# Kaipara District

Kaipara District is a territorial authority district in the Northland Region of New Zealand.

## History

Kaipara District was formed through the 1989 New Zealand local government reforms and was constituted on 1 November 1989. It was made up of five former boroughs and counties: all of Hobson County, Dargaville Borough, Otamatea County, and parts of Rodney County and Whangarei County. In addition, it took over the functions of the Raupo Drainage Board, Kaiwaka Reserve Board, and the Pahi Reserve Boards.

## Geography

Kaipara District is located in the rolling hills around the northern shores of the Kaipara Harbour, a large natural harbour open to the Tasman Sea. Kaipara District Council shares management of the harbour with various other organisations, most notably Northland Regional Council (in the north) and Auckland Council to the south.
The roughly triangular district stretches from a thinning of the Northland Peninsula south of Kaiwaka and Mangawhai in the southeast to the Waipoua Forest in the northwest. The district's western boundary is defined by Ripirō Beach, which stretches down Northland's west coast from Maunganui Bluff and the Waipoua Forest in the north, to Pouto at the entrance to Kaipara Harbour. The region is bisected by the northern Wairoa River and its tributaries, which flow into the northern end of Kaipara Harbour.

### Population centres

The district has a population of 27,900 (June 2024), most of whom live rurally, with the rest in small settlements scattered amongst the rolling hills or nestled on the shores of the harbour. Dargaville, located in the west, is the largest town, the primary service centre and seat of the district council, with 5,230 residents. Other towns and villages include Ruawai, Matakohe, Paparoa, Maungaturoto, Kaiwaka, Mangawhai, Te Kōpuru, Kaihu and the harbour villages of Pahi, Tinopai and Whakapirau. The district has no major urban centre; the nearest one is the city of Whangārei, 45 kilometres northeast of Dargaville.
The area around Dargaville is noted for the high proportion of residents of Dalmatian descent and has an active Dalmatian Club. Community spirit is strong in the rural communities, as evidenced by the numerous local clubs, volunteer organisations and other initiatives. Dargaville has an annual Arts and Crafts Festival run by the local Rotary club and also features weekly Riverside Produce Markets on Thursday afternoons. Maungaturoto has a monthly market on a Friday from 4pm to 7pm at the Maungaturoto Hall and also has a volunteer group (Maungaturoto Residents Association) dedicated to beautifying the town. A similar volunteer group exists in Ruawai and Paparoa (Progressive Paparoa).

## Demographics

Kaipara District covers 3,109.09 km$^2$ (1,200.43 sq mi) and had an estimated population of 27,900 as of June 2024, with a population density of 9.0 people per km$^2$.
Kaipara District had a population of 25,899 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 3,030 people (13.2%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 6,936 people (36.6%) since the 2013 census. There were 12,960 males, 12,849 females and 84 people of other genders in 10,191 dwellings. 2.2% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 46.8 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 4,734 people (18.3%) aged under 15 years, 3,480 (13.4%) aged 15 to 29, 11,376 (43.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 6,309 (24.4%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 83.7% European (Pākehā); 25.4% Māori; 4.8% Pasifika; 3.6% Asian; 0.5% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 3.0% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 97.7%, Māori language by 4.7%, Samoan by 0.3% and other languages by 6.3%. No language could be spoken by 1.7% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.4%. The percentage of people born overseas was 15.7, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 30.5% Christian, 0.5% Hindu, 0.2% Islam, 2.3% Māori religious beliefs, 0.4% Buddhist, 0.6% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.0%, and 8.5% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 2,391 (11.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 12,051 (56.9%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 6,009 (28.4%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $31,600, compared with $41,500 nationally. 1,557 people (7.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 8,946 (42.3%) people were employed full-time, 3,240 (15.3%) were part-time, and 546 (2.6%) were unemployed.
Individual wards :
| Name | Area (km$^2$) | Population | Density (per km$^2$) | Dwellings | Median age | Median income |
| Wairoa General Ward | 1,952.70 | 10,695 | 5.5 | 4,176 | 44.8 years | $30,200 |
| Otamatea General Ward | 796.92 | 5,835 | 7.3 | 2,274 | 47.0 years | $31,000 |
| Kaiwaka-Mangawhai General Ward | 359.47 | 9,369 | 26.1 | 3,741 | 48.5 years | $34,000 |
| New Zealand | | | | | 38.1 years | $41,500 |

## Local government

Prior to 2022, Kaipara District was divided into four wards:
* West Coast-Central
* Dargaville
* Otamatea
* Kaiwaka-Mangawhai
Since 2022, it is now reverted back into three wards (which is the last amount since the 2016 elections). This time both West Coast-Central and Dargaville Wards were merged to form into Wairoa Ward.
On 6 September 2012, commissioners were appointed by the Minister of Local Government to take over the governance of the Kaipara District Council. The appointment followed the completion of the work of the review team, which had been put in place by the Minister of Local Government in June 2012 to assess the financial management and governance challenges facing the council. The review team concluded that the challenges were beyond the ability of the mayor and councillors to manage. The elected council agreed and asked the Minister to appoint commissioners. The Kaipara District Council commissioners were John Robertson (chairman), Richard Booth, Colin Dale and Peter Winder.
In 2016, a new Kaipara District Council was elected, with Peter Winder guiding the council as Crown manager. In 2019, the council returned to full self-management.