Waipa District is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

in the

Waikato region Waikato () is a local government region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipa District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsul ...

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 coun ...

that is administered by the

Waipa District Council Waipā District Council ( mi, Te Kaunihera ā-Rohe o Waipa) is the territorial authority for the Waipā District of New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main ...

. Its most populous town is

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. The seat of the council is at the second most populous town,

Te Awamutu Te Awamutu is a town in the Waikato region in the North Island of New Zealand. It is the council seat of the Waipa District and serves as a service town for the farming communities which surround it. Te Awamutu is located some south of Hamilt ...

. The district is south and south-east of the city of

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilto ...

. It has five wards:

Pirongia Pirongia is a small town in the Waipa District of the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It is 12 kilometres to the west of Te Awamutu, on the banks of the Waipā River, close to the foot of the 962 metre Mount Pirongia, which lies i ...

, Maungatautari and Kakepuku. Although the official name remains Waipa District, the council sought in 2020 a simpler means of changing to Waipā District, which is the orthographic form it uses.

History

The District was formed from Waipa

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

and its town boroughs in 1989. The county boundaries had varied since five ridings were formed in Waipa county in 1876: Newcastle,

, Mangapiko North and South, Rangiaowhia, and Pukekura. In 1902 it covered and had an additional riding, Tuhikaramea. In 1923 Waipa County covered and had a population of 9,275, with of

gravel road A gravel road is a type of unpaved road surfaced with gravel that has been brought to the site from a quarry or stream bed. They are common in less-developed nations, and also in the rural areas of developed nations such as Canada and the Unit ...

s, of mud roads and of tracks.

Geography

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 ...

forms much of the eastern boundary of the district, before it flows north-westward through the district, past

. The

Waipā River The Waipā River is in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. The headwaters are in the Rangitoto Range east of Te Kuiti. It flows north for , passing through Ōtorohanga and Pirongia, before flowing into the Waikato River at ...

, the Waikato River's main tributary, flows northwards through the western part of the district; the two rivers meet outside the district. The highest mountains are

Mount Pirongia Mount Pirongia is an extinct stratovolcano located in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It rises to 959 metres and is the highest peak in the Waikato region. It was active in the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene times. Pir ...

in the west and Maungatautari in the east. The region's economy is based largely on

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

farming and

cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more food ...

production. The southeastern corner of the district includes the

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

project at

Karapiro Karapiro ( mi, Karāpiro) is a settlement and rural area in the Waipa District and Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island. It includes both the artificially created Lake Karapiro and the accompanying Karapiro Power Station. Karapiro is ...

Demographics

Waipa District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². people live in Cambridge and in Te Awamutu. Waipa District had a population of 53,241 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 short ...

, an increase of 6,573 people (14.1%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 10,740 people (25.3%) since the 2006 census. There were 19,518 households, comprising 26,067 males and 27,171 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.96 males per female. The median age was 40.5 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 10,995 people (20.7%) aged under 15 years, 9,252 (17.4%) aged 15 to 29, 23,535 (44.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 9,456 (17.8%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 87.7% 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 Z ...

, 14.9%

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 ...

, 1.8% Pacific peoples, 4.3% Asian, and 1.9% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.5, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 51.6% had no religion, 36.9% 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� ...

, 0.8% 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 ...

, 0.2% were

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

, 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 1.9% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 8,175 (19.4%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 8,130 (19.2%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $35,500, compared with $31,800 nationally. 8,256 people (19.5%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 21,927 (51.9%) people were employed full-time, 6,345 (15.0%) were part-time, and 1,269 (3.0%) were unemployed.

References

External links

Council website

Council's District profile

1935 Waipa County Council map
{{Cities and districts of New Zealand