Taupō (/ˈtaʊpoʊ/; Maori: [ˈtoʊpɔː]) is a town on the shore of Lake Taupō in the centre of the North Island of New Zealand. It is the seat of the Taupō District Council and lies in the southern Waikato Region.
Taupō has a population of 24,100 (June 2016). In 1953, Taupō was officially constituted as a borough, but from 1989 it has been administered by the Taupo District Council, the district including both Taupō itself and the surrounding hinterland. Despite this, it is occasionally referred to as a city. It is the 20th largest urban area in New Zealand, and the second-largest in the Waikato Region (behind Hamilton).
The name Taupō, by which the town is commonly known, is the shortened version of its full name, Taupō-nui-a-Tia. Literally translated from Māori language, Taupō-nui-a-Tia means “The great cloak of Tia”, where Tia is the name of the discoverer of the lake.
In 2009 a team of Taupō citizens won the TV2 programme Top Town.
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