Waipara Penguin
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Waipara is a small town in north Canterbury, New Zealand, on the banks of the Waipara River. Its name translates to "Muddy Water", ''wai'' meaning water and ''para'' meaning mud. It is at the junction of state highways 1 and 7, 60 kilometres north of
Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...
.
Hanmer Springs Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. The Māori name for Hanmer Springs is Te Whakatakanga o te Ngārahu o te ahi a Tamatea, which means “where the ashes of Tamate’s (sic) fire lay ...
is 76 kilometres (55 minutes drive) north of Waipara. It is also situated on the Main North Line railway. Waipara lies at one of the points of the Alpine Pacific Triangle, which also includes the major tourist centers of
Hanmer Springs Hanmer Springs is a small town in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand. The Māori name for Hanmer Springs is Te Whakatakanga o te Ngārahu o te ahi a Tamatea, which means “where the ashes of Tamate’s (sic) fire lay ...
and Kaikoura. The
Weka Pass Railway The Weka Pass Railway is a New Zealand heritage railway based in Waipara, North Canterbury. It is operated on a 12.8 km length of the former Waiau Branch railway between Waipara and Waikari. The railway is operated by an incorporated soci ...
has its base in Waipara, and runs on 12 kilometres of track between there and
Waikari Waikari is a small town in the Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Its Anglican parish church is the Church of Ascension, 79 Princes Street, Waikari, where William Orange was vicar in the 1920s. The New Zealand Ministry for Cul ...
over the former route of the
Waiau Branch The Waiau Branch was a branch line railway in the northern Canterbury region of New Zealand's South Island. Known as the Great Northern Railway for its first few decades of life, the Waiau Branch was seen as part of a main line north but was ...
, a
branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...
railway that diverged from the Main North Line and ran to Waiau. The Glenmark station is based in Waipara. The Glenmark church has closed down. It was damaged during the 2010 Christchurch earthquakes. The Waipara Hotel burnt down in 2014. It was not insured at the time and has not been replaced. The Waipara region has a reputation as a premium area for the production of Pinot noir,
Riesling Riesling (, ; ) is a white grape variety that originated in the Rhine region. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet, and sparkling wh ...
and Chardonnay. Waipara is sheltered by the Teviot hills from the prevailing cool easterly winds and has the highest summer temperatures and the lowest rainfall of any of the
New Zealand wine New Zealand wine is produced in several of its distinct winegrowing regions. As an island country in the South Pacific Ocean, New Zealand has a largely maritime climate, although its elongated geography produces considerable regional variation fr ...
regions. Because of this, Waipara has over 26 wineries and 80 vineyards within the valley, which collectively produce around 100,000 cases of award-winning wine in an average year. Many of the vineyards offer tastings at their cellar doors and some also have restaurants attached. There are a number of day walks close in Waipara including Tiromoana Bush Walkway and the Mt Cass Walkway which is closed during lambing season. Waipara would have been once been covered in
totara ''Podocarpus totara'' (; from the Maori-language ; the spelling "totara" is also common in English) is a species of podocarp tree endemic to New Zealand. It grows throughout the North Island and northeastern South Island in lowland, montane a ...
, lacebark, kowhai, lancewood and broadleaf forest. It is now predominantly vineyards. There have been a number of ongoing projects to increase the biodiversity of the area. Work is ongoing to plant native species in Waipara's shelter belts, stream boundaries, pond edges and vineyard borders. These have provided benefits in pollination, pest control and weed suppression. It has worked so well that the plantings have resulted in a drop in the use of pesticides in the vineyards. The Waipara Environmental Trapping Association (WETA) is aiming to trap rats and other introduced species with the aim of making Waipara a predator-free paradise for native birds.


Fossils

Waipara is also known for some of the fossils discovered there including the Waipara penguin which is the second oldest penguin fossil to be found, a 62 million year old seabird '' Protodontopteryx ruthae'' and the Waipara turtle which is estimated to grow to 3 meters long and weigh around 600 kg, The first example of the extinct
Haast's Eagle Haast's eagle (''Hieraaetus moorei'') is an extinct species of eagle that once lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the pouakai of Māori legend. It is part of the wider Omihi statistical area. Waipara had a population of 312 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 45 people (16.9%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 54 people (20.9%) since the 2006 census. There were 117 households. There were 165 males and 150 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.1 males per female, with 66 people (21.2%) aged under 15 years, 42 (13.5%) aged 15 to 29, 153 (49.0%) aged 30 to 64, and 57 (18.3%) aged 65 or older. Ethnicities were 94.2% European/Pākehā, 7.7% Māori, and 2.9% other ethnicities (totals add to more than 100% since people could identify with multiple ethnicities). Although some people objected to giving their religion, 69.2% had no religion and 20.2% were Christian. Of those at least 15 years old, 15 (6.1%) people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 72 (29.3%) people had no formal qualifications. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 141 (57.3%) people were employed full-time, 39 (15.9%) were part-time, and 6 (2.4%) were unemployed.


Education

Waipara School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of . Waipara School was established in 1917.


Sports

Waipara and Omihi are the catchment area to the Glenmark Rugby Club. The Glenmark rugby club rooms burnt down in 2015. There have been ten All Blacks who have played for Glenmark over the years including
Todd Blackadder Todd Blackadder (born 20 September 1971) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player and professional rugby coach. He captained the national team, the All Blacks 14 times playing a total of 25 games and 12 tests. Blackadder captained the Crusad ...
,
Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans h ...
,
Bruce Deans Ian Bruce Deans (25 November 1960 – 16 August 2019) was a New Zealand rugby union player. He played for Canterbury during the 1980s and was a key part of the squad for many years. He played for two seasons for New Zealand. He was selected ...
, Craig Green, and Andy Earl. Glenmark has had success in the North Canterbury Rugby Competition winning the title in 2016 by beating the Ashley Rugby Club. The Waipara Classic cycle race starts and finishes in Waipara. It has varied in length between 61 km and 90 km over the years.


Notable residents

George Henry Moore was the owner of Glenmark Station just to the north of Waipara. At one stage there were 90,000 sheep and it was the most valuable farm in New Zealand.


References

{{Hurunui District Wine regions of New Zealand Populated places in Canterbury, New Zealand Hurunui District