Takapau is a small rural community in the

Central Hawkes Bay Central Hawke's Bay District is part of the Hawke's Bay Region in the North Island of New Zealand. Formed in 1989, it has an area of 3,333 square kilometres with a population of It had a population of 12,717 people as of the 2013 census. This i ...

in New Zealand. It is located 20 kilometres west of

Waipukurau Waipukurau is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located on the banks of the Tukituki River, 7 kilometres south of Waipawa and 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings. ...

, off State Highway 2, and has a population of more than 500. The original township was founded in 1876 by farmer Sydney Johnston from Oruawharo station. Johnston's family donated land for a school and churches, and built the local library, public hall and, later, Plunket rooms. Many streets are named after members of the family. Takapau was once the centre of a large flax milling industry, and the community takes its name from the flax that grew in the expansive Takapau plains. The Māori word translates literally as "mat" or "carpet". The largest business in Takapau is now the Silverfern Farms meat-processing plant, founded by the Hawke's Bay Farmers’ Meat Company in 1981. Kintail Honey, one of country's largest honey-packing and beekeeping operations, is also based in the town. There are two schools in Takapau. The

Trappist The Trappists, officially known as the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( la, Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae, abbreviated as OCSO) and originally named the Order of Reformed Cistercians of Our Lady of La Trappe, are a ...

monastery, the

Southern Star Abbey The Abbey of our Lady of the Southern Star, also known as Southern Star Abbey, is a Trappist abbey located in a remote, rural area of the North Island, New Zealand in the Diocese of Palmerston North. The monastery supports itself by operating a ...

, is also located nearby.

Marae

The local Rongo o Tahu Marae is a tribal meeting ground for the

Ngāti Kahungunu Ngāti Kahungunu is a Māori iwi located along the eastern coast of the North Island of New Zealand. The iwi is traditionally centred in the Hawke's Bay and Wairārapa regions. The tribe is organised into six geographical and administrative ...

hapū of

Ngāi Toroiwaho Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori roughly means "people" or "nation", and is often translated as "tribe", or "a confederation of tribes". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, a ...

Education

Takapau School is a Year 1–8 co-educational state primary school, with a roll of as of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Takapau is a Year 1–8 is a co-educational state

Kura Kaupapa Māori Kura Kaupapa Māori are Māori-language immersion schools () in New Zealand where the philosophy and practice reflect Māori cultural values with the aim of revitalising Māori language, knowledge and culture. Kura kaupapa Māori are establish ...

school, with a roll of as of Takapau_with_a_J_Class_loco

Railway station

Takapau had a railway station from 12 March 1877 to 27 September 1981. It was the terminus of the line from Spit for 10 months, until 25 January 1878, when the extension to Kopua opened. Takapau at that time was on the northern edge of the

Seventy Mile Bush The Seventy Mile Bush was a heavily forested area of New Zealand extending from Wairarapa to Central Hawkes Bay and out to that coast. It was cleared and settled by Scandinavians, assisted immigrants in the 1870s. On arrival they walked from the ...

. Edmund Allan and Samuel Kingstreet had a £14,100 contract to build the extension of the Napier to Waipukurau railway south to Takapau. They built a 5th class station in 1875 and Donald McLeod, a Waipukurau carpenter, built a goods shed and platform in 1877. Initially, only one train a day ran from Takapau. In 1890 there were two trains a day. There was a post office at the station from 1887 to 1911. By 1896 there were x and x goods sheds and also a cart approach, loading bank, cattle yards, stationmaster's house, urinals and a

passing loop A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...

for 24 wagons, extended to 55 in 1911 and further extended in 1940. In 1905 a verandah was added and the platform extended. Electric lights were installed in 1921. Railway houses were built in 1928 and 1946. On 27 September 1981 the old station closed and a new station and loop line opened near Oruawharo, to the east. The loop is still in use, with sidings linking to the Silver Fern Farms works and a platform and shelter remain, which appear weed-grown in a 2015 photo. There has been no regular passenger train since at least 1995. There is now only a single line passing through the original Takapau station site. There was also a passing loop at Whenuahou, south of Takapau, which was originally used for construction of the viaduct to the south.

References

Central Hawke's Bay District Populated places in the Hawke's Bay Region {{HawkesBay-geo-stub