Tapapa () is a rural community in the

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 of 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 ...

Marae

Tapapa has two

marae A ' (in Māori language, New Zealand Māori, Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian language, Tahitian), ' (in Tongan language, Tongan), ' (in Marquesan language, Marquesan) or ' (in Samoan language, Samoan) is a communal or sacred place that serves reli ...

within the area: * Tāpapa Marae is a traditional meeting ground for the

Ngāti Raukawa Ngāti Raukawa is a Māori iwi (tribe) with traditional bases in the Waikato, Taupō and Manawatū/ Horowhenua regions of New Zealand. In 2006, 29,418 Māori registered their affiliation with Ngāti Raukawa. History Early history Ngāti ...

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 Tūkorehe, Rangitawhia and Te Rangi. In October 2020, the Government committed $1,259,392 from the

Provincial Growth Fund Shane Geoffrey Jones (born 3 September 1959) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives for the New Zealand First party. Jones' political career began 2005 New Zealand general election, in 2005 as a l ...

to upgrade Tāpapa Marae and 7 other Ngāti Raukawa marae, creating 18 jobs. * Ruapeka Marae and Rangimarie meeting house is a meeting place of the

hapū of Ngāti Tūkorehe. In October 2020, the Government committed $497,510 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the Ruapeka Marae, creating an estimate 68 jobs.

Demographics

Tapapa locality covers . It is part of the larger Tīrau statistical area. Tapapa had a population of 615 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 54 people (9.6%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 90 people (17.1%) since the 2013 census. There were 309 males and 297 females in 213 dwellings. 2.9% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. There were 144 people (23.4%) aged under 15 years, 90 (14.6%) aged 15 to 29, 291 (47.3%) aged 30 to 64, and 84 (13.7%) aged 65 or older. People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 85.9% 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 ...

), 24.9%

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 ...

, 2.4% Pasifika, 1.0% Asian, and 2.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 95.6%, Māori by 3.9%, Samoan by 1.0%, and other languages by 3.4%. No language could be spoken by 3.4% (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 1.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 12.2, compared with 28.8% nationally. Religious affiliations were 25.9%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 1.0%

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 ...

, 0.5%

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 ...

, 1.0%

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 ...

, and 1.0% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 60.5%, and 9.3% of people did not answer the census question. Of those at least 15 years old, 66 (14.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 291 (61.8%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 102 (21.7%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. 69 people (14.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was 270 (57.3%) full-time, 78 (16.6%) part-time, and 21 (4.5%) unemployed.

Education

Tapapa School was open by 1898 and voluntarily merged with Okoroire School in 2003 on the latter school's site to form Kuranui Primary School.

References

External links

Tirau's official website
{{South Waikato District Populated places in Waikato South Waikato District