Arapuni

Arapuni is a rural town centre on the Waikato river in the South Waikato District of New Zealand. The population on census night 2006 was 2,145 usual residents, slightly down from 2,163 in 2001 and 2,211 in 1996.

State houses at Arapuni Hydro Works

Arapuni

The town sits next to the Arapuni Dam, a hydroelectric dam at Lake Arapuni commissioned in 1929. The Arapuni Power Station consists of eight turbines which give a total output of 196 MW, the largest of the power stations on the Waikato river. The Arapuni hydro station is owned and operated by Mercury Energy.[1]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "blocked path" for Arapuni.[2]

The Arapuni Suspension Bridge below the dam is freely open to public.

The name Arapuni derives from Ara, meaning path and puni, meaning blocked or covered, and translates as blocked or covered path.

"Drowned forest" revealed after water was diverted, 1929

Marae

The local Pōhara Marae is a meeting ground of the Ngāti Raukawa hapū of Ngāti Korokī and Ngāti Mahuta, the Ngāti Korokī Kahukura hapū of Ngāti Hourua, and the Waikato Tainui hapū of Ngāti Korokī and Ngāti Raukawa ki Panehākua.[3]

It features the Rangiātea meeting house.[4]

In October 2020, the Government committed $2,584,751 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the marae and 5 other Waikato Tainui marae, creating 69 jobs.[5]

References
  1. "Arapuni". Mighty River Power. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008.
  2. "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  3. "Te Kāhui Māngai directory". tkm.govt.nz. Te Puni Kōkiri.
  4. "Māori Maps". maorimaps.com. Te Potiki National Trust.
  5. "Marae Announcements" (Excel). growregions.govt.nz. Provincial Growth Fund. 9 October 2020.

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