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Waikato District is a territorial authority of New Zealand, in the northern part of Waikato region, North Island. Waikato District is administered by the Waikato District Council, with headquarters in Ngāruawāhia.
The district is centred to the north and west of the city of Hamilton, and takes in much of the northern Waikato Plains and also the Hakarimata Range. The north of the district contains swampy floodplain of the Waikato River and several small lakes, of which the largest is Lake Waikare.
Other than Ngāruawāhia, the main population centres are Huntly, Raglan, and Te Kauwhata. The main industries in the district are dairy farming, forestry, and coal mining. There is a major coal-fired power station at Huntly. Te Kauwhata is at the centre of a major wine region.
Waikato District covers and had an estimated population of as of with a population density of people per km2.
Waikato District had a population of 85,968 in the 2023 New Zealand census, an increase of 10,350 people (13.7%) since the 2018 census, and an increase of 22,590 people (35.6%) since the 2013 census. There were 43,305 males, 42,426 females and 234 people of other genders in 28,401 dwellings. 2.4% of people identified as LGBTQ. The median age was 38.0 years (compared with 38.1 years nationally). There were 18,675 people (21.7%) aged under 15 years, 14,931 (17.4%) aged 15 to 29, 40,224 (46.8%) aged 30 to 64, and 12,138 (14.1%) aged 65 or older.
People could identify as more than one ethnicity. The results were 73.6% European (Pākehā); 26.9% Māori; 5.5% Pasifika; 9.1% Asian; 1.1% Middle Eastern, Latin American and African New Zealanders (MELAA); and 2.6% other, which includes people giving their ethnicity as "New Zealander". English was spoken by 96.2%, Māori language by 7.5%, Samoan by 0.5% and other languages by 10.5%. No language could be spoken by 2.2% (e.g. too young to talk). New Zealand Sign Language was known by 0.5%. The percentage of people born overseas was 18.9, compared with 28.8% nationally.
Religious affiliations were 29.3% Christian, 1.8% Hindu, 0.6% Islam, 1.7% Māori religious beliefs, 0.5% Buddhist, 0.4% New Age, 0.1% Jewish, and 2.2% other religions. People who answered that they had no religion were 56.3%, and 7.4% of people did not answer the census question.
Of those at least 15 years old, 10,914 (16.2%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, 36,840 (54.7%) had a post-high school certificate or diploma, and 16,293 (24.2%) people exclusively held high school qualifications. The median income was $45,300, compared with $41,500 nationally. 9,165 people (13.6%) earned over $100,000 compared to 12.1% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 36,426 (54.1%) people were employed full-time, 9,432 (14.0%) were part-time, and 1,827 (2.7%) were unemployed.
| +Individual wards |
| $51,400 |
| $40,200 |
| $45,900 |
| $43,800 |
| $50,000 |
| $35,200 |
| $48,200 |
| $37,500 |
The County Councils had lasted over a hundred years from their formation in 1876. They had been preceded by Highways Boards, formed from 1866. Before that, there had been many complaints about Auckland Province spending a disproportionate amount in Auckland. For example, in 1867 27 Raglan settlers the House of Representatives asking it to replace provinces with local government and saying that, out of a £500,000 loan to the province, only £500 was spent in all the country districts.
By a notice in the Provincial Government Gazette on 25 August 1866, the deputy Superintendent, Daniel Pollen, declared Whaingaroa Highway District, the first in the future Raglan County. A public meeting in the Raglan courthouse on 20 October 1866 was followed by a meeting a week later to elect 5 trustees. The largest landowner in the district, Captain Johnstone, was elected chairman, but he and 3 other trustees resigned after they couldn't collect rates from absent owners and the Province didn't pay anything.
Raglan Town Board was formed in 1868, Karioi Board in 1870 by division of Whaingaroa Highway District and by 1871 eleven board chairmen met in Ohaupo to ask for more government help. From 1872 government assistance more than matched rates collected; today government funding through NZTA mainly matches rates funding.
Raglan County was divided into five ridings (based on the distance a horse could travel in a day): Karioi, Pirongia, with 2 councillors each, and Te Akau, Onewhero and Whangape, with one. Only 3 of the Ridings were represented at the first meeting; W. H. Wallis (elected chairman) and John Pegler, Karioi Riding; James Sherrett, Pirongia; and Richard Robert Hunt, Onewhero. At the next meeting in Whatawhata there was only one other councillor present, from Pirongia. Many of the areas had not had Highway Boards and were sparsely populated (874 people in 175 houses across the whole county), so voters had problems getting together to nominate councillors. By 1887 there were 8 nominations for the 7 seats.
As the population grew, the original 5 ridings were split - Karamu from Pirongia (28 November 1889), Whaingaroa from Karioi 1902, Pukekawa from Onewhero and Port Waikato from Te Akau 1911, Pukemiro from Whangape 1913 and Waingaro from Te Akau 1920.
In 1923, Raglan County covered and had a population of 4,912, with of , of mud roads and of tracks.
Some areas were transferred to neighbouring councils. The far south of Raglan went to Kawhia County when it was formed, but in 1952, the Local Government Commission put Makomako back in Raglan. On 1 October 1944, a coal-bearing area of Huntly West went to Huntly Borough. Other minor alterations were gazetted at intervals over the years. In 1954, a Raglan Town Committee was formed. Under the Local Government Act 1974, Raglan and Rotowaro became community towns, governed by elected councils.
The county relied on government grants until 1887, when government cuts forced it to set a rate. From 1889 to 1902 the Highways Boards were gradually merged into the County. Until 1943, each riding paid for its own roads and bridges, supplemented by council funds.
The northern portion of Raglan County was added to Franklin District in 1989 when the rest joined WDC.
An extensive community master planning exercise was completed in 2019 resulting in the adoption by the Council of Community "BluePrints" to capture community aspirations and guide future development.
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