Bideford is a small rural settlement, located in the Masterton district in the Wairarapa region of the North Island of New Zealand. The town is located 35 kilometres northeast of Masterton and a similar distance southwest of Eketāhuna. Bideford had a primary school until the Wairarapa school merge of 2004.
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Name
The settlement is named after Bideford, Devon, and was previously known as Upper Taueru until 1878.
Demographics
Bideford locality has an area of 161.37 km2 (62.31 sq mi), which also includes Tauweru. It is part of the larger Whareama statistical area.
Bideford had a population of 147 in the 2023 New Zealand census, unchanged since the 2018 census, and an increase of 3 people (2.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 78 males and 72 females in 57 dwellings. The median age was 41.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 39 people (26.5%) aged under 15 years, 12 (8.2%) aged 15 to 29, 66 (44.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 30 (20.4%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 95.9% European (Pākehā), 18.4% Māori, 4.1% Pasifika, and 8.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.0%, Samoan by 2.0%, and other languages by 8.2%. No language could be spoken by 2.0% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 2.0%. The percentage of people born overseas was 16.3, compared with 28.8% nationally.
The sole religious affiliation given was 26.5% Christian. People who answered that they had no religion were 67.3%, and 6.1% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 27 (25.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 60 (55.6%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 27 (25.0%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $36,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 9 people (8.3%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 57 (52.8%) full-time, 15 (13.9%) part-time, and 6 (5.6%) unemployed.
Residents
John Falloon, Member of Parliament lived in Bideford at the time of his death.
Jack Williams, Member of Parliament farmed in Bideford