Te Kao is a village on the

Aupōuri Peninsula The Aupōuri Peninsula is a tombolo at the northern tip of the North Island of New Zealand. It projects between the Tasman Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. It constitutes the northern part of the Far North District, incorpora ...

of Northland, New Zealand.

Te Aupōuri Te Aupōuri is the second northernmost Māori iwi (tribal group), located north of Kaitaia, Northland, New Zealand, a region known as the Te Hiku o te Ika. The iwi is one of the six Muriwhenua iwi of the far north of the North Island. The ...

are

mana whenua In New Zealand, tangata whenua () is a Māori term that translates to "people of the land". It can refer to either a specific group of people with historical claims to a district, or more broadly the Māori people who's common ancestors are bur ...

(tribe with traditional authority over a territory) over Te Kao and the surrounding district, and it is the principal settlement of the

iwi 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. ...

(tribe). Te Aupōuri's Post-Settlement Governance Entity, Te Runanga Nui o Te Aupōuri, has an office at Te Kao, along with the iwi's

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

and urupa.

State Highway 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

passes through the district.

Cape Reinga Cape Reinga / Te Rerenga Wairua (; sometimes spelled Rēinga, ) is the northwestern most tip of the Aupōuri Peninsula, at the northern end of the North Island of New Zealand. Cape Reinga is more than 100 km north of the nearest small town ...

is 46 km to the north, and

Houhora Houhora is a locality and harbour on the east side of the Aupouri Peninsula of Northland, New Zealand. It is north of Kaitaia. Waihopo, Te Raupo, Pukenui, Raio and Houhora Heads are associated localities on the southern shores of the harbour ...

is 24 km to the south. The Aupouri Forest and Ninety Mile Beach are to the west. 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 "the dried

kūmara The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant in the morning glory family, Convolvulaceae. Its sizeable, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a root vegetable, which is a staple food in parts of the ...

" for . The athlete Te Houtaewa, of

, started his legendary run along Ninety Mile Beach at Te Kao.

Demographics

Te Kao is in an SA1 statistical area which covers and includes the area between the mouth of

Parengarenga Harbour Parengarenga Harbour is a natural harbour close to the northernmost point on the North Island of New Zealand. Located at the northern end of the Aupōuri Peninsula, it extends inland for over 10 kilometres, almost severing the northern tip of ...

and Tauwhia Stream. The SA1 area is part of the larger North Cape statistical area. The SA1 statistical area had a population of 183 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 27 people (17.3%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 78 people (74.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 87 males, and 96 females in 66 dwellings. 1.6% 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 32.6 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 48 people (26.2%) aged under 15 years, 39 (21.3%) aged 15 to 29, 69 (37.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 27 (14.8%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 24.6%

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 ...

); 88.5%

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 ...

; 11.5%

Pasifika Pasifika may refer to: *Pacific Islander people, indigenous peoples of the Pacific Islands **Pasifika New Zealanders, Pacific peoples living in New Zealand *Pacific Islands, including Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia *The Pasifika Festival, an a ...

; 4.9% Asian; 1.6% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.3% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.7%, Māori language by 49.2%, and other languages by 3.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 4.9, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 32.8%

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 ...

, and 32.8%

Māori religious beliefs 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 ...

. People who answered that they had no religion were 31.1%, and 4.9% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 12 (8.9%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 81 (60.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 42 (31.1%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $33,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 6 people (4.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 66 (48.9%) people were employed full-time, 15 (11.1%) were part-time, and 9 (6.7%) were unemployed.

Marae

Pōtahi Marae, near the centre of Te Kao, is the traditional meeting place for

, and includes the wharehui (meeting house) ''Waimirirangi'' and wharekai (dining hall) '' Te Rongopātūtaonga''. In October 2020, the Government committed $220,442 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, creating 9 jobs.

Education

Te Kura o Te Kao is a coeducational full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of students as of The school started as Te Kao Native School in 1881. It became Te Kao Area School, providing education up to seventh form, but with few secondary students it changed to become a primary school in 1999. The school celebrated its 125th anniversary during Labour Weekend in 2006. It became a designated character school at the start of 2019, and extended to include years 9 and 10 in 2020.

Notes

{{Far North District Far North District Populated places in the Northland Region