Pukawa or Pukawa Bay () is a bay and a small township on the southern shores of

Lake Taupō Lake Taupō (also spelled Taupo; or ) is a large crater lake in New Zealand's North Island, located in the caldera of Taupō Volcano. The lake is the namesake of the town of Taupō, which sits on a bay in the lake's northeastern shore. With ...

on New Zealand's

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

. It is off State Highway 41 between Turangi and Taumarunui, in the

Taupō District Taupō District is a territorial authority district in New Zealand. It covers 6,333 km² of land, and a further 610 km² of lake area, including Lake Taupō, New Zealand's largest lake, and Lake Rotoaira. The district stretches from th ...

and

Waikato The Waikato () is a region of the upper North Island of New Zealand. It covers the Waikato District, Waipā District, Matamata-Piako District, South Waikato District and Hamilton City, as well as Hauraki, Coromandel Peninsula, the nort ...

region.

Marae

It is home of the

Ngāti Tūwharetoa Ngāti Tūwharetoa is an iwi descended from Ngātoro-i-rangi, the priest who navigated the Arawa canoe to New Zealand. The Tūwharetoa region extends from Te Awa o te Atua ( Tarawera River) at Matatā across the central plateau of the North ...

hapū In Māori language, Māori and New Zealand English, a ' ("subtribe", or "clan") functions as "the basic political unit within Māori society". A Māori person can belong to or have links to many hapū. Historically, each hapū had its own chief ...

of Ngāti Manunui, who established the Pūkawa Marae and Manunui a Ruakapanga meeting house in November 2006. The opening ceremony was attended by

Tūheitia Paki Tūheitia Pōtatau Te Wherowhero VII GCCT KStJ KCLJ (born Tūheitia Paki; 21 April 1955 – 30 August 2024), crowned as Kīngi Tūheitia, reigned as the Māori King from 2006 until his death in 2024. He was the eldest son of the previous Mā ...

, the

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 ...

Pōtatau Te Wherowhero Pōtatau Te Wherowhero (died 25 June 1860) was a Māori people, Māori rangatira who reigned as the inaugural Māori King Movement, Māori King from 1858 until his death. A powerful nobleman and a leader of the Waikato (iwi), Waikato iwi of the ...

was formally selected as king by a conference of chiefs of the Māori tribes held at Pukawa in April

1857 Events January–March * January 1 – The biggest Estonian newspaper, '' Postimees'', is established by Johann Voldemar Jannsen. * January 7 – The partly French-owned London General Omnibus Company begins operating. * Ja ...

and was crowned during elaborate ceremonies held at his marae in

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

in April 1858. In 1906

and the Tongariro Timber Company struck an agreement for the construction of a 40-mile railway line from Kakahi (on the main trunk line) to Pukawa. This line was never completed.

Demographics

Statistics New Zealand describes Pukawa as a rural settlement, which includes Oreti and covers . It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². The settlement is part of the larger Lake Taupo Bays statistical area. Pukawa had a population of 57 in the

2023 New Zealand census The 2023 New Zealand census, which took place on 7 March 2023, was the thirty-fifth national census in New Zealand. It implemented measures that aimed to increase the Census' effectiveness in response to the issues faced with the 2018 census, i ...

, an increase of 9 people (18.8%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 21 people (58.3%) since the 2013 census. There were 27 males and 33 females in 45 dwellings. 5.3% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 61.2 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 6 people (10.5%) aged under 15 years, 3 (5.3%) aged 15 to 29, 27 (47.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 24 (42.1%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 73.7% European (

Pākehā ''Pākehā'' (or ''Pakeha''; ; ) is a Māori language, Māori-language word used in English, particularly in New Zealand. It generally means a non-Polynesians, Polynesian New Zealanders, New Zealander or more specifically a European New Zeala ...

), 31.6%

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 ...

, 5.3% Pasifika, and 10.5% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 100.0%, Māori by 15.8%, and other languages by 5.3%. No language could be spoken by 5.3% (e.g. too young to talk). The percentage of people born overseas was 10.5, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 31.6%

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

, 5.3%

Māori religious beliefs 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 ...

, and 5.3%

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

. People who answered that they had no religion were 52.6%, and 5.3% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 24 (47.1%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 30 (58.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 9 (17.6%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,400, compared with $41,500 nationally. 6 people (11.8%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 18 (35.3%) full-time and 6 (11.8%) part-time.

Lake Taupō Bays statistical area

The statistical area of Lake Taupō Bays covers to the south and west of Lake Taupō. It includes Whareroa Village,

Kuratau Kuratau is a small village north of Omori and south of Whareroa Village, on the western side of New Zealand's Lake Taupō. The Kuratau Power Station was built on the Kuratau River near the town and completed in 1962. Lake Taupō is erodi ...

Ōmori is a district located a few kilometres south of Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan accessed by rail via the Keihin-Tohoku Line, Keihin Tohoku line, or by road via Japan National Route 15, Dai Ichi Keihin. Ōmorikaigan, the eastern area of Ōmori, can be ...

, Motuoapa, and Tauranga Taupō, and surrounds but does not include

Tūrangi Tūrangi is a small town on the west bank of the Tongariro River, 50 kilometres south-west of Taupō on the North Island Volcanic Plateau of New Zealand. It was built to accommodate the workers associated with the Tongariro Power Scheme, Tongar ...

. It had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km². Lake Taupō Bays had a population of 1,854 in the

, an increase of 288 people (18.4%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 276 people (17.5%) since the 2013 census. There were 963 males, 891 females, and 3 people of other genders in 837 dwellings. 1.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 51.4 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 297 people (16.0%) aged under 15 years, 228 (12.3%) aged 15 to 29, 807 (43.5%) aged 30 to 64, and 522 (28.2%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 71.7% European (

); 43.5%

; 3.2% Pasifika; 1.5% Asian; 0.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.6%, Māori by 15.0%, Samoan by 0.2%, and other languages by 3.4%. No language could be spoken by 1.8% (e.g. too young to talk).

New Zealand Sign Language New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL () is the main language of the deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006 under the New Zealand Sign Language Act 2006. The purpose of the act was to create rights ...

was known by 0.6%. The percentage of people born overseas was 11.2, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 28.8%

, 9.7%

, 0.3%

, 0.6%

New Age New Age is a range of Spirituality, spiritual or Religion, religious practices and beliefs that rapidly grew in Western world, Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclecticism, eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise d ...

, 0.2%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, and 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 51.0%, and 8.7% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 288 (18.5%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 918 (59.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 357 (22.9%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $34,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 120 people (7.7%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 654 (42.0%) full-time, 234 (15.0%) part-time, and 42 (2.7%) unemployed.

Pukawa School

A native school run by the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

was operating in Pukawa in 1862, but closed by January 1863 after four boys drowned and there was a shortage of food.

Notable people

* Bessie Te Wenerau Grace, teacher, first Māori woman university graduate

References

{{Taupō District Populated places in Waikato Taupō District Bays of Waikato Populated places on Lake Taupō