Dargaville (Māori: Tunatahi or Tākiwira^[3]) is a town located in the North Island of New Zealand. It is situated on the bank of the Northern Wairoa River in the Kaipara District of the Northland region. Dargaville is located 55 kilometres (34 mi) southwest of Whangārei, and 174 kilometres (108 mi) north of Auckland.

Dargaville is noted for the high proportion of residents of Croatian descent.^[4] The area around it is one of the chief regions in the country for cultivating kumara (sweet potato) and so Dargaville is known by many locals as the "Kumara capital" of New Zealand.^[5]

The town was named after timber merchant and politician Joseph Dargaville (1837–1896).^[6] Dargaville was founded in 1872,^[7] during the 19th-century kauri gum and timber trade; it briefly^[when?] had New Zealand's largest population.

Dargaville was made a borough in 1908.^[5]

The area became known for a thriving industry that included gum digging and kauri logging, which was based mainly at Te Kōpuru, several kilometres south of Dargaville on the banks of the Northern Wairoa river. The river was used to transport the huge logs downstream to shipbuilders and as a primary means of transport to Auckland. Dalmatian migrants were particularly prominent in the kauri gum extraction.^[8] After the gum and forestry industries started to decline after 1920, farming, especially dairy became a significant contributor to the economy.^[5]

The Wairoa River was the main method of transport around Dargaville until the 1940s.^[9]

Horses last raced at the Dargaville racecourse in 2016. A proposal in 2022 was submitted to redevelop the racecourse into 450 homes.^[10] This private plan change was accepted by the Kaipara Council and released for public consultation in July 2022.^[11]

The Bank of New Zealand closed its Dargaville branch in 2020.^[12] Dargaville was without a local dentist in 2023.^[13][14] The Dargaville Town Hall had to be closed and partially demolished in 2023 following damage sustained during Cyclone Gabrielle.^[15]

Statistics New Zealand describes Dargaville as a small urban centre. It covers 12.56 km² (4.85 sq mi)^[1] and had an estimated population of 5,130 as of June 2023,^[2] with a population density of 408 people per km².

Dargaville had a population of 4,794 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 543 people (12.8%) since the 2013 census, and an increase of 339 people (7.6%) since the 2006 census. There were 1,812 households, comprising 2,325 males and 2,469 females, giving a sex ratio of 0.94 males per female. The median age was 44.1 years (compared with 37.4 years nationally), with 936 people (19.5%) aged under 15 years, 840 (17.5%) aged 15 to 29, 1,785 (37.2%) aged 30 to 64, and 1,233 (25.7%) aged 65 or older.

Ethnicities were 70.7% European/Pākehā, 35.7% Māori, 7.4% Pacific peoples, 4.4% Asian, and 1.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity.

The percentage of people born overseas was 13.3, compared with 27.1% nationally.

Although some people chose not to answer the census's question about religious affiliation, 41.1% had no religion, 43.9% were Christian, 3.9% had Māori religious beliefs, 0.9% were Hindu, 0.4% were Muslim, 0.1% were Buddhist and 1.1% had other religions.

Of those at least 15 years old, 282 (7.3%) people had a bachelor's or higher degree, and 1,161 (30.1%) people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $22,200, compared with $31,800 nationally. 267 people (6.9%) earned over $70,000 compared to 17.2% nationally. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 1,440 (37.3%) people were employed full-time, 549 (14.2%) were part-time, and 171 (4.4%) were unemployed.^[16]

The nearby Ripiro Beach has the longest unbroken stretches of sand beach in New Zealand, and is largely drivable from one end to the other. This beach is home of the famous local shellfish delicacy called the toheroa. Overexploitation in the 1950s and 1960s caused the population of the shellfish to decline enough that public gathering of the shellfish is now prohibited.^[17]

Dargaville is also the gateway to the Waipoua Forest, a protected national park and home of the biggest specimens of Kauri tree in New Zealand, Tāne Mahuta (Māori, meaning "Lord of the Forest") being chief amongst them.

Dargaville is situated by the Wairoa River, with boat moorings adjacent to the town centre. The river is tidal when it passes through Dargaville.

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as oceanic (Cfb) with warm summers and mild winters.^[18]

The area around Dargaville is now predominantly a farming region and supports extensive dairy, beef, and sheep farms, as well as a thriving plantation forest industry. The Silver Fern Farms meat processing plant is located on Tuna Street. It employed 300 staff in 2021.^[23]

The Kai Iwi lakes are 25 kilometres north of the town, and the Pouto Peninsula is located to the south of Dargaville.

The Kaipara District Council provides local government services for Dargaville. They are located at 32 Hokianga road.^[29] The Northland Regional Council provides regional government services for Dargaville. They also operate out of the same building at 32 Hokianga road which cost $9.2 million and opened in 2022.^[30] Dargaville is part of the Northland electorate for the New Zealand parliament.^[31]

Dargaville High School is a secondary (years 9–13) school with a roll of 312 students.^[47] The school opened in 1921, but was destroyed by fire in 1937 and rebuilt the following year.^[48] Dargaville Intermediate is an intermediate (years 7–8) school with a roll of 150 students.^[49]

Dargaville Primary School and Selwyn Park School are contributing primary (years 1–6) schools with rolls of 383 students^[50] and 128 students^[51] respectively. Dargaville Primary was established by 1877. In 1879, it had a roll of 16, which grew to 155 in 1899.^[52] Selwyn Park celebrated its 50th Jubilee in 2008.^[53]

St Joseph's School is a full primary (years 1–8) school with a roll of 96 students.^[54] It is a state integrated Catholic school.^[55]

All these schools are coeducational. Rolls are as of February 2024.^[56]

NorthTec polytechnic also has a campus in Dargaville.^[57]

• Amelia Batistich, writer, was born here in 1905^[58]
• Joey Carbery, Irish international rugby union player
• Robert Hornblow (1861–1937), the town's mayor from 1919 to 1925^[59]
• Dion Nash, New Zealand cricketer, attended Dargaville High School
• Louis Parore, Māori leader, interpreter, land court agent, born at Te Houhanga Marae, Northland^[60]
• Mike Perjanik, musician, record producer and composer
• Winston Peters, New Zealand politician and leader of the New Zealand First party, attended Dargaville High School
• Lana Searle, New Zealand radio & television host, attended Dargaville High School^[61]
• Mark Taylor, All Black
• Frank Watkins, World War II RNZAF pilot
• Mark Williams, singer and recording artist
• Brian Froggatt, New Zealand Paralympian athlete and powerlifter^[62]
• Richard Hammond, musician, bass player.^[63]

• Croatian New Zealanders