Taitā, New Zealand

Suburb in Lower Hutt City, New Zealand

Taitā
Suburb
Country	New Zealand
City	Lower Hutt City
Local authority	Hutt City Council
Electoral ward	Northern Ward
Area [1]
• Land	455 ha (1,124 acres)
Population  (June 2024)[2]
• Total	6,960
Train stations	Taita Railway Station

		Pomare
Kelson	Taitā	Stokes Valley
Avalon	Wingate

Taitā (/ˈtaɪtə/) is one of the northernmost suburbs of the city of Lower Hutt in New Zealand, situated toward the northern end of the city. It lies considerably south of the Taitā Gorge which separates Lower Hutt City from Upper Hutt City, and to the west of the Taitā Cemetery in the suburb of Naenae.

The historic Christ Church, erected in 1853, is the oldest surviving church building in the Wellington region.

Taitā's urban development began around the middle of the 20th century as part of the Labour Government's state-housing scheme. The Taita Railway Station opened in 1947 to serve the developing suburb.

The main road through the western part of the suburb, Taita Drive, has its southern end in the suburb of Avalon, south of the Kennedy-Good Bridge.

On the eastern side of Taitā, above Taita College, stand the buildings of the former Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) Soil Bureau. The Soil Bureau became part of Landcare Research New Zealand Limited in 1992 and much of the functionality formerly carried out at Taitā has moved to the Turitea campus of Massey University in Palmerston North.

In December 2019, the approved official geographic name of the suburb was gazetted as "Taitā".^[3]

Taitā, comprising the statistical areas of Taita North and Taita South, covers 4.55 km² (1.76 sq mi).^[1] It had an estimated population of 6,960 as of June 2024, with a population density of 1,530 people per km².

Taitā had a population of 6,153 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 615 people (11.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 96 people (1.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,950 households, comprising 2,997 males and 3,156 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.95 males per female, with 1,440 people (23.4%) aged under 15 years, 1,410 (22.9%) aged 15 to 29, 2,592 (42.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 714 (11.6%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 43.9% European/Pākehā, 25.9% Māori, 29.4% Pasifika, 15.6% Asian, and 3.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 27.6, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 34.4% had no religion, 47.1% were Christian, 2.1% had Māori religious beliefs, 4.1% were Hindu, 2.0% were Muslim, 1.7% were Buddhist and 1.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 642 (13.6%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,122 (23.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 360 people (7.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,112 (44.8%) people were employed full-time, 630 (13.4%) were part-time, and 300 (6.4%) were unemployed.^[4]

Taita has four schools:

• Pomare School, a state contributing primary (Year 1 to 6) school with 90 students as of August 2024.^[7]
• Saint Michael's School, a state-integrated Catholic full primary (Year 1 to 8) school with 123 students as of August 2024.^[7]
• Taita Central School, a state contributing primary (Year 1 to 6) school with 127 students as of August 2024.^[7] The school opened in 1948.
• Taita College, a state secondary (Year 9 to 13) school with 377 students as of August 2024.^[7] The school opened in 1957.

Intermediate (Year 7 and 8) students from Taitā can attend Avalon Intermediate School, in the neighbouring suburb of Avalon.

• "Stockade in clearing, Taita, 1846 or 1847, sketch by William Swainson". NZETC. 1846.

41°10′48″S 174°57′36″E / 41.180°S 174.960°E / -41.180; 174.960