The Waikato District is the municipality in the northern Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. It is administered by the Waikato District Council, whose headquarters are in Ngaruawahia.

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 coastal Hakarimata hills. 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 Ngaruawahia, 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.

The district had a population of 39,852 at the 2001 census. Of these, 6717 lived in Huntly, 4851 in Ngaruawahia, 2655 in Raglan, and 1077 in te Kauwhata.

NOTE: The district should not be confused with other, more usual, uses of the term Waikato, which refer to a larger region of which this is only a part.

External links

• The council's site