Paraparaumu
Encyclopedia
| Paraparaumu | |
| Population: | 25,263 (urban area) ( 2006 Census ) |
| Territorial Authority | |
| Kapiti Coast District | |
North Island
The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It lies in the Kapiti Coast
Kapiti Coast
The Kapiti Coast is the name of the section of the coast of the south-western North Island of New Zealand that is north of Wellington and opposite Kapiti Island. It falls under the jurisdiction of the Wellington Regional Council...
, 50 kilometres north of the nation's capital city
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
, Wellington
Wellington
Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...
.
Like other towns in the area, it has a partner settlement at the coast called Paraparaumu Beach
Paraparaumu Beach
Paraparaumu Beach is situated to the west of the 'township' of Paraparaumu, located 50 km north of Wellington, New Zealand. The area overlooks Kapiti Island....
, which lies directly opposite Kapiti Island
Kapiti Island
-External links:* , Department of Conservation* * , Nature Coast Enterprise *...
. The two towns form part of the Kapiti 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 population of over 25,000 people. Inland behind Paraparaumu is the Maungakotukutuku
Maungakotukutuku
Maungakotukutuku is a rural locality on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is located inland, behind Paraparaumu and Raumati, and the 2001 New Zealand Census of Population and Dwellings gave its population as 621 people, an increase of 38.9% or 174 people since the 1996 census.The...
area.
Paraparaumu is home to the Kapiti Coast's largest secondary school, Paraparaumu College, with Kapiti College residing in nearby Raumati Beach and Otaki College in Otaki.
Paraparaumu was formerly represented in soccer
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
by Paraparaumu United. They merged with the Kapiti Hearts in 2003 to create Kapiti Coast United
Kapiti Coast United
Kapiti Coast United is an association football club in New Zealand. Their home ground is Weka Park in Raumati Beach on the Kapiti Coast. The club was formed by a merger of the Kapiti Hearts and Paraparaumu United in 2003. The Kapiti Hearts, founded as the Raumati Hearts in 1960, were named after...
, which is based at Weka Park
Weka Park
Weka Park is a public park in Raumati Beach on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. It is the home ground of the local soccer team, Kapiti Coast United. Cricket is also played at the park, and it has a children's playground. The Wharemauku Stream flows along the boundary of the park, and a walking track...
in Raumati.
Paraparaumu means "scraps from an earth oven" in Māori
Maori language
Māori or te reo Māori , commonly te reo , is the language of the indigenous population of New Zealand, the Māori. It has the status of an official language in New Zealand...
parapara' means dirt or scraps and 'umu' means Oven. It is commonly abbreviated to "Para-Param", particularly by longer-term residents of European ethnicity, and simply "Pram" by local youth.
Born in Paraparaumu
- Christian CullenChristian CullenChristian Mathias Cullen is a former New Zealand rugby union footballer. He played most of his rugby at fullback for New Zealand , for the Hurricanes in the Super 12, and for Manawatu, Wellington and later Munster at first-class level. He was nicknamed the Paekakariki Express...
– Rugby union footballer - Cliff CurtisCliff CurtisClifford Vivian Devon "Cliff" Curtis is a New Zealand actor who has had major roles in film, including The Piano, Whale Rider, and Blow, and most recently has appeared in NBC's television series Trauma. He is also co-owner of independent film production company Whenua Films...
– Film actor - John Henwood – Professional Runner, 2004 Olympian
- Stephen KearneyStephen KearneyStephen Peter Kearney, ONZM is a professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Parramatta Eels in the NRL as well as the New Zealand national team...
– Rugby league footballer and coach - Wayne McIndoe – Field hockey player
- Drew NeemiaDrew NeemiaDrew Neemia is a New Zealand television personality and singer.-Early career:Neemia has been involved in the New Zealand entertainment industry since the age of three, doing television advertisements which lead the way to various children’s television drama series.Most notably his first major...
– C4's Select Live host - Andrew NiccolAndrew NiccolAndrew M. Niccol is a New Zealand screenwriter, producer, and director. He wrote and directed Gattaca, S1m0ne, In Time, and Lord of War. He also wrote and co-produced The Truman Show, which earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay in 1999 and won a BAFTA award for Best...
– Film director
Educated in Paraparaumu
- Peter JacksonPeter JacksonSir Peter Robert Jackson, KNZM is a New Zealand film director, producer, actor, and screenwriter, known for his The Lord of the Rings film trilogy , adapted from the novel by J. R. R...
at Kapiti College – Film Director - Danny PageDanny PageDanny Page is currently the Head Men's Basketball Coach of the Bundaberg Bulls in the Queensland Basketball League. Danny is also the founder and Head Coach of Danny Page Basketball, a do it all basketball service based out of Australia. After 2 Interim Head Coach appointments he was signed by the...
at Paraparaumu College - Professional Basketball Coach
Paraparaumu Airport
Paraparaumu Airport is a popular recreational airfield and hosts the Kapiti Aero Club. Apart from fixed wing and glider training, local helicopter operator – Helipro carries out extensive helicopter pilot training.Public transport
Paraparaumu is located on the North Island Main Trunk Railway, on the Kapiti Line of Wellington's commuter railway network operated by Tranz MetroTranz Metro
Tranz Metro, part of KiwiRail, is the operator of Metlink suburban trains owned by the Greater Wellington Regional Council in the Wellington Region of New Zealand....
under the Metlink
Public transport in Wellington
Public transport in Wellington, the capital of New Zealand, is well developed compared to other parts of the country. The system covers the Greater Wellington region, including Wellington city, Lower Hutt, Upper Hutt, Porirua, the Kapiti Coast and the Wairarapa.-Administration:Public transport in...
brand. Electrified commuter services were extended to Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
on 20 February 2011, and additional stations have been proposed at Lindale
Lindale, New Zealand
Lindale is a locality just north of the Paraparaumu town centre in New Zealand's Kapiti Coast district. Originally involving just a Tourist and Agricultural Centre, gaining a reputation for cheese and more recently Lindale Farm itself, it has since acquired a university campus and a convention...
and Raumati
Raumati
Raumati collectively refers to two neighbouring places on the Kapiti Coast of New Zealand's North Island. They are located 50-60 km north-east of Wellington, and immediately to the south-west of the larger town of Paraparaumu. The Maungakotukutuku area is located immediately behind Raumati...
. NZR EM class electric multiple unit
Electric multiple unit
An electric multiple unit or EMU is a multiple unit train consisting of self-propelled carriages, using electricity as the motive power. An EMU requires no separate locomotive, as electric traction motors are incorporated within one or a number of the carriages...
s operate the commuter trains. Beyond Paraparaumu, Tranz Scenic
Tranz Scenic
Tranz Scenic is the long-distance passenger train brand of KiwiRail, formed from the New Zealand Railways Corporation InterCity Rail services. Tranz Scenic was renamed along with the other operating divisions of Tranz Rail in 1995...
operates two diesel-hauled
Diesel locomotive
A diesel locomotive is a type of railroad locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine, a reciprocating engine operating on the Diesel cycle as invented by Dr. Rudolf Diesel...
long distance services: the Capital Connection between Palmerston North
Palmerston North
Palmerston North is the main city of the Manawatu-Wanganui region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is an inland city with a population of and is the country's seventh largest city and eighth largest urban area. Palmerston North is located in the eastern Manawatu Plains near the north bank...
and Wellington, and the Overlander between Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and Wellington. Both trains stop at Paraparaumu
Paraparaumu Railway Station
Paraparaumu Railway Station in Paraparaumu on the Kapiti Coast, New Zealand is an intermediate station on the Kapiti Line for Tranz Metro's electric multiple unit commuter trains from Wellington...
. The electrified train service has recently been extended to Waikanae
Waikanae
Waikanae is a small town on New Zealand's Kapiti Coast. The name is a Māori word meaning "The waters of the yellow eyed mullet". Another settlement called Waikanae Beach exists near Gisborne on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand....
. There are also feeder and local commuter bus services.