Arapito

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title: "Arapito" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["buller-district", "populated-places-in-the-west-coast-region"] topic_path: "general/buller-district" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arapito" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Arapito
other_name	Promised Land
settlement_type	Locality
image_skyline	Arapito from Zig Zag Track MRD.jpg
image_alt	view up a valley with green fields, trees, and hills
image_caption	Arapito from the Zig Zag Track, South Terrace
coordinates
pushpin_map	New Zealand South Island
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	New Zealand
subdivision_type1	Region
subdivision_name1	West Coast
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_name2	Buller District
seat_type	Electorates
seat	West Coast-Tasman
Te Tai Tonga
::

Name

The settlement was originally named Promised Land; confusingly, the settlement on the opposite, north bank of the Karamea River was named Land of Promise (later redubbed Umere). The name was changed to Arapito (Māori: 'End of the path') in 1909 when a post office and telephone bureau was established in the town. The area was originally a Māori hunting trail, hence the name.

History

The original "Special Settlement" of Karamea in 1875 was on the South Terrace, which although safe from floods had infertile soil and was worthless for agriculture. Local tradition holds that the King brothers were out searching for pigs that had strayed from the Terrace to the south side of the Karamea River, and discovered the fertile flats there. They cleared a patch and planted seeds, which showed such progress that the settlers moved down from the Terrace to this "Promised Land"—aside from the Biblical reference, the settlers had been promised a further allotment of 5 acres from the Government. By the 1880s the settlers had spread across the river to the Land of Promise (Umere).

As settlers moved to the flats it became obvious a school was required, and in 1882 a local committee petitioned the Education Board. The first school building was destroyed by fire, and in1884 a replacement was approved and built for £150. The Karamea School Committee complained that pupils were being drawn away from their school district, and the Land of Promise residents argued that the school should have been sited further upriver at a more convenient crossing. Pupils from Land of Promise crossed the river in canoes, and later a punt, until their own school opened in 1890. The Promised Land School roll rose from 18 to 25 by 1887, and an additional building was added in 1893. The roll stayed constant until the First World War, when it dropped to 15 or 16. After the war the population of Arapito fell, and in 1947 the school was consolidated with the Karamea District High School; the empty building was moved to become the High School's Manual Training Block.

Climate

|metric first=y |single line=y |location = Arapito (1991–2020) | Jan record high C = 33.0 | Feb record high C = 29.2 | Mar record high C = 30.2 | Apr record high C = 26.0 | May record high C = 24.5 | Jun record high C = 20.3 | Jul record high C = 19.4 | Aug record high C = 19.3 | Sep record high C = 20.7 | Oct record high C = 23.9 | Nov record high C = 25.8 | Dec record high C = 28.0 | year record high C = |Jan record low C = 3.8 |Feb record low C = 3.8 |Mar record low C = 1.5 |Apr record low C = 1.0 |May record low C = -2.4 |Jun record low C = -4.0 |Jul record low C = -3.1 |Aug record low C = -4.0 |Sep record low C = -2.1 |Oct record low C = -0.8 |Nov record low C = 2.3 |Dec record low C = 4.0 |year record low C = |Jan high C = 21.0 |Feb high C = 21.6 |Mar high C = 20.4 |Apr high C = 18.1 |May high C = 15.9 |Jun high C = 13.4 |Jul high C = 12.9 |Aug high C = 13.6 |Sep high C = 14.8 |Oct high C = 16.0 |Nov high C = 17.4 |Dec high C = 19.5 | year high C = |Jan mean C = 16.3 |Feb mean C = 16.7 |Mar mean C = 15.3 |Apr mean C = 13.2 |May mean C = 11.2 |Jun mean C = 8.9 |Jul mean C = 8.2 |Aug mean C = 9.0 |Sep mean C = 10.3 |Oct mean C = 11.7 |Nov mean C = 13.0 |Dec mean C = 15.2 | year mean C = |Jan low C = 11.7 |Feb low C = 11.8 |Mar low C = 10.3 |Apr low C = 8.4 |May low C = 6.5 |Jun low C = 4.5 |Jul low C = 3.4 |Aug low C = 4.4 |Sep low C = 5.9 |Oct low C = 7.4 |Nov low C = 8.7 |Dec low C = 10.9 | year low C = |rain colour = green |Jan rain mm = 177.3 |Feb rain mm = 127.1 |Mar rain mm = 146.5 |Apr rain mm = 175.1 |May rain mm = 196.7 |Jun rain mm = 199.3 |Jul rain mm = 183.4 |Aug rain mm = 185.9 |Sep rain mm = 212.4 |Oct rain mm = 239.2 |Nov rain mm = 190.2 |Dec rain mm = 211.4 |year rain mm = |Jan sun = 210.3 |Feb sun = 183.4 |Mar sun = 187.5 |Apr sun = 155.7 |May sun = 126.7 |Jun sun = 104.1 |Jul sun = 119.6 |Aug sun = 141.7 |Sep sun = 141.7 |Oct sun = 157.5 |Nov sun = 172.4 |Dec sun = 180.1 |year sun = |source 1 = NIWA{{cite web |url = https://cliflo.niwa.co.nz/ |title = CliFlo -The National Climate Database (Agent numbers: 3846, 25777) |publisher = NIWA |access-date = 15 Oct 2024}}

References

Reed, A. W.. (2002). "The Reed Dictionary of New Zealand Place Names". Reed Books.
(6 August 2019). "1000 Māori place names". New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
{{Cite Q. Q113332465

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