Takapau is a small rural community in the Central Hawkes Bay in New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

. It is located 20 kilometres west of Waipukurau

Waipukurau

Waipukurau , also known as Ypuk, is the largest town in the Central Hawke's Bay District on the east coast of the North Island of New Zealand. It is located 50 kilometres southwest of Hastings on the banks of the Tukituki River....

. The area's main industries are the Takapau Meat Works and local farms. Takapau was once the centre of a large flax

New Zealand flax

New Zealand flax describes common New Zealand perennial plants Phormium tenax and Phormium cookianum, known by the Māori names harakeke and wharariki respectively...

 milling industry.
Takapau takes its name from the flax that grew in the expansive Takapau plains.
The Maori word translates literally as "Mat" or "Carpet".

There is a marae

Marae

A marae malae , malae , is a communal or sacred place which serves religious and social purposes in Polynesian societies...

and two schools at Takapau.