Taupō District is a
territorial authority district in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
. It covers 6,333 km² of land, and a further 610 km² of lake area, including
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 ...
, New Zealand's largest lake, and
Lake Rotoaira. The district stretches from the small town of
Mangakino in the northwest to the
Tongariro National Park in the south, and east into the
Kaingaroa Forest. The district's population is largely located in the two main centres,
Taupō
Taupō (), sometimes written Taupo, is a town located in the central North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the edge of Lake Taupō, which is the largest freshwater lake in New Zealand. Taupō was constituted as a borough in 1953. It h ...
and
Tūrangi.
Local government
The district is governed by Taupō District Council. The vast majority of the district also falls within the jurisdiction of
Waikato Regional Council, although parts are within the jurisdiction of the
Bay of Plenty Regional Council and
Manawatū-Whanganui Regional Council, and a tiny sliver is within the territory of the
Hawke's Bay Regional Council
Hawke's Bay () is a region on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. The region is named for Hawke Bay, which was named in honour of Edward Hawke. The region's main centres are the cities of Napier and Hastings, while the more rural ...
.
History
Little is known about early Māori settlement near Taupō, although
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 ...
have been the main
iwi
Iwi () are the largest social units in New Zealand Māori society. In Māori, roughly means or , and is often translated as "tribe". The word is both singular and plural in the Māori language, and is typically pluralised as such in English.
...
of the area for several hundred years. Major
pā
The word pā (; often spelled pa in English) can refer to any Māori people, Māori village or defensive settlement, but often refers to hillforts – fortified settlements with palisades and defensive :wikt:terrace, terraces – and also to fo ...
were situated at the southern end of the lake, to the west of the modern town of Tūrangi.
Taupo town was founded in 1869 as a garrison town during the
New Zealand Wars
The New Zealand Wars () took place from 1845 to 1872 between the Colony of New Zealand, New Zealand colonial government and allied Māori people, Māori on one side, and Māori and Māori-allied settlers on the other. Though the wars were initi ...
, but remained small due to the poor volcanic soils of the region. It was not until the 1950s that the region started to develop, with
forestry
Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests and woodlands for associated resources for human and Natural environment, environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and ...
and the construction of the
Wairakei
Wairakei is a small settlement and Geothermal activity, geothermal area 8-kilometres (5 mi) north of Taupō, in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand, on the Waikato River. It is part of the Taupō Volcanic Zone and features several nat ...
geothermal power station.
Population
Taupo District covers
and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km
2. There are people in the Taupō urban area, people in the Tūrangi urban area, and people in other settlements and in rural areas.
Taupo District had a population of 40,296 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 3,093 people (8.3%) since the
2018 census, and an increase of 7,389 people (22.5%) since the
2013 census. There were 20,148 males, 20,049 females and 96 people of
other genders in 15,339 dwellings.
2.3% of people identified as
LGBTIQ+
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group is ...
. The median age was 42.3 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 7,545 people (18.7%) aged under 15 years, 6,393 (15.9%) aged 15 to 29, 18,048 (44.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 8,310 (20.6%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 74.9%
European
European, or Europeans, may refer to:
In general
* ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe
** Ethnic groups in Europe
** Demographics of Europe
** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe and other West ...
(
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 ...
); 30.9%
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 ...
; 3.7%
Pasifika; 6.5%
Asian; 0.8% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.1%, Māori language by 8.0%, Samoan by 0.4% and other languages by 7.5%. 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 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 17.8, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 28.7%
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 ...
, 1.3%
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
, 0.3%
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
, 4.4%
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 ...
, 0.6%
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 ...
, 0.4%
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 ...
, 0.1%
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 1.4% other religions. People who answered that they had
no religion were 55.3%, and 7.8% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 4,308 (13.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 19,140 (58.4%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 7,995 (24.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,800, compared with $41,500 nationally. 3,141 people (9.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 16,242 (49.6%) people were employed full-time, 4,683 (14.3%) were part-time, and 783 (2.4%) were unemployed.
Image gallery
References
External links
Official Visitor Information Website for the Great Lake Taupō Region
{{Cities and districts of New Zealand