Stratford () is the only town in Stratford District, and the seat of the Taranaki region, in New Zealand's North Island. It lies beneath the eastern slopes of Mount Taranaki, approximately halfway between New Plymouth and Hāwera, near the geographic centre of the Taranaki Region. The town has a population of , making it the 62nd largest urban area in New Zealand (using the Statistical Standard for Geographic Areas 2018 (SSGA18)), and the fourth largest in Taranaki (behind New Plymouth, Hāwera and Waitara).
The Stratford District has a population of , and a land area of , which is divided between the Manawatū-Whanganui region (including the settlements of Whangamōmona, Marco and Tahora, 31.87% of its land area) and the Taranaki region (68.13% of its land area).
Climate
Stratford has a temperate Oceanic climate (Köppen Climate Classification: Cfb)
Road and rail
Stratford is at the junction of State Highway 3 and State Highway 43.
On State Highway 3 New Plymouth is north, Inglewood north, Eltham south and Hāwera south.
On State Highway 43 Taumarunui is to the east. This road is known as "The Forgotten World Highway", due to the scarcity of settlement along the road in contrast to its earlier history. A sign reads "No Petrol for ".
Stratford railway station is the junction of the Marton–New Plymouth and Stratford–Okahukura lines.
Population
Stratford is a rural service centre, serving the agricultural economy of its wider hinterland.
The population of the district peaked in 1961 at 11,300, and until the end of the century the town fluctuated between 5229 (2001) and 5664 (1996). The 21st century has seen significant economic growth and some associated population growth in the town.
Stratford covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Stratford had a population of 5,784 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 315 people (5.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 447 people (8.4%) since the 2006 census. There were 2,322 households, comprising 2,811 males and 2,979 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female, with 1,206 people (20.9%) aged under 15 years, 981 (17.0%) aged 15 to 29, 2,361 (40.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,230 (21.3%) aged 65 or older.
Ethnicities were 89.1% European/Pākehā, 17.1% Māori, 1.6% Pacific peoples, 3.5% Asian, and 1.1% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.
The percentage of people born overseas was 10.2, compared with 27.1% nationally.
Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 48.9% had no religion, 38.6% were Christian, 0.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.6% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.6% had other religions.
Of those at least 15 years old, 387 (8.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,395 (30.5%) people had no formal qualifications. 459 people (10.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,980 (43.3%) people were employed full-time, 582 (12.7%) were part-time, and 201 (4.4%) were unemployed.
History and culture
Whakaahurangi
The Māori name for Stratford is Whakaahurangi, meaning to look to the sky. The name is taken from a story of the Ngati Ruanui chieftainess/Puhi Ariki named Rua-pū-tahanga who fled her husband Whatihua from Waikato, travelling the track known as Te ara tapu o Ruaputahanga which stretches from Urenui down through Tariki, and ends near Patea. Here she stopped at the side of the Kahouri river near a fresh water spring. It is said she sat distraught and cried into the spring, naming it Te Puna Roimata o Ruaputahanga (The spring of Rua-pū-tahanga's tears), then camped overnight east of the current town. Being a clear night, Rua-pū-tahanga lay contemplating the stars when slumber overtook her. Withdrawing in respect, her followers observed that their chieftainess slept "with her face to the sky". The site continued to be used as a camping place for Māori, the track she followed linking the south Taranaki tribes to those in north Taranaki, and further north to Kawhia. Each traveling party would recollect the story of Rua-pū-tahanga sleeping with her face to the sky. The name is fitting, given the exposure of the area to a broad horizon on the face of the mountain's ring plain.
Whakaahurangi Marae, a marae (meeting ground) of the Ngāti Ruanui tribe and its Ahitahi sub-tribe, is located in Stratford. It includes a wharenui (meeting house), known as Te Whetū o Marama.
