Arapuni is a rural town centre on the

Waikato river The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand, running for through the North Island. It rises on the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and flowing through Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake. It th ...

in the

South Waikato District South Waikato District is a Territorial authorities of New Zealand, local government district in the Waikato, Waikato Region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located between the cities of Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton to the north, Rot ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The town sits next to the Arapuni Dam, a

hydroelectric dam Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

at Lake Arapuni commissioned in 1929. The

Arapuni Power Station Arapuni Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is owned and operated by Mercury Energy, and is the seventh and penultimate hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River. It ...

consists of eight turbines which give a total output of 196 MW, the largest of the power stations on the Waikato river. The Arapuni hydro station is owned and operated by

Mercury Energy Mercury NZ Limited is a New Zealand electricity generation and multi-product utility retailer of electricity, gas, broadband and mobile telephone services. All the company's electricity generation is renewable. Mercury has a pre-paid electrici ...

. The name Arapuni derives from ''Ara'', meaning path, and ''puni'', meaning blocked or covered, and translates as blocked or covered path. The New Zealand

Ministry for Culture and Heritage The Ministry for Culture and Heritage (MCH; ) is the department of the New Zealand Government responsible for supporting the Creative New Zealand, arts, Culture of New Zealand, culture, New Zealand Historic Places Trust, built heritage, Sport Ne ...

gives a translation of "blocked path" for ''Arapuni''. The

Arapuni Suspension Bridge The Arapuni Suspension Bridge is located just downstream from the Arapuni Power Station on the Waikato River in the South Waikato District of New Zealand. The suspension bridge in the bush-lined gorge was built in the mid-1920s to allow workers ...

below the dam is freely open to public.

Marae

The local Pōhara Marae is a meeting ground of the

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti ...

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

of Ngāti Korokī and

Ngāti Mahuta Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe (or hapū) of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato tribe (or iwi) of Māori people, Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia Harbour, Kawhia and Huntly, New Zealand, Hunt ...

, the

Ngāti Korokī Kahukura Ngāti Korokī Kahukura is a Māori iwi of the Maungatautari area in the North Island of New Zealand. It was formed by the coming together of two related hapū, Ngāti Korokī and Ngāti Kahukura. It has historic affiliations with Ngāti Raukawa ...

hapū of

Ngāti Hourua Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English. ...

, and the

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

hapū of Ngāti Korokī and

Ngāti Raukawa ki Panehākua Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in the Waikato Region, in the western central region of New Zealand's North Island. It is part of the larger Tainui confederation of Polynesian settlers who arrived to New Zeal ...

. It features the

Rangiātea Rangiātea in New Zealand Māori culture and tradition, is considered to be simultaneously a physical place as well as a metaphysical place. The physical Rangiātea is somewhere in the Pacific Islands, possibly Ra'iātea Island in the Society Is ...

meeting house. In October 2020, the Government committed $2,584,751 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party. Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...

to upgrade the marae and 5 other Waikato Tainui marae, creating 69 jobs.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Arapuni as a rural settlement, which covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². The settlement is part of the larger Putāruru Rural statistical area. State houses at Arapuni Hydro Works

Arapuni had a population of 324 in the

2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...

, an increase of 33 people (11.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 87 people (36.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 150 males and 177 females in 141 dwellings. 0.9% of people identified as

LGBTIQ+ LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...

. The median age was 47.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 63 people (19.4%) aged under 15 years, 39 (12.0%) aged 15 to 29, 159 (49.1%) aged 30 to 64, and 63 (19.4%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 88.9%

European European, or Europeans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...

(

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

); 20.4%

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

; 5.6% Pasifika; 1.9% Asian; 1.9% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 5.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.2%, Māori by 4.6%, and other languages by 4.6%. No language could be spoken by 2.8% (e.g. too young to talk).

New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...

was known by 0.9%. The percentage of people born overseas was 19.4, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 21.3%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 0.9%

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

, 1.9%

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, 0.9%

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

, 0.9%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 1.9% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 58.3%, and 15.7% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 45 (17.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 156 (59.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 57 (21.8%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $40,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 18 people (6.9%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 138 (52.9%) full-time, 27 (10.3%) part-time, and 6 (2.3%) unemployed.

Climate

References

{{South Waikato District South Waikato District Populated places in Waikato Populated places on the Waikato River