A man charged with attempted murder following the stabbing of a woman in Thames has appeared in court in Hamilton.

Levin resident Arana Te Rata Barlow was wearing a police-issue boiler suit when he appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Monday, after making an initial appearance in the same court on Saturday.

Police launched a manhunt for a 36-year-old who they say took a two-year-old boy after an attack at a house on Ngati Maru Highway on Friday.

The man and child were found in the Auckland suburb of Kelston on Friday night.

A woman airlifted to Waikato hospital with stab wounds is in a stable condition and due to undergo surgery.

Detective Inspector Graham Pitkethley says the child is being cared for by family.

Judge Philip Connell remanded Barlow in custody to next appear in the High Court in Hamilton on October 24.

In the intervening time, he must undergo a psychiatric report to determine his fitness to plead, and whether he was insane at the time of his offending.

-Additional reporting: Stuff.co.nz