Taupiri is a small town of about 500 people on the eastern bank of 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

Waikato District Waikato District is a territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngāruawāhia. The district is centred to t ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. It is overlooked by Taupiri mountain, the sacred burial ground for the Waikato tribes of the Māori people, located just to the north. Taupiri is located near the northern end of the Waikato Basin immediately south of the junction of the Mangawara Stream (which drains the northern part of the basin) and the Waikato River. The Waikato River then flows northward through the Taupiri Gorge between the

Hakarimata Range Hakarimata Range is a range of hills on the western edge of Ngāruawāhia township, Retrieved 2016 in the Waikato region of New Zealand, overlooking the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers. The Hakarimata Range is separated from the Tau ...

to the south and the

Taupiri Range Mount Taupiri is a hill at the southern end of the Taupiri Range in the Waikato. The highest peak in the range, it rises to 288 metres above sea level and overlooks Taupiri township immediately to its south. It is separated from the Hakarimata Ran ...

to the north, into the Lower Waikato. The

North Island Main Trunk The North Island Main Trunk (NIMT) is the main railway line in the North Island of New Zealand, connecting the capital city Wellington with the country's largest city, Auckland. The line is long, built to the New Zealand rail gauge of and ser ...

railway line runs through the town and the gorge, linking

Huntly Huntly ( gd, Srath Bhalgaidh or ''Hunndaidh'') is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, formerly known as Milton of Strathbogie or simply Strathbogie. It had a population of 4,460 in 2004 and is the site of Huntly Castle. Its neighbouring settlemen ...

8 kilometres to the north and

Ngāruawāhia Ngāruawāhia () is a town in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located north-west of Hamilton at the confluence of the Waikato and Waipā Rivers, adjacent to the Hakarimata Range. Ngāruawāhia is in the Hamilton Ur ...

7 kilometres to the south. also ran through the town until the Huntly Bypass opened in March 2020.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Taupiri as a rural settlement, which covers . Taupiri is part of the larger Taupiri-Lake Kainui statistical area. Taupiri had a population of 492 at the

2018 New Zealand census Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the sho ...

, an increase of 72 people (17.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 48 people (10.8%) since the

2006 census 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second small ...

. There were 183 households, comprising 243 males and 243 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female, with 93 people (18.9%) aged under 15 years, 96 (19.5%) aged 15 to 29, 216 (43.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 87 (17.7%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 74.4% European/

Pākehā Pākehā (or Pakeha; ; ) is a Māori term for New Zealanders primarily of European descent. Pākehā is not a legal concept and has no definition under New Zealand law. The term can apply to fair-skinned persons, or to any non-Māori New Ze ...

, 40.2%

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 C ...

, 4.3% Pacific peoples, 1.8%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 1.2% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 50.6% had no religion, 31.7% were

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, 1.8% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.6% were

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

and 3.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 33 (8.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 123 (30.8%) people had no formal qualifications. 45 people (11.3%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 174 (43.6%) people were employed full-time, 48 (12.0%) were part-time, and 42 (10.5%) were unemployed.

Taupiri-Lake Kainui statistical area

Taupiri-Lake Kainui statistical area extends southeast towards

Horsham Downs Horsham Downs is a locality about 9.5 km north of Hamilton. Before 1906, the area was undeveloped, covered with teatree and ferns. After August 1906 sheep and cattle farms were successfully developed. A group of protected areas, the Horsham D ...

. Since the 2018 census, the boundaries of

have enlarged to include some of this area. At the 2018 Census, Taupiri-Lake Kainui covered . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Taupiri-Lake Kainui had a population of 2,220 at the

, an increase of 285 people (14.7%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 468 people (26.7%) since the

. There were 753 households, comprising 1,131 males and 1,092 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.04 males per female. The median age was 38.8 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 492 people (22.2%) aged under 15 years, 408 (18.4%) aged 15 to 29, 1,059 (47.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 264 (11.9%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 76.9% European/

, 28.9%

, 3.4% Pacific peoples, 3.5%

, and 2.3% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.8, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 48.1% had no religion, 38.0% were

, 2.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% were

, 0.5% were

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and 2.0% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 237 (13.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 381 (22.0%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $33,600, compared with $31,800 nationally. 324 people (18.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 912 (52.8%) people were employed full-time, 249 (14.4%) were part-time, and 96 (5.6%) were unemployed.

History and culture

Pre-European history

Until sometime in the 19th century, a large

village or town, Kaitotehe, stood on the flat land on the other side of the river, below the Hakarimata Range. In early years it was the headquarters of

Ngāti Mahuta Ngāti Mahuta is a sub-tribe (or hapū) of the Waikato tribe (or iwi) of Māori in the North Island of New Zealand. The territory (rohe) of Ngāti Mahuta is the Kawhia and Huntly areas of the Waikato region. History Ngāti Mahuta is descended f ...

. Te Putu built Taupiri

pā The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive terraces – and also to fortified villages. Pā sites o ...

on the summit of a spur of Taupiri mountain, in the 17th century. When Te Putu was killed, he was buried at the pā, which thus became tapu (sacred) and was abandoned. Early European travellers in the area were obliged by Māori to cross to the other side of the Waikato River to avoid the sacred area. In the early 19th century, Kaitotehe was the home of

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori warrior, leader of the Waikato iwi (confederation of tribes), the first Māori King and founder of the Te Wherowhero royal dynasty. He was first known just as ''Te Wherowhero'' and took the ...

, the paramount chief of Ngāti Mahuta who became the first

Māori King 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 ...

Post-European history

Taupiri township was settled by

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common genetic ancestry, common language, or both. Pan and Pfeil (2004) ...

in the 1870s (a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

opened in 1877),Juliet Scoble: Names & Opening & Closing Dates of Railway Stations in New Zealand
/ref> and became a farming centre, with

flax mill Flax mills are mills which process flax. The earliest mills were developed for spinning yarn for the linen industry. John Kendrew (an optician) and Thomas Porthouse (a clockmaker), both of Darlington developed the process from Richard Arkwrigh ...

s and a sawmill.Swarbrick, Nancy.
Waikato places – Ngāruawāhia
. ''Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand''. Updated 8 December 2011. A dairy factory was built in 1921, then a larger one in 1930. In the 2006 census, 32 per cent of the population were Māori.

Marae

Taupiri Marae is located in Taupiri. It is a meeting ground for the

Waikato Tainui Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in 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 Zealand o ...

hapū of

Ngāti Kuiaarangi Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in 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 Zealand o ...

Ngāti Tai 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, an ...

and

Ngāti Whāwhākia Waikato Tainui, Waikato or Tainui is a group of Māori ''iwi'' based in 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 Zealand o ...

, and includes the Pani Ora and Te Puna Tangata meeting houses.

Education

Taupiri School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of .

References

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