccer team, who compete in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 1A.

Educational institutions

Main article: List of schools in Waikato#Matamata-Piako District

Matamata College is the town's co-educational state secondary school, with a roll of as of . It opened as Matamata District High School in 1918 with a new building and official opening in 1924.

Matamata Intermediate is the town's co-educational state intermediate school, with a roll of . Originally part of Matamata College, it became a separate school in 1961.

There are two co-educational state primary schools: Matamata Primary School, with a roll of ; and Firth School, with a roll of . Matamata Primary started as Matamata Public School in February 1900. It could accommodate up to 26 pupils and was enlarged after being destroyed by a fire in 1905 or 1906.

Matamata Christian School is a co-educational state integrated Christian primary school, with a roll of . It was founded in 1988 as Rainbow Park Christian School, and became state integrated in 1998.

St Joseph's Catholic School is a co-educational state integrated Catholic school, with a roll of . It opened in 1930.

File:Matamata College (Matamata New Zealand) aerial photo (probably 1940s).tif|Aerial view of Matamata College in the 1940s File:Matamata College (Matamata, New Zealand) in 1946 postcard.tiff|Front of Matamata College in the 1950s File:Postcard Matamata Public School.tif|Matamata Public School from around 1909 File:Public School Matamata (Smales' series 7).jpg|Matamata Public School around 1919

Notable people

Nearby towns

Smaller towns nearby are:

Climate

Matamata features a mild oceanic climate (Cfb) with warmish summers and somewhat mild winters with cool nights, and moderate rainfall spread throughout the year. Rainfall peaks in winter and is the lowest in late summer.

|metric first=y |single line=y |location = Matamata (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1999–present) | Jan record high C = 32.8 | Feb record high C = 32.5 | Mar record high C = 30.1 | Apr record high C = 27.8 | May record high C = 24.1 | Jun record high C = 20.6 | Jul record high C = 19.5 | Aug record high C = 21.8 | Sep record high C = 21.8 | Oct record high C = 24.9 | Nov record high C = 28.4 | Dec record high C = 29.0 | year record high C = 32.8 | Jan avg record high C = 28.7 | Feb avg record high C = 28.9 | Mar avg record high C = 27.3 | Apr avg record high C = 24.5 | May avg record high C = 21.8 | Jun avg record high C = 18.0 | Jul avg record high C = 17.1 | Aug avg record high C = 18.1 | Sep avg record high C = 19.9 | Oct avg record high C = 21.5 | Nov avg record high C = 24.7 | Dec avg record high C = 26.5 | year avg record high C = 29.6 |Jan high C = 24.4 |Feb high C = 25.0 |Mar high C = 23.2 |Apr high C = 20.1 |May high C = 17.1 |Jun high C = 14.2 |Jul high C = 13.6 |Aug high C = 14.6 |Sep high C = 16.0 |Oct high C = 17.9 |Nov high C = 20.0 |Dec high C = 22.3 | year high C = |Jan mean C = 18.2 |Feb mean C = 18.7 |Mar mean C = 16.8 |Apr mean C = 14.2 |May mean C = 11.6 |Jun mean C = 9.1 |Jul mean C = 8.4 |Aug mean C = 9.3 |Sep mean C = 10.9 |Oct mean C = 12.6 |Nov mean C = 14.4 |Dec mean C = 16.8 | year mean C = |Jan low C = 11.9 |Feb low C = 12.4 |Mar low C = 10.5 |Apr low C = 8.3 |May low C = 6.2 |Jun low C = 4.0 |Jul low C = 3.2 |Aug low C = 3.9 |Sep low C = 5.7 |Oct low C = 7.4 |Nov low C = 8.9 |Dec low C = 11.3 | year low C = | Jan avg record low C = 6.4 | Feb avg record low C = 5.8 | Mar avg record low C = 4.5 | Apr avg record low C = 1.1 | May avg record low C = -1.1 | Jun avg record low C = -2.8 | Jul avg record low C = -3.4 | Aug avg record low C = -2.1 | Sep avg record low C = -0.9 | Oct avg record low C = 0.7 | Nov avg record low C = 2.4 | Dec avg record low C = 5.3 | year avg record low C = -4.2 |Jan record low C = 3.3 |Feb record low C = 2.7 |Mar record low C = 0.0 |Apr record low C = -4.3 |May record low C = -4.0 |Jun record low C = -5.3 |Jul record low C = -5.7 |Aug record low C = -5.0 |Sep record low C = -2.9 |Oct record low C = -2.4 |Nov record low C = 0.5 |Dec record low C = 3.3 |year record low C = -5.7 |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 81.9 |Feb rain mm = 59.0 |Mar rain mm = 58.8 |Apr rain mm = 98.1 |May rain mm = 108.5 |Jun rain mm = 104.7 |Jul rain mm = 98.4 |Aug rain mm = 83.8 |Sep rain mm = 105.5 |Oct rain mm = 81.9 |Nov rain mm = 76.4 |Dec rain mm = 114.1 |year rain mm = |source 1 = NIWA |url = http://cliflo.niwa.co.nz |title = CliFlo – National Climate Database : Matamata, Hinuera Ews |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 20 May 2024}}{{cite web |url = https://cliflo.niwa.co.nz/ |title = CliFlo -The National Climate Database (Agent numbers: 17030) |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 20 Jul 2024}}{{cite web |url = https://niwa.co.nz/climate-and-weather/monthly |title = Monthly climate summaries from December 2001 to the present. |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 13 Jul 2025}}

References

"Matamata Area Guide".
(1976). "Land of the Three Rivers: A Centennial History of Piako County". Wilson & Horton.
"Stats NZ Geographic Data Service".
{{NZ census 2018. Matamata North (174900) and Matamata South (175000)
"Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
"Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer.
"Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer.
"Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer.
"Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ - Tatauranga Aotearoa - Aotearoa Data Explorer.
[http://www.teara.govt.nz/mi/1966/matamata 'MATAMATA', from An Encyclopaedia of New Zealand, edited by A. H. McLintock, originally published in 1966. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 22 April 2009]
[http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/1f7/firth-josiah-clifton D. B. Waterson. 'Firth, Josiah Clifton', from the Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 18-Sep-2013]
Waterson, D. B.. (1969). "The Matamata Estate, 1904-1959: Land Transfers and Subdivision in the Waikato". New Zealand Journal of History.
(13 June 1989). "Orders in Council for Local Government Reorganisation". New Zealand Government.
"Beautifying on the Railways — Activities Of The Railway Department. — Trees and Gardens. — Co-operation of Local Bodies and Clubs".
"Matamata-Piako District Plan".
Scoble, Juliet. (2010). "Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations".
"Stations".
(29 May 1886). "Page 7 Advertisements Column 4". Te Aroha News.
(1902). "Matamata".
Representatives, New Zealand Parliament House of. (1908). "Parliamentary Debates".
"Parliamentary Papers {{!}} Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives {{!}} 1913 Session I".
(1924). "RAILWAYS STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, HON. J.G. COATES".
"Parliamentary Papers {{!}} Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives {{!}} 1950 Session I".
(11 Nov 1936). "LOCAL AND GENERAL. THAMES STAR".
"New Zealand Rolling Stock Register".
"Inter-regional Rail service distances and times".
(7 Oct 2001). "Passenger rail routes farewelled {{!}} NATIONAL News".
"home".
(13 December 2013). "Matamata: New Zealand's re-cycled Station".
"Photos – Silver Fern to Matamata".
"Glenbrook to Matamata & Return – Waikato Explorer – RES Excursions – Glenbrook Vintage Railway".
(1993). "New Zealand Railway and Tramway Atlas". Quail Map Company.
"Matamata College Official School Website".
"Matamata College Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"Matamata College Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"Matamata College centenary : 1918 to 2018". Auckland Libraries [catalog entry].
(11 February 1924). "New Building at Matamata - Opening by Minister". The New Zealand Herald.
"Matamata Intermediate Official School Website".
"Matamata Intermediate Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"Matamata Intermediate Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"The history of Matamata Intermediate". Living Heritage.
"Matamata Primary School Official School Website".
"Matamata Primary School Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"Matamata Primary School Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"Firth School Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"Firth School Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"Our Story". Matamata Primary School.
"Matamata Christian School Official School Website".
"Matamata Christian School Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"Matamata Christian School Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"Matamata Christian School". Matamata Christian School.
"St Joseph's Catholic School Ministry of Education School Profile". [[Ministry of Education (New Zealand).
"St Joseph's Catholic School Education Review Office Report". [[Education Review Office]].
"St Joseph's Catholic School, Matamata". St Joseph's Catholic School.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::