The South Waikato District is a municipality in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located between the cities of Hamilton to the north, Rotorua to the east, Taupo to the south and Ruapehu District to the west.
The seat of the South Waikato District Council is at Tokoroa, the biggest town. The other main towns are Putaruru, Tirau and Arapuni.
As at the 2006 census, the district's usual resident count was 22,641, of whom 65% lived in Tokoroa. Putaruru's population was 3765, and Tirau's was 732. The region's population decreased markedly during the 1990s, dropping over 4000 since the 1991 census.
Ngāti Raukawa is the Maori tribe of the area and goes back 20–25 generations. There are 32 marae in the district, including Papa te Aroha marae, Aotearoa marae, Pikitu marae (Nga-Huri), Pōhara marae (Ngati Koriki), Ngatira marae (Ngati Ahuru) and Tarukenga marae (Ngati Te-Ngakau).
The district's main industries are forestry and timber production. Several hydroelectric projects are located at the district's western edge.
Famous quotes containing the words south and/or district:
“Up from the South at break of day,
Bringing to Winchester fresh dismay,
The affrighted air with a shudder bore,
Like a herald in haste, to the chieftain’s door,
The terrible grumble, and rumble, and roar,
Telling the battle was on once more,
And Sheridan twenty miles away.”
—Thomas Buchanan Read (1822–1872)
“Most works of art, like most wines, ought to be consumed in the district of their fabrication.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)