Te Horo and Te Horo Beach are two localities on the Kapiti Coast

Kapiti Coast

The Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council...

 of New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

's North Island

North Island

The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...

. Te Horo Beach is the larger of the two settlements and, as its name implies, is located on the Tasman Sea

Tasman Sea

The Tasman Sea is the large body of water between Australia and New Zealand, approximately across. It extends 2,800 km from north to south. It is a south-western segment of the South Pacific Ocean. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abel Janszoon Tasman, the first recorded European...

 coast. Te Horo is located to the east, a short distance inland. They are situated between Peka Peka

Peka Peka

Peka Peka, sometimes Pekapeka, is a lightly populated seaside locality on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. Its population according to the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings is 195, an increase of 35.4% or 51 people since the 1996 census. It is located just off...

 and Waikanae

Waikanae

Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....

 to the south and Otaki

Otaki, New Zealand

Otaki is a town in the Kapiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated half way between the capital city Wellington, 70 kilometres to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 kilometres to the northeast. It marks the northernmost point of the Wellington Region. The town's...

 to the north. "Te Horo" in the Māori language

Maori language

Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...

 means "the landslide".

Demographics

According to the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings

The New Zealand government department Statistics New Zealand conducts a census of population and dwellings every five years. The census scheduled for 2011 was cancelled due to circumstances surrounding the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, however, and legislation introduced to hold the next...

, the population of the two townships and surrounding area is 642, a 4.4% increase (27 people) since the 1996 census. In most statistical divisions, Te Horo's results are close to New Zealand's national average; for example, 22% of Te Horo residents are below the age of 15, compared to 22.7% nationally, and 15% are 65 or older, compared to 12.1% nationally. However, there are a few significant deviations from national averages. Te Horo has a much higher percentage of residents of European ethnicity, 93.5%, compared to the national average of 80.1%. It also has a much higher percentage of couples without children, 51.7%, compared to 39% nationally.

Economy

Some farming

Agriculture

Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...

 takes place around Te Horo, as well as small-scale viticulture

Viticulture

Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...

. Many residents of Te Horo commute to either Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

 or Palmerston North

Palmerston North

Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...

. The beach is popular for swimming and boating and attracts visitors to the town.

Transport

Te Horo is situated on the North Island's main road and rail routes, State Highway 1

State Highway 1 (New Zealand)

State Highway 1 is the longest and most significant road in the New Zealand roading network, running the length of both main islands. It appears on road maps as SH 1 and on road signs as a white number 1 on a red shield, but it has the official designations SH 1N in the North Island, SH 1S in the...

 and the North Island Main Trunk Railway. The railway was built by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company (WMR) as part of its Wellington - Manawatu Line

Wellington - Manawatu Line

The Wellington and Manawatu Line is an unofficial name for the section of New Zealand's North Island Main Trunk Railway between Wellington and Palmerston North...

 that opened on 1 December 1886 with a station in Te Horo. The WMR was incorporated into the New Zealand Railways Department

New Zealand Railways Department

The New Zealand Railways Department, NZR or NZGR and often known as the "Railways", was a government department charged with owning and maintaining New Zealand's railway infrastructure and operating the railway system. The Department was created in 1880 and was reformed in 1981 into the New...

's national network on 8 December 1908, and the railway station has since closed. A commuter train, the Capital Connection, operates between Palmerston North and Wellington on weekdays but Te Horo passengers must board it in Otaki or Waikanae.

Te Horo Beach is situated off major transport routes and is accessible by a local road, Te Horo Beach Road, that leaves State Highway 1 in Te Horo.