National Park, New Zealand

National Park is a small town on the North Island Central Plateau in New Zealand. Also known as National Park Village, it is the highest urban township in New Zealand, at 825 metres. The village has great views of Mount Tongariro, Mount Ngauruhoe (Mount Doom in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy), and Mount Ruapehu.

Toponymy
Originally the town was known as Waimarino (calm waters). In 1926, the New Zealand Railways renamed the railway station as National Park. This was to avoid confusion with other Waimarino entities, and also the name had come into common usage from its location close to Tongariro National Park. This change has since been confusing, as there are many National Parks in New Zealand.

National Park is the village on the western edge of Tongariro National Park in the central North Island.

In 2023 the Uenuku iwi and Te Korowai o Wainuiārua proposed renaming National Park to its original name, Waimarino. The proposal also included changing the name of National Park railway station to Waimarino railway station. The New Zealand Geographic Board supported this move, and started a consultation period on 7 November. By 8 December, they had received over 180 submissions for the two changes. The consultation period ended in February 2024 with the proposal to change the unofficial recorded place name National Park to the official place name Waimarino received 2088 submissions. 489 submissions were received pertaining to the name of Waimarino National Park Railway Station.

In August 2023, KiwiRail erected new signage at the railway station recognising the original name of Waimarino.

History
The opening of the Main Trunk line in 1908 created a vast opportunity to log and mill the large trees in the native forests, with 30 saw mills and associated bush tramways established in the National Park area alone. With the arrival of caterpillar tractors in the 1930s the extraction process was accelerated with National Park station having one of the greatest throughputs of timber in New Zealand. Today Tongariro Timber is the last surviving mill operating at National Park.

In the 1960s, National Park became the railhead for all the heavy equipment and machinery for the Tongariro Power Scheme development with local pumice roads substantially upgraded to take the heavy traffic.

Setting
The town is located just outside the boundary of Tongariro National Park, New Zealand's first national park. It is sited next to the North Island Main Trunk railway line and close to the junction of State Highways 4 and 47, halfway between Ohakune and Taumarunui and 45 kilometres southwest of the southern shore of Lake Taupō. It is 20 minutes drive to the country's biggest skifields, Whakapapa and 50 minutes drive to Turoa on the slopes of the active volcano, Mount Ruapehu. To the west is Whanganui National Park.

Climate
Under the Köppen-Geiger climate classification, National Park has an oceanic climate (Cfb). February is the warmest month, with an average temperature of 14.8 °C, while July is the coldest month with an average temperature of 4.5 °C. Due to an altitude of 822 metres, winters are cold, and generally winter afternoons stay below 10 °C. Frosts are common from May to September, although they can occur during the warmer months. Snow is also a common occurrence in the colder months, sometimes accumulating for several days on end. The summer temperatures are moderate due to the altitude of the village, resulting in cool nights and mild to warm days. The mountains around the village are popular for hiking and mountain biking during the summer. The summer afternoon temperatures often exceed 20 °C, and sometimes reaching 25 °C. The wettest month is July, with 225 mm of precipitation, while February is the driest, with an average of 115 mm, making the climate of National Park lean towards a cool-summer Mediterranean climate (Csb). Overall, the year-round average temperature is 9.6 °C.

Governance
The town is administered by the Ruapehu District Council. The Ōwhango-National Park Community Board (ONPCB) comprises five elected community representatives and one appointed councillor from the Ruapehu District Council. On a national level, National Park is part of the general electorate and the  Māori electorate.

Demographics
National Park is described by Statistics New Zealand as a rural settlement. It covers 0.81 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2. It is part of the larger National Park statistical area.

Before the 2023 census, the settlement had a larger boundary, covering 0.89 km2. Using that boundary, National Park had a population of 213 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 39 people (22.4%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 27 people (−11.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 84 households, comprising 111 males and 99 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.12 males per female. The median age was 36.7 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 39 people (18.3%) aged under 15 years, 36 (16.9%) aged 15 to 29, 117 (54.9%) aged 30 to 64, and 21 (9.9%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 77.5% European/Pākehā, 25.4% Māori, 1.4% Pacific peoples, 7.0% Asian, and 2.8% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 56.3% had no religion, 28.2% were Christian, 5.6% had Māori religious beliefs, 2.8% were Hindu, 1.4% were Buddhist and 1.4% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 36 (20.7%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 27 (15.5%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $29,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 15 people (8.6%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 108 (62.1%) people were employed full-time, 24 (13.8%) were part-time, and 6 (3.4%) were unemployed.

National Park statistical area
National Park statistical area, which also includes Ōwhango and Raurimu, covers 1375.29 km2 and had an estimated population of as of  with a population density of  people per km2.

National Park had a population of 1,050 at the 2018 New Zealand census, a decrease of 15 people (−1.4%) since the 2013 census, and a decrease of 81 people (−7.2%) since the 2006 census. There were 411 households, comprising 534 males and 516 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.03 males per female. The median age was 41.3 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 225 people (21.4%) aged under 15 years, 159 (15.1%) aged 15 to 29, 519 (49.4%) aged 30 to 64, and 147 (14.0%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 86.0% European/Pākehā, 20.0% Māori, 1.4% Pacific peoples, 2.9% Asian, and 2.0% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 15.4, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 56.9% had no religion, 30.6% were Christian, 3.4% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.9% were Hindu, 0.3% were Buddhist and 1.1% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 132 (16.0%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 162 (19.6%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $30,800, compared with $31,800 nationally. 108 people (13.1%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 480 (58.2%) people were employed full-time, 129 (15.6%) were part-time, and 18 (2.2%) were unemployed.

Economy
Tourism is its main industry, with 1,500 visitor beds in commercial accommodation and private chalets. In the summer the village is a popular base for Tongariro and Whanganui National Park for hiking, biking and kayaking. Transport leaves National Park Village daily (weather permitting) for the Tongariro Alpine Crossing, known as the best one day alpine trek in New Zealand.

Transport
KiwiRail's Northern Explorer scheduled passenger service stops at the National Park Railway Station on its journey between Auckland and Wellington. There is a licensed cafe on the platform. To the northwest of the town, the railway track performs the convoluted dance that is the Raurimu Spiral, one of New Zealand's most impressive feats of engineering.

Education
National Park School is a co-educational state primary school for Year 1 to 8 students, with a roll of as of. The school opened in 1925 as Waimarino School and became National Park School in 1954. Its fortunes have fluctuated with the cycles of activity in the area. Today, it is thriving with a more stable population and the establishment of its Ski Elite programme whereby pupils take can up residence in the village for the winter combining studies with skiing and snowboarding development programmes.