Waikoukou Valley

The Tikokopu, Wharauroa and Waikoukou rivers were dammed in the 1800s to log kauri.^[9]

A post office was established at William Blake's premises in 1861.^[10] Blake was running a saw mill by 1862,^[11] but he moved to Taranaki in 1866,^[12] with the saw mill sold the following year.^[13] Milling continued by the Wilkins brothers until the 1880s.^[14]

A flax mill was operating by 1870.^[15]

Land use moved from extraction to dairy farming in the 1920s, although there was some debate on whether to replant trees towards the end of the decade.^[16][17] Electricity was supplied to the area in 1930.^[18]

Waikoukou Valley statistical area covers 52.86 km² (20.41 sq mi)^[4] and had an estimated population of 1,810 as of June 2025,^[5] with a population density of 34 people per km².

Waikoukou Valley had a population of 1,749 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 21 people (1.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 231 people (15.2%) since the 2013 census. There were 885 males, 852 females and 12 people of other genders in 579 dwellings.^[21] 3.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 44.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 306 people (17.5%) aged under 15 years, 318 (18.2%) aged 15 to 29, 873 (49.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 249 (14.2%) aged 65 or older.^[20]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 94.5% European (Pākehā); 8.4% Māori; 2.2% Pasifika; 3.8% Asian; 0.5% 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 97.6%, Māori language by 0.5%, and other languages by 9.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.4% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 21.1, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 23.8% Christian, 0.3% Hindu, 0.2% Islam, 0.3% Buddhist, 0.3% New Age, 0.3% Jewish, and 1.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 65.9%, and 7.7% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 264 (18.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 828 (57.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 264 (18.3%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $50,000, compared with $41,500 nationally. 306 people (21.2%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 783 (54.3%) people were employed full-time, 243 (16.8%) were part-time, and 33 (2.3%) were unemployed.^[20]