Paparoa was one of several Kaipara settlements established by a religious group known as Albertlanders. Port Albert near Wellsford was the main settlement, and Matakohe was another. They settled at the Paparoa Block in 1863. The land was burnt off so that corn and grass could be planted. A road was constructed to the port at Pahi in 1865, and one to Matakohe shortly afterwards. A pottery using local clay and a factory making rope and matting from flax operated in the 1870s, and brick and tile yards were established, but their business suffered from the poor roads and high freight charges. The nearest stores were in Pahi, to the south. The steamer Minnie Casey connected Paparoa with Helensville on the south side of the Kaipara with a weekly service from 1882, and the S.S. Ethel took over from 1891–95, after which services went only to Matakohe and Pahi. The network of roads in the area were improved in the 1880s and 1890s.
20th century
In the 1890s, Paparoa had 35 families and about 200 people, mostly living along the banks of the Paparoa River. Including Pahi, there were 400 people in the area. By 1906, the population of Paparoa had doubled. Pastoral farming became established in the area, and a dairy factory was opened in Paparoa in January 1895. A branch of a Helensville-based department store was operating in the town in the 1900s. The North Auckland railway line reached Huarau, to the east of Paparoa, in the early 1920s. A route through Paparoa was planned at one stage but this did not eventuate. The road to Maungaturoto, which passes through Huarau, was metalled in 1922.
The Otamatea statistical area, which at 245 square kilometres is much larger than this settlement, surounds but does not include Maungaturoto. Paparoa is close to its western boundary. It had a population of 1,713 at the 2018 New Zealand census, an increase of 231 people since the 2013 census, and an increase of 306 people since the 2006 census. There were 687 households. There were 879 males and 834 females, giving a sex ratio of 1.05 males per female. Of the total population, 348 people were aged up to 15 years, 234 were 15 to 29, 744 were 30 to 64, and 387 were 65 or older. Figures may not add up to the total due to rounding. Ethnicities were 90.7% European/Pākehā, 17.0% Māori, 2.5% Pacific peoples, 1.4% Asian, and 1.4% other ethnicities. People may identify with more than one ethnicity. The percentage of people born overseas was 12.3, compared with 27.1% nationally. Although some people objected to giving their religion, 50.3% had no religion, 37.8% were Christian, and 4.7% had other religions. Of those at least 15 years old, 147 people had a bachelor or higher degree, and 309 people had no formal qualifications. The median income was $23,600. The employment status of those at least 15 was that 555 people were employed full-time, 246 were part-time, and 51 were unemployed.
Notable people
Alex Tait, cricketer, born in Paparoa.
James Wright, potter, worked in Paparoa in the mid-1870s.
Lockwood Smith, politician, born in Paparoa.
Sam Hunt, poet, lives in Paparoa.
Education
is a coeducational contributing primary school with a roll of students as of The school was established in 1870, and had a roll ranging from 27 to 42 students up to 1899.
