European settlement

J. S. Cotterell surveyed the Wairau Valley in November 1842, and reported it contained rich land.^[7] Settlers from Nelson, led by Arthur Wakefield, tried to take possession of the land but the Ngāti Toa, led by Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata objected. The dispute escalated into the Wairau Affray at Tuamarina on 23 June 1843, in which 22 settlers and four Māori were killed. An enquiry held in 1844 by Governor Robert FitzRoy decided that the settlers were in the wrong.^[8]

In November 1846, Nelson farmers Nathaniel Morse and John Cooper drove sheep into the Wairau valley^[9] and established settlements. Governor Sir George Grey purchased the land in the same year, but legal title to the land for the settlers was sorted out later.^[10]

In the 1855 Wairarapa earthquake, the eastern end of the Wairau valley subsided by over a metre.^[11]

Marae

Parerarua Marae is located in Wairau Valley. It is a marae (meeting ground) of Ngāti Rārua and includes the Parerarua wharenui (meeting house).^[12][13]

In October 2020, the Government committed $246,418 from the Provincial Growth Fund towards renovating the marae, creating an estimated 7 jobs.^[14]

Upper Wairau

The statistical area of Upper Wairau covers 4,177.50 km² (1,612.94 sq mi).^[1] It had an estimated population of 2,200 as of June 2023,^[2] with a population density of 0.53 people per km².

Upper Wairau had a population of 1,938 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 192 people (11.0%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 246 people (14.5%) since the 2006 census. There were 741 households, comprising 999 males and 939 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.06 males per female. The median age was 46.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 384 people (19.8%) aged under 15 years, 222 (11.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,035 (53.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 300 (15.5%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 95.5% European/Pākehā, 6.3% Māori, 0.9% Pasifika, 0.9% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 16.9, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 56.8% had no religion, 32.8% were Christian, 0.2% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% were Buddhist and 1.9% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 339 (21.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 234 (15.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $40,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. 354 people (22.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 918 (59.1%) people were employed full-time, 270 (17.4%) were part-time, and 12 (0.8%) were unemployed.^[17]