Whakamaru is a town in the central region of the

North Island The North Island, also officially named Te Ika-a-Māui, is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but much less populous South Island by the Cook Strait. The island's area is , making it the world's 14th-largest ...

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 ...

. The Maori words 'whaka' and 'maru' literally mean to give shelter to, or safeguard.

History

The Whakamaru supervolcano eruption (dated to 320–340,000 years ago) is the largest known eruption from the area known as the Taupo Volcanic Zone (TVZ) and means the town is located in the historic Whakamaru caldera. The name is a shortened version of Te Whakamarumarutanga o Kahukeke ("The Shelter of Kahukeke"). According to

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 ...

oral traditions, Kahukeke, the

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 ...

healer and explorer, who had arrived in New Zealand on the ''Tainui'' migratory canoe fell ill at the spot and the area was named for the shelter where she recovered. In some versions the shelter was built by her husband Rakatāura / Hape, the

tohunga In the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, a tohunga (tōhuka in Southern Māori dialect) is an expert practitioner of any skill or art, either religious or otherwise. Tohunga include expert priests, healers, navigators, carvers, builders, teache ...

of the ''Tainui''. The town of Whakamaru was originally established as accommodation for the

Whakamaru Power Station Whakamaru Power Station is a hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River, in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the fourth hydroelectric power station on the Waikato River. Lake Whakamaru is one of the larger hydro reservoirs on the W ...

. The Whakamaru switching station, adjacent to the power station, is operated by Transpower, and is an important node on the national grid.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Whakamaru as a rural settlement, which covers . The settlement is part of the larger Marotiri statistical area. Whakamaru had a population of 168 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 6 people (3.7%) since the 2013 census, and unchanged 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 60 households, comprising 84 males and 84 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.0 males per female. The median age was 48.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 39 people (23.2%) aged under 15 years, 18 (10.7%) aged 15 to 29, 84 (50.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 27 (16.1%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 82.1% 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 ...

, 41.1%

, 1.8% Pacific peoples, and 5.4%

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 ...

. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 62.5% had no religion, 26.8% 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 ...

, 3.6% had Māori religious beliefs, and 1.8% 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 ...

. Of those at least 15 years old, 9 (7.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 42 (32.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,900, compared with $31,800 nationally. 18 people (14.0%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 57 (44.2%) people were employed full-time, 24 (18.6%) were part-time, and 3 (2.3%) were unemployed.

Recreation and amenities

During the summer months Lake Whakamaru is used extensively for

water skiing Water skiing (also waterskiing or water-skiing) is a surface water sport in which an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation over a body of water, skimming the surface on two skis or one ski. The sport requires suffic ...

. The Whakamaru Water Ski Club is very busy during the Christmas holidays, although water skiing courses are normally available all year round.

Kiwiburn Kiwiburn is a regional Burning Man event celebrating principles such as inclusion, radical self-expression, gifting, participative art and culture. History In 1994, Mark ‘Yonderman’ Stirling and his partner Jane discovereBurning Manby accide ...

, the New Zealand Burning Man regional, was held annually at the Whakamaru Domain, State Highway 30, from 2007 to 2013. The town has a resident association, grocery store, cafe, pizza restaurant, and petrol station. Guided walks are available for the nearby Mt Titiraupenga, located at the geographic centre of The North Island.

Education

Whakamaru School is a co-educational state primary school, with a roll of as of

References

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