Inglewood, New Zealand


Inglewood is a town in the Taranaki Region of New Zealand's North Island. It is southeast of New Plymouth on State Highway 3, close to Mount Taranaki/Egmont, and sits above sea level. The town services a mainly dairy farming region. The population was 3,246 in the 2013 census, an increase of 156 from 2006.

History

The settlement was founded in 1873 and was originally called Moatown. The name was then changed to Milton, before ultimately being renamed to Inglewood in 1875 to avoid confusion with Milton in the South Island.
The railway reached Inglewood in 1877, connecting it with New Plymouth as part of the first extension of what is now the Marton–New Plymouth line.
Until 1991, Iglewood was home to the Moa-Nui Co-operative Dairies factory before it was shut down in favour of centralised processing near Hāwera.
From 1949 until the late 1980s, Inglewood was home to Fun Ho! Toys, a manufacturer of collectible die cast metal toys and one of New Zealand's largest toy companies. The factory shut down in 1987 but a museum in the town still exists with over 3000 toys on display.
Despite its small population, the town has gained notoriety from a string of violent crimes which tend toward the gruesome, bizarre and barbaric. A 2015 book by the anthropologist Michael D. Jackson refers to “Inglewood’s violent past” and "the popular claim that Inglewood is the ‘murder capital’ and ‘psychopathic centre’ of New Zealand”.

Buildings and facilities

A number of buildings are listed by Heritage New Zealand. The Railway Station and Yard is listed as Category I. The Shoe Store Building on the corner of Rata and Richmond Streets is one of eight listed as Category II.
Te Kohanga Moa Marae is located in Inglewood. It features the Matamua meeting house, and is affiliated with the Te Āti Awa hapū of Pukerangiora.

Education

Inglewood has a number of coeducational schools.
Inglewood High School is a secondary school with a decile rating of 6 and a roll of 425. The school was established in 1957.
Inglewood School and St Patrick's School are full primary schools with decile ratings of 5 and rolls of 333 and 77, respectively. Inglewood school was founded in 1875. St Patrick's is a state integrated Catholic school.

Notable people

Inglewood has produced four All Blacks, and a leading contemporary artist, Michael Stevenson, who represented New Zealand at the 2003 Venice Biennale.
Other notable people include:

Arts and literature

Business history

Churches

Anglican
Catholic
Methodist

Clubs and organisations

Environment

Maps

NOTE: Scale = 1: 12 500
NOTE: Scale = 1: 15 000
NOTE: Scale = 1: 15 000

People

Schools