Waikari

This article is about the town in Canterbury. For the 17th-century chief, see Waikari (Ngāti Tūwharetoa). For the Dunedin suburb, see Wakari.

Waikari
town
A two-storey, wooden pub, with Dominion Breweries signage. A telephone pole and a small utility vehicle are in the foreground.
The Star and Garter Hotel in Waikari
Map
Coordinates: 42°58′S 172°41′E / 42.967°S 172.683°E / -42.967; 172.683
CountryNew Zealand
RegionCanterbury
Territorial authorityHurunui District
WardWest Ward
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial AuthorityHurunui District Council
 • Regional councilEnvironment Canterbury
 • Mayor of HurunuiMarie Black
 • Kaikoura MPStuart Smith
 • Te Tai Tonga MPTākuta Ferris
Area
[1]
 • Total0.79 km2 (0.31 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2024)[2]
 • Total280
 • Density350/km2 (920/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+12 (New Zealand Standard Time)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+13 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Postcode
7420

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.[3]

The New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage gives a translation of "dig for water" for Waikari.[4]

Waikari is located on State Highway 7 near the Weka Pass and was served by the Waiau Branch railway from 6 April 1882 until its closure on 15 January 1978. The section of the railway through the Weka Pass has been retained by the Weka Pass Railway and preserved trains operate between Waipara and Waikari.

A town water supply was first put to ratepayers in 1956 and the water supply and sewage works were completed in 1966. Fortnightly rubbish collection was in place in Waikari by 1973. In 1984, Waikari (and Hawarden) became the last towns in North Canterbury to be switched to an automatic telephone exchange.[5]

The town is also located near the site of Māori cave art and rock drawings in the Weka Pass Reserve.

  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. ^ Clark, Jeremy J. "William Alfred Orange". Dictionary of New Zealand Biography. Ministry for Culture and Heritage. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  4. ^ "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage. 6 August 2019.
  5. ^ Lovell-Smith, Maragaret (2000). Hurunui Heritage The development of a district 1950-2000. New Zealand: Hurunui District Council. pp. 111–130.