Taupō

Sister cities

• Suzhou
• Nouméa
• Xi'an
• Hakone

History

Approximately 700 years ago, Maori settlement of the Lake Taupō region occurred. Maori settled along the Waikato River, the lake shores and on forest edges. Europeans first visited Taupō around 1839. A redoubt (or fort) was built by the armed constabulary in 1870 to guard a crossing of the Waikato river next to where it joined Lake Taupō. It was designed for up to 150 men although generally between 15 and 40 men were present during the early 1870s. This redoubt was located on the opposite bank to the Ngāti Tūwharetoa pā at Nukuhau (now called Redoubt Street). A courthouse was built in 1881 close to the Armed Constabulary redoubt. In 1886, the armed constabulary were replace by a civil police force. Hot water pools around Taupō began to attract tourists to Taupō in the late 1870s and early 1880s and hotels were developed to take advantage of this. In the 1890s, rainbow trout were introduced to Lake Taupō and Taupō became a popular town to stay and fish. Taupō grew quickly due to the development of the Wairakei geothermal power station, located 7km north of Taupō, which was commissioned in 1958 and completed in 1963. Also significant was expansion of the timber industry and farm development occurred between 1949 and 1953. Sheep numbers in the district increased to 138,600 with more than 20 sheep farms and 300 dairy farms established between 1947 and 1954. Te Mihi, completed in 2014 and the Tauhara power station which was completed in 2024.