Mataura in Southland, New Zealand: A Sustainable Project

Abstract

Mataura is a small settlement situated on the Mataura River on the eastern edge of the Southland Plain. According to the 2013 New Zealand census, the population of Mataura is 1509 (Statistics New Zealand, 2013). In Mataura, the most common ethnic group is European; the second most common group is Mäori, with 29.6 percent of residents identifying as Mäori (Statistics New Zealand, 2013). Historically, sheep, cattle and dairy farming have been practiced on the surrounding plains. Logging and timber mills once operated in the forested hills to the east. The Mataura River is internationally renowned for brown trout fly fishing (Grant, 2015).