‘Whitewash’ in Waimakariri
The Waimakariri District is the ‘‘whitest’’ place in New Zealand according to research by Fairfax.
According to 2013’s census data, nine of the 10 regions with the highest population of European Kiwis are in Te Wai Pounamu (the South Island).
Waimakariri’s population was 93.8 per cent European, the highest percentage in the country, while the district’s 7.4 per cent of Maori population was about average for Canterbury as a whole.
Asians made up 1.7 per cent of the districts population, Pacific Island peoples 0.8 per cent and the diverse group of Middle Easterners, Latin Americans and Africans a tiny 0.2 per cent.
Camside, between Kaiapoi and Pines-Kairaki beaches, was listed as having a population of 100 per cent European in 2013 by Statistics New Zealand, while in 2001 the small area also had 17.9 per cent Maori and 1.5 Asian.
The Hurunui District ranks fourth with 97.4 per cent European population and a Maori population of 6.3 per cent.
Waimate(93.60), Selwyn (93.58) and Timaru(94.05) were also in the ten ‘‘whitest’’ places, Canterbury dominating an already Southern dominated list.
Waimakariri Mayor David Ayers said it was unfair to ask why the area was monocultural.
‘‘It’s not entirely accurate to base that assumption on immigration figures - that discounts the fact that this district is the Ngai Tahu headquarters for the South Island.’’
Waimakariri District Council and other Canterbury councils said they were friendly to, and still so accommodating of, new migrants, including those whose first language was not English.
They said they ran settlement programmes for newcomers, hosted cultural festivals such as the Hindu celebration, Diwali, and were building closer ties with Ngai Tahu.
Auckland had traditionally been considered the most diverse city in New Zealand and Statistics New Zealand said that by 2038 the population would be 43 per cent European, 34 per cent Asian, 18 per cent Pasifika and 14 per cent Maori.
In a census, people could identify with more than one ethnicity which leads to some regions having an ethnic makeup of more than 100 per cent.