Rai Valley
The area may have been named for the Rangitāne chief, Rai kau moana.
The locality supports dairy farming in the area, with a dairy and cheese factory established in about 1909.
History
The Valley was one of the last areas explored by Europeans in northern Marlborough. John Tinline discovered it while looking for a route to Nelson in January 1850.
The Rai Valley was densely forested in the 19th century. A township grew up at Carluke, just to the west of Rai Valley locality, around a sawmill built by William Brownlee in 1907. About 100 people worked at the mill, and a light railway connected it to a port on the Pelorus River.
Returned servicemen took up many local farms in 1919.
Demographics
Rai Valley is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers 27.96 km (10.80 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 190 as of June 2024, with a population density of 7 people per km. It is part of the larger Marlborough Sounds West statistical area.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 141 | — |
| 2013 | 147 | +0.60% |
| 2018 | 177 | +3.78% |
| Source: | ||
Rai Valley had a population of 177 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 30 people (20.4%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 36 people (25.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 81 households, comprising 84 males and 96 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.88 males per female. The median age was 40.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 45 people (25.4%) aged under 15 years, 21 (11.9%) aged 15 to 29, 75 (42.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 33 (18.6%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 93.2% European/Pākehā, 20.3% Māori, 3.4% Pasifika, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 67.8% had no religion, 20.3% were Christian and 1.7% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 12 (9.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 42 (31.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $28,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 15 people (11.4%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 60 (45.5%) people were employed full-time, 21 (15.9%) were part-time, and 3 (2.3%) were unemployed.
Education
Rai Valley Area School is a coeducational composite (years 1–13) school with a decile rating of 6 and a roll of 94.
Climate
| Climate data for Rai Valley (1981–2010 normals, extremes 1962–1987) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 31.5 (88.7) |
33.6 (92.5) |
30.0 (86.0) |
25.7 (78.3) |
21.8 (71.2) |
19.2 (66.6) |
19.6 (67.3) |
18.8 (65.8) |
24.0 (75.2) |
25.3 (77.5) |
27.6 (81.7) |
28.7 (83.7) |
33.6 (92.5) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 22.5 (72.5) |
23.2 (73.8) |
21.2 (70.2) |
18.2 (64.8) |
15.6 (60.1) |
12.7 (54.9) |
12.4 (54.3) |
13.8 (56.8) |
15.6 (60.1) |
17.1 (62.8) |
18.8 (65.8) |
20.7 (69.3) |
17.7 (63.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 16.7 (62.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
15.6 (60.1) |
12.5 (54.5) |
10.1 (50.2) |
7.6 (45.7) |
6.8 (44.2) |
8.1 (46.6) |
10.2 (50.4) |
12.0 (53.6) |
13.4 (56.1) |
15.7 (60.3) |
12.1 (53.8) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 10.9 (51.6) |
10.4 (50.7) |
9.9 (49.8) |
6.8 (44.2) |
4.6 (40.3) |
2.5 (36.5) |
1.2 (34.2) |
2.4 (36.3) |
4.8 (40.6) |
6.8 (44.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
10.6 (51.1) |
6.6 (43.8) |
| Record low °C (°F) | 1.3 (34.3) |
0.7 (33.3) |
−3.0 (26.6) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−6.9 (19.6) |
−7.6 (18.3) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−5.2 (22.6) |
−4.4 (24.1) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−0.7 (30.7) |
−7.8 (18.0) |
| Average rainfall mm (inches) | 140.8 (5.54) |
113.7 (4.48) |
152.1 (5.99) |
197.5 (7.78) |
193.8 (7.63) |
171.3 (6.74) |
176.5 (6.95) |
162.4 (6.39) |
141.0 (5.55) |
223.4 (8.80) |
164.2 (6.46) |
180.6 (7.11) |
2,017.3 (79.42) |
| Source: NIWA (rain 1971–2000) | |||||||||||||
Notes
- ^ "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- ^ Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. pp. map 59. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
- ^ Roger Smith, GeographX (2005). The Geographic Atlas of New Zealand. Robbie Burton. pp. map 131. ISBN 1-877333-20-4.
- ^ "Age and sex by ethnic group (grouped total response), for census usually resident population counts, 2006, 2013, and 2018 Censuses (urban rural areas)". nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Marlborough Historical Society (2005). Click – A Captured Moment – Marlborough's Early Heritage. Blenheim: Marlborough Historical Society. p. 64. ISBN 0-473-10475-X.
- ^ "Marlborough Region – Landscape Pattern". Encyclopedia of New Zealand (1966).
- ^ Marlborough Historical Society, pp 84–85
- ^ McIntosh 1940, pp. 116–117.
- ^ McIntosh 1940, pp. 94, 204.
- ^ "Brownlee & Co. Sawmilling Industry". Bits & Pieces (1). September 1993.
- ^ McIntosh 1940, p. 159.
- ^ 2018 Census place summary: Marlborough Sounds West
- ^ "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. 7023221.
- ^ "Te Kete Ipurangi – Rai Valley Area School". Ministry of Education. Archived from the original on 17 October 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
- ^ "CliFlo – National Climate Database : Rai Valley". NIWA. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
References
- McIntosh, Alister; Redman, William Edward; Allen, William Raymond, eds. (1940). Marlborough: A Provincial History. Blenheim: Marlborough Provincial Historical Committee.
External links
