Paraparaumu

Paraparaumu
Town
Map
Coordinates: 40°54′52″S 175°00′20″E / 40.91444°S 175.00556°E / -40.91444; 175.00556
CountryNew Zealand
RegionWellington Region
Territorial authorityKāpiti Coast District
Ward
  • Paraparaumu Ward
  • Paekākāriki-Raumati Ward
Community
  • Paraparaumu Community
  • Raumati Community
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial AuthorityKāpiti Coast District Council
 • Regional councilGreater Wellington Regional Council
 • Kāpiti Coast MayorJanet Holborow
 • Ōtaki MP/Mana MPTim Costley/Barbara Edmonds
 • Te Tai Hauāuru MPDebbie Ngarewa-Packer
Area
[1]
 • Total28.38 km2 (10.96 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2024)[2]
 • Total30,300
 • Density1,100/km2 (2,800/sq mi)
Postcode(s)
5032
Area code04
Paraparaumu Airport

Paraparaumu (Māori: [ˈpaɾapaˈɾaʉmʉ])[3] is a town in the south-western North Island of New Zealand. It lies on the Kāpiti Coast, 55 kilometres (34 mi) north of the nation's capital city, Wellington. It is also known to residents as Pram or Paraparam.

Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Beach, which is directly opposite Kapiti Island. The two towns form part of the Kāpiti Coast District. Together with the nearby Raumati Beach and Raumati South they are among the fastest-growing urban areas in New Zealand, and are major dormitory towns with workers commuting to the cities that make up the Wellington urban area. The four towns between them have a 2012 population of over 49,000 people.[4] Inland behind Paraparaumu is the Maungakotukutuku area.

Paraparaumu is a Māori-language name meaning "scraps from an earth oven"; parapara means "dirt" or "scraps", and umu means "oven".[5]

The village of Lindale is just north of the Paraparaumu town centre. It began as a Tourist and Agricultural Centre, but later gained a reputation for cheese and the Lindale Barnyard petting farm.[6][7][8]

The old State Highway 1 and the Kapiti Line section of the North Island Main Trunk railway both pass through Lindale. The railway line was formerly owned by the Wellington and Manawatu Railway Company, and construction of the line was completed when the ends from Wellington and Longburn (Palmerston North) met near Lindale in Otaihanga in 1886. There were proposals to extend the commuter train service operated by Transdev Wellington to a new station at Lindale, subject to Wellington Regional Council funding, but these were dropped when electrification for the commuter service was extended from Paraparaumu to Waikanae.[9]

The majority of shops are located close to the town centre in the Coastlands Mall, close to the train station.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  3. ^ /ˌpærəpəˈraʊmuː/, thouɡh typically pronounced /ˌpærəˌpærəˈuːmuː/. In Māori vowels are run together, even when they are brought together by the creation of compound words. See for example [1] Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Kapiti Coast Distinct Council, Community Profile Archived 2008-10-14 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Chris Maclean, "Wellington Places – Kapiti Coast", Te Ara". Archived from the original on 27 April 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  6. ^ "Weblog NZ feature, April 2003". Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  7. ^ OSNZ – Breeding biology of little shags (Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) at Lindale
  8. ^ "Lindale Village". Archived from the original on 23 November 2018. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Scoop – Lindale Bridge nearly finished, October 2004". Archived from the original on 29 October 2004. Retrieved 23 November 2018.