The Kaipara District is located in the

Northland Region The Northland Region ( mi, Te Tai Tokerau) is the northernmost of New Zealand's 16 local government regions. New Zealanders sometimes refer to it as the Winterless North because of its mild climate all throughout the year. The main population ...

in northern

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 ...

History

Kaipara District was formed through the

1989 New Zealand local government reforms The 1989 New Zealand local government reform was the most significant reform of local government in New Zealand in over a century. Some 850 local bodies were amalgamated into 86 local authorities, made up of regional and territorial levels. Backg ...

and was constituted on 1 November 1989. It was made up of five former boroughs and counties: all of Hobson County, Dargaville Borough,

Otamatea County Otamatea County was one of the counties of New Zealand in the North Island, from 1887 until 1989. It was created by the Counties Act 1886, which came into effect on 1 January 1887, from parts of the existing Hobson, Rodney and Whangarei Count ...

, and parts of Rodney County and

Whangarei County Whangarei County was one of the counties of New Zealand in 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 b ...

. In addition, it took over the functions of the Raupo Drainage Board, Kaiwaka Reserve Board, and the Pahi Reserve Boards.

Geography

Kaipara District is located in the rolling hills around the northern shores of the

Kaipara Harbour Kaipara Harbour is a large enclosed harbour estuary complex on the north western side of the North Island of New Zealand. The northern part of the harbour is administered by the Kaipara District and the southern part is administered by the Auckl ...

, a large natural harbour open to the

Tasman Sea The Tasman Sea (Māori: ''Te Tai-o-Rēhua'', ) is a marginal sea of the South Pacific Ocean, situated between Australia and New Zealand. It measures about across and about from north to south. The sea was named after the Dutch explorer Abe ...

. Kaipara District Council shares management of the harbour with various other organisations, most notably Northland Regional Council (in the north) and

Auckland Council Auckland Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera o Tāmaki Makaurau) is the local government council for the Auckland Region in New Zealand. It is a territorial authority that has the responsibilities, duties and powers of a regional council and so is ...

to the south. The roughly triangular district stretches from a thinning of the

Northland Peninsula The Northland Peninsula, called the North Auckland Peninsula in earlier times, is in the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. It is joined to the rest of the island by the Auckland isthmus, a narrow piece of land between the Waitematā H ...

south of Kaiwaka and Mangawhai in the southeast to the

Waipoua Forest Waipoua Forest is a forest, on the west coast of the Northland Region of New Zealand's North Island. It preserves some of the best examples of kauri forest remaining in New Zealand. It is notable for having two of the largest living kauri t ...

in the northwest. The District's western boundary is defined by Ripiro Beach which stretches down Northland’s west coast from Maunganui Bluff and the Waipoua Forest in the North, to Pouto at the entrance to the Kaipara Harbour. The region is bisected by the Northern Wairoa River and its tributaries, which flow into the northern end of the Kaipara Harbour.

Population centres

The District has no major urban centre but does have numerous towns and villages including

Dargaville Dargaville ( mi, Takiwira) is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Kaipara District of the Northland region. The town is located 55 kilometres southwest of Whangāre ...

(the primary service centre in the west),

Ruawai Ruawai is a small town located 30 km south of Dargaville in Northland, New Zealand. The name literally translated from Maori means 'two waters' referring to the nearby Northern Wairoa River and Kaipara Harbour. The township primarily serv ...

Matakohe Matakohe is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Matakohe River is a short river which runs from the north into the Arapaoa River, which is part of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 12 passes through Matakohe. Ruawai is 16 km t ...

Paparoa Paparoa is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Paparoa Stream flows from the east, through the settlement, and into the Paparoa Creek to the south, which joins the Arapaoa River which is part of the Kaipara Harbour. State Highway 12 p ...

Maungaturoto Maungaturoto is a small town in the Northland Region of New Zealand. The township is located close to the Otamatea River, an estuarial arm of the Kaipara Harbour 25 kilometres north of Wellsford and 45 kilometres south of Whangārei. The New ...

Kaiwaka Kaiwaka "the little town of lights" is a settlement in Northland, New Zealand. The Kaiwaka River runs from the east through the area and joins with the Wairau River to form the Otamatea River, which drains into the Kaipara Harbour. State Hig ...

Mangawhai Mangawhai is a locality in Northland, New Zealand around the Mangawhai Harbour. The township of Mangawhai is at the south west extent of the harbour, and the township of Mangawhai Heads is 5 km north east. Kaiwaka is 13 km south west, ...

, Tinopai, Te Kopuru, Kaihu, Pahi and Whakapirau as well as the rural area which surrounds them. It has a population of of whom about live in Dargaville, the seat of the district council. The population is largely rural, living in small settlements scattered amongst the rolling hills or nestled on the shores of the harbour, including the harbour villages of Tinopai, Pahi and Whakapirau. The area around Dargaville is noted for the high proportion of residents of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...

n descent and has an active Dalmatian Club. The nearest city is Whangarei, 45 kilometres northeast of Dargaville. Community spirit is strong among the various rural communities, as is evident by the numerous local clubs, volunteer organisations and other initiatives. Dargaville has an annual Arts and Crafts Festival run by the local Rotary club and also features weekly Riverside Produce Markets on Thursday afternoons. Maungaturoto has a monthly market on a Friday from 4pm to 7pm at the Maungaturoto Hall and also has a volunteer group (Maungaturoto Residents Association) dedicated to beautifying the town. A similar volunteer group also exists in Ruawai and Paparoa (Progressive Paparoa).

Demographics

Kaipara District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Kaipara District had a population of 22,869 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 3,906 people (20.6%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 4,734 people (26.1%) 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 8,748 households. There were 11,520 males and 11,349 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.02 males per female. The median age was 46.0 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 4,425 people (19.3%) aged under 15 years, 3,354 (14.7%) aged 15 to 29, 10,020 (43.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 5,073 (22.2%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 83.3% European/Pākehā, 24.6% Māori, 3.8% Pacific peoples, 2.8% Asian, and 1.7% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 14.2, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 51.9% had no religion, 34.5% were Christian, 2.7% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% were Hindu, 0.2% were Muslim, 0.4% were Buddhist and 1.4% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 2,085 (11.3%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 4,572 (24.8%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $24,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 1,998 people (10.8%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 7,803 (42.3%) people were employed full-time, 2,964 (16.1%) were part-time, and 639 (3.5%) were unemployed.

Local government

Kaipara District is divided into four wards: * West Coast-Central * Dargaville * Otamatea * Kaiwaka-Mangawhai Before 2021 there were three wards. On 6 September 2012, commissioners were appointed by the Minister of Local Government to take over the governance of the Kaipara District Council. The appointment followed the completion of the work of the review team which had been put in place by the Minister of Local Government in June 2012 to assess the financial management and governance challenges facing the council. The review team concluded that the challenges were beyond the ability of the mayor and councillors to manage. The elected council agreed and asked the Minister to appoint commissioners. The Kaipara District Council commissioners were John Robertson (chairman), Richard Booth, Colin Dale and Peter Winder. In 2016, a new Kaipara District Council was elected, with Peter Winder guiding the council as Crown manager. In 2019 the council returned to full self-management.

References

External links

Kaipara District Council website

Maungaturoto Website
{{Cities and districts of New Zealand