Taumarere

Taumarere was at the head of navigable tidal water on the Kawakawa River and a natural landing place, so a township developed here. It would likely have become the main town in the area,^[5] but after coal was discovered at Kawakawa in 1864, a new town developed there, becoming more important than Taumarere.^[6]

On 2 March 1868 a bush tramway line opened between Kawakawa and Taumarere wharf at what was known as Derrick Wharf^[7] to carry coal for export. It was built to the international 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge and motive power was provided by horses that hauled wagons along wooden rails. It was converted into a metal railway in 1870. In 1875, the government purchased the line and converted it to 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge two years later. The line was extended to Opua in 1884 and called the Opua Branch. In 1925, it became part of the North Auckland Line.^[8] This line has since become a part of the Bay of Islands Vintage Railway, a tourist-oriented heritage railway.

Mary Tautari ran the Taumārere Native School in the locality from 1875 to 1906.^[9]

St. Andrew's Church originally stood on the site of the Church Missionary Society's Paihia Mission Station.^[10] In 1927 the building was transported by barge and bullock waggon to its present site.^[11]

The statistical area of Matawaia-Taumarere surrounds but does not include the towns of Kawakawa and Moerewa. Matawaia-Taumarere covers 408.24 km² (157.62 sq mi)^[12] and had an estimated population of 1,520 as of June 2025,^[13] with a population density of 3.7 people per km².

Matawaia-Taumarere had a population of 1,473 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 201 people (15.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 384 people (35.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 738 males, 732 females and 3 people of other genders in 468 dwellings.^[16] 1.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 39.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 327 people (22.2%) aged under 15 years, 258 (17.5%) aged 15 to 29, 639 (43.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 249 (16.9%) aged 65 or older.^[15]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 49.5% European (Pākehā); 66.8% Māori; 5.3% Pasifika; 1.2% Asian; 0.2% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 0.8% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.3%, Māori language by 27.3%, Samoan by 0.6%, and other languages by 3.3%. No language could be spoken by 2.0% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.4, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 30.8% Christian, 5.7% Māori religious beliefs, 0.6% New Age, and 0.4% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.2%, and 6.5% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 105 (9.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 681 (59.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 318 (27.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $28,700, compared with $41,500 nationally. 39 people (3.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 489 (42.7%) people were employed full-time, 171 (14.9%) were part-time, and 57 (5.0%) were unemployed.^[15]