Waipapakauri is a small settlement in the

Far North District The Far North District is the northernmost Territorial authorities of New Zealand, territorial authority district of New Zealand, consisting of the northern part of the Northland Peninsula in the North Island. It stretches from North Cape (New ...

of New Zealand. It is located on

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 ...

at the isthmus of the Aupouri Peninsula. The larger settlement of

Awanui Awanui is an historical river port in the far north of New Zealand, on the banks of the Awanui River just before it flows into Rangaunu Bay. Awanui lies at the south end of the Aupouri Peninsula in the Far North District Council of the Northlan ...

lies to the southeast. Waipapakauri is some 12 kilometres to the north of

Kaitaia Kaitaia () is a town in the Far North District of New Zealand, at the base of the Aupōuri Peninsula, about 160 km northwest of Whangārei. It is the last major settlement on State Highway 1. Ahipara Bay, the southern end of Te Oneroa-a- ...

, the nearest town. The small Waipapakauri Creek crosses SH1 just to the east, flowing north to reach the broad mudflats of

Rangaunu Harbour Rangaunu Harbour is a shallow harbour in the far north of New Zealand. It is situated on the east coast at the base of the Aupouri Peninsula. The name in Māori means "To pull out a shoal of fish". With an area of it is the fifth-largest har ...

. Several small lakes lie to the southwest of the settlement, the largest of them being Lake Ngatu. Waipapakauri is located close to Ninety Mile Beach and has long beek known for

shellfish Shellfish, in colloquial and fisheries usage, are exoskeleton-bearing Aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrates used as Human food, food, including various species of Mollusca, molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish ...

harvesting. Flax milling was also formerly carried out at Waipapakauri. The settlement was the site of an airforce base, RNZAF Station Waipapakauri, during World War II. There is a memorial site at Waipapakauri for the base. The name ''Waipapakauri'' is

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 ...

for "Swamp where the

kauri ''Agathis'', commonly known as kauri or dammara, is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees, native to Australasia and Southeast Asia. It is one of three extant genera in the family Araucariaceae, alongside '' Wollemia'' and ''Araucaria'' (being ...

grow". The Waipapakauri Hotel on is a Category 2 Historic Place. The current single story building (formally called the Commercial Hotel) replaced a two story hotel which was demolished in 1926. Noted people connected with Waipapakauri include former

All Black The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

Percy Erceg Charles Percy Erceg (28 November 1928 – 26 May 2019) was a New Zealand rugby union player. A wing three-quarter, Erceg represented North Auckland and at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, the All Blacks, ...

(who was born in the settlement), Peter Jones (who spent his last years there), former MP John Carter is a resident of Waipapakauri and Edward Te Whiu, 82nd person to be judicially executed in New Zealand.

History

Waipapakauri was an important location for the late 19th/early 20th century

kauri gum Kauri gum is resin from kauri trees (''Agathis australis''), which historically had several important industrial uses. It can also be used to make crafts such as jewellery. Kauri forests once covered much of the North Island of New Zealand, bef ...

digging trade. In the 1910s, the lower quality chip gum found at the southern half of 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 ...

greatly increased in value.

Demographics

The SA1 statistical area which includes Waipapakauri covers . The SA1 area is part of the larger Rangaunu Harbour statistical area. The SA1 statistical area had a population of 225 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 39 people (21.0%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 57 people (33.9%) since the 2013 census. There were 117 males, 105 females and 3 people of other genders in 69 dwellings. 4.0% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 37.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 57 people (25.3%) aged under 15 years, 36 (16.0%) aged 15 to 29, 99 (44.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 30 (13.3%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 58.7% European (

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 ...

), 65.3%

, 5.3% Pasifika, and 4.0% Asian. English was spoken by 94.7%, Māori language by 21.3%, and other languages by 5.3%. No language could be spoken by 2.7% (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 1.3%. The percentage of people born overseas was 10.7, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 36.0%

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 5.3%

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 50.7%, and 6.7% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 21 (12.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 108 (64.3%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 48 (28.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $32,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 3 people (1.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 84 (50.0%) people were employed full-time, 18 (10.7%) were part-time, and 9 (5.4%) were unemployed.

Climate

Education

A school opened in Waipapakauri in 1906 and was still in existence in 1971.

References

External links

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