Asian, and 1.6% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). The proportion of people born overseas was 6.3%, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 54.9% had no religion, 30.4% were Christian, 0.2% were Hindu, 0.1% were Muslim, 0.2% were Buddhist and 3.3% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 342 (6.3%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 1,821 (33.7%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 2,298 (42.5%) people were employed full-time, 657 (12.2%) were part-time, and 351 (6.5%) were unemployed. Economy The first port in Taranaki to engage in international trade was Waitara, in 1823, when the barque William Stoveld anchored in the river mouth and traded with Māori inhabitants. With the establishment of the freezing works in 1872 the river port became even more important to the Province. However the river has a bar at its entrance which can only be crossed at high tide. With the development of a breakwater at the port in New Plymouth, and the railway to New Plymouth the Waitara port quickly became unimportant. Construction of a railway line between Waitara and New Plymouth began in August 1873. By the time the line opened on 14 October 1875, the town had a harbour board, two printing houses, a soap and candle factory, an iron foundry, a boat-building yard, two breweries, a wool-scouring plant and a tannery. From 1887 the economy of Waitara became dependent on the frozen meat trade–first to Great Britain and since the creation of the European Common Market, to Asian countries. Except for some very early shipments from Waitara, frozen meat was transported to the port of New Plymouth by rail. In 1902 Thomas Borthwick and Sons (Australasia) Ltd, a subsidiary of a UK company, bought the Waitara Freezing and Cold Storage Company plant at Waitara. Until 1998, the freezing works employed between 1000 and 1500 workers, by far the largest employer in a town with a population of between 3000 and 5000. In 1990, Borthwicks sold the Waitara works to AFFCO Holdings. In 1995 AFFCO closed the Waitara works with the consequent severe loss of employment in the town. The shutdown followed the closure of a Swanndri clothing factory, a small-scale but locally significant Subaru car assembly plant and a wool scouring