Alton, New Zealand

It was founded as Woodville in 1876. When a post office opened about 1887, the name was changed to avoid confusion with Woodville. The name Alton was proposed by James Gibbs from his home town in England.^[6]

Alton School opened in 1881 and closed in 1995.^[6] A war memorial on the school grounds was moved next to Alton Coronation Hall in 2013.^[7]

Alton Co-operative Dairy Company was established in 1909. The factory was rebuilt after a fire in 1957. It merged with Kiwi Co-operative Dairies in Hāwera in 1984. The factory was sold to Alton Amateur Westling Club (founded 1946).^[6][8]

Alton Coronation Hall was built in 1911.^[9] As of 2022, it remained in frequent use.^[6]

A small Anglican church was built in 1936.^[10] It was sold in poor condition for $1 in 2016 and subsequently restored.^[6]

Alton lost its post office when Postmaster-General, Richard Prebble, closed or reduced 580 offices from 5 February 1988.^[11]

Alton Hotel closed in 2011.^[6]

Alton locality covers 21.99 km² (8.49 sq mi).^[4] The locality is part of the larger Manutahi-Waitōtora statistical area.^[12]

Alton had a population of 111 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 9 people (8.8%) since the 2018 census, and a decrease of 21 people (−15.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 57 males and 54 females in 45 dwellings.^[14] The median age was 36.7 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 27 people (24.3%) aged under 15 years, 15 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 51 (45.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 15 (13.5%) aged 65 or older.^[5]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 86.5% European (Pākehā), 5.4% Māori, and 13.5% Asian. English was spoken by 97.3%, Māori by 2.7%, and other languages by 8.1%. No language could be spoken by 2.7% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 18.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.^[5]

Religious affiliations were 54.1% Christian, and 5.4% Buddhist. People who answered that they had no religion were 37.8%, and 5.4% of people did not answer the census question.^[5]

Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (17.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 48 (57.1%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 24 (28.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $52,200, compared with $41,500 nationally. 12 people (14.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 54 (64.3%) full-time, 12 (14.3%) part-time, and 3 (3.6%) unemployed.^[5]