Kiripaka

Last updated

Kiripaka
Kiripaka
Interactive map of Kiripaka
Coordinates: 35°38′38″S174°25′44″E / 35.644°S 174.429°E / -35.644; 174.429
Country New Zealand
Region Northland Region
District Whangarei District
WardWhangarei Heads Ward
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial Authority Whangarei District Council
 • Regional council Northland Regional Council
 •  Mayor of Whangārei Ken Couper [1]
 •  Whangārei MP Shane Reti [2]
 •  Te Tai Tokerau MP Mariameno Kapa-Kingi [3]

Kiripaka is a locality in Northland, New Zealand. The settlement of Glenbervie lies to the southwest, and Ngunguru is to the northeast.

Contents

"Kiripaka" means flint, schist or asbestos in the Māori language. [4]

Demographics

Kiripaka statistical area covers 72.02 km2 (27.81 sq mi) [5] and had an estimated population of 1,180 as of June 2025, [6] with a population density of 16.4 people per km2.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
2006717—    
2013888+3.10%
2018993+2.26%
20231,107+2.20%
Source: [7] [8]

Kiripaka statistical area had a population of 1,107 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 114 people (11.5%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 219 people (24.7%) since the 2013 census. There were 519 males and 588 females in 357 dwellings. [9] 1.6% of people identified as LGBTIQ+. The median age was 42.9 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 234 people (21.1%) aged under 15 years, 156 (14.1%) aged 15 to 29, 528 (47.7%) aged 30 to 64, and 189 (17.1%) aged 65 or older. [8]

People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 82.4% European (Pākehā); 25.7% Māori; 3.5% Pasifika; 2.4% Asian; 0.3% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.2% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 98.6%, Māori language by 6.5%, and other languages by 7.0%. No language could be spoken by 0.8% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 13.8, compared with 28.8% nationally.

Religious affiliations were 26.0% Christian, 2.4% Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.5% New Age, and 1.1% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 63.4%, and 6.5% of people did not answer the census question.

Of those at least 15 years old, 147 (16.8%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 489 (56.0%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 177 (20.3%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $39,900, compared with $41,500 nationally. 117 people (13.4%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 417 (47.8%) people were employed full-time, 129 (14.8%) were part-time, and 27 (3.1%) were unemployed. [8]

Mining

A coal mine was opened at Kiripaka in 1893 [10] and produced "first-class steam coal". [11] A second mine was opened across the river in 1899. [12] One of the mines closed in late 1904, as it was no longer profitable. [13] The remaining mine was closed in 1912 in response to miners taking a day off to support the Waihi miners' strike. [14] The mine reopened at the end of 1914 [15] although coal output didn't begin until August 1915. [16] After industrial disputes and flooding, the mine closed permanently in June 1921 [17] although fire clay was extracted from 1923 [18] and there was some further coal mining at the end of the decade. [19]

Notes

  1. ↑ "2025 local election final results". Whangarei District Council. Retrieved 17 October 2025.
  2. ↑ "Results — Whangārei (2023)". New Zealand Electoral Commission. Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  3. ↑ "Te Tai Tokerau – Official Result". Electoral Commission . Retrieved 27 February 2025.
  4. ↑ "Kiripaka". Māori Dictionary.
  5. ↑ "ArcGIS Web Application". statsnz.maps.arcgis.com. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  6. ↑ "Subnational population estimates - Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand . Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  7. ↑ "Statistical area 1 dataset for 2018 Census". Statistics New Zealand. March 2020. Kiripaka (105700). 2018 Census place summary: Kiripaka
  8. 1 2 3 "Totals by topic for individuals, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Kiripaka (105700). Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "Totals by topic for dwellings, (RC, TALB, UR, SA3, SA2, Ward, Health), 2013, 2018, and 2023 Censuses". Stats NZ – Tatauranga Aotearoa – Aotearoa Data Explorer. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "Kiripaka Coal Mine". Northern Advocate. 25 March 1893. p. 2.
  11. ↑ "Untitled". New Zealand Herald. 3 July 1893. p. 4.
  12. ↑ "New Coal Mine at Kiripaka". Auckland Star. 22 May 1899. p. 6.
  13. ↑ "Kiripaka Coal Mine". Auckland Star. 17 November 1904. p. 5.
  14. ↑ "Mass Meeting on Saturday". Northern Advocate. 17 November 1913. p. 5.
  15. ↑ "Northern Coal Company". Auckland Star. 15 December 1914. p. 4.
  16. ↑ "Ngunguru". Northern Advocate. 27 August 1915. p. 1.
  17. ↑ "Local & General". Northern Advocate. 15 June 1921. p. 2.
  18. ↑ "Ngunguru News". Northern Advocate. 13 April 1923. p. 2.
  19. ↑ "Northern Coal Mines". Auckland Star. 17 September 1929. p. 16.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.