First European settlers

A group of Hungarians settled in Tuatapere, but were assimilated into the general population by the mid 20th century.^[9]

Railway

On 1 October 1909, a branch line railway from Invercargill was opened to Tuatapere and it became known as the Tuatapere Branch. On 20 October 1925, an extension was opened to Orawia, 14 kilometres to the north-east^[10] but the line continued to be known as the Tuatapere Branch and an engine depot was established in the town. It was used as the base for most operations on the line and the branch was operated as essentially two sections, one from Invercargill to Tuatapere and one from Tuatapere to Orawia. Until 1968, steam locomotives ran all trains to Tuatapere, but in June 1968, the line was dieselised, resulting in the closure of the Tuatapere engine depot. On 1 October 1970, a lack of traffic meant the line was truncated to Tuatapere, and it was further cut on 30 July 1976 when the section between Riverton and Tuatapere closed. Some relics from the railway have been preserved in Tuatapere, including structures in the station area such as the old station building and goods shed.

Longwood Forest

Longwood Forest statistical area covers 2,198.54 km² (848.86 sq mi)^[1] and also includes Clifden. It had an estimated population of 2,090 as of June 2023,^[12] with a population density of 1.0 people per km².

Longwood Forest had a population of 1,995 at the 2018 New Zealand census, unchanged since the 2013 census, and an increase of 48 people (2.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 801 households, comprising 1,080 males and 918 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.18 males per female. The median age was 41.4 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 417 people (20.9%) aged under 15 years, 321 (16.1%) aged 15 to 29, 960 (48.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 294 (14.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 89.9% European/Pākehā, 12.8% Māori, 1.5% Pasifika, 4.4% Asian, and 2.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 10.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 55.2% had no religion, 32.8% were Christian, 0.3% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.3% were Hindu, 0.5% were Muslim, 0.6% were Buddhist and 1.1% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 180 (11.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 420 (26.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $31,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 171 people (10.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 879 (55.7%) people were employed full-time, 255 (16.2%) were part-time, and 48 (3.0%) were unemployed.^[13]