and 99 (22.0%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 90.7% European/Pākehā, 14.7% Māori, 0.7% Pacific peoples, 2.0% Asian, and 4.0% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 10.0%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 58.7% had no religion, 30.7% were Christian and 3.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 39 (10.3%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 129 (34.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $24,300, compared with $31,800 nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 195 (51.6%) people were employed full-time, 75 (19.8%) were part-time, and 12 (3.2%) were unemployed. Economy The town's economy is based around farming and forestry; a large open-cut mine operated directly adjacent to the town since 1988, and the large pit it created was filled with water in the 2000s to create Ross Lake. Amenities and attractions Amenities in Ross include a dairy/convenience store with a New Zealand Post agency and a small self-service petrol station, a volunteer fire brigade and a police station. Beside Ross Lake is the Chinese Miners' Memorial Garden, created over a two-year period by the Ross volunteer group Westland Regional Environment Incorporated Society (WRENIS) led by Biddy Manera, at a cost of $180,000. It includes a Chinese pavilion (liang ting) and ornamental tree planting. In winter 2020 a slip in Jones Creek blocked the outlet of the lake, and the pavilion was flooded and thousands of dollars worth of trees and shrubs were killed. Fully repairing the lake outlet would require a resource consent, so in the meantime WRENIS volunteers dug a small channel by hand to divert some of the flow of Jones Creek to a culvert, allowing lake levels to stabilise; work done by hand did not require a consent. Their work was repeatedly vandalised, however, for months and on an almost daily basis, causing the lake to rise and drown the gardens again. The Westland Regional Council, which manages waterways, was called in to support WRENIS's efforts. After two rounds of public consultation involving the Department of Conservation, the Westland District Council, and the Ross Community society, all parties agreed in March 2021 to lower the lake levels and prevent future flooding, with the District Council covering the cost of the resource