Twizel (/ˈtwaɪzəl/) is the largest town in the Mackenzie District, in the Canterbury Region of the South Island of New Zealand.

The town was founded in 1968 to house construction workers on the Upper Waitaki Hydroelectric Scheme.

The present town was built in 1968 by the Ministry of Works and Development as a greenfields project to house workers constructing the Upper Waitaki hydroelectricity scheme.

[4] The Waitaki hydro scheme consisted of 50 kilometres (31 mi) of canals, two dams, and four powerhouses (Tekapo B, Ōhau A, B and C), and the formation of Lake Ruataniwha, producing 848 MW of electricity.

[7] At the time when the construction of the Upper Waitaki hydroelectricity scheme peaked, roughly in 1976, there were 800 cabins for single people and 1,224 family homes in Twizel.

These mostly belonged to the Ministry of Works and Development to house the 1,900 employees of the Upper Waitaki hydroelectricity scheme.

[8] The town was laid out in a 'Scandinavian' fashion, featuring looping roads and pedestrian ways, making it usually far more direct to walk than use a car.

Shops, school, and recreational parkland formed a hub in the centre of the town, around which the residential area were built.

Likewise, most of the town's telephone local loop is strung above ground to save the task of burying and then removing the lines.

In October 1981, 100 houses had been reserved with the intention to transport them to Aramoana in expectation that the proposed aluminium smelter would be built.

[9] The government offered 325 houses, 100 further sections, community facilities and a cash grant to the council.

In 1984, the Mackenzie County Council eventually took over 540 houses and 14 shops as well as the 100 sections and community facilities.

[8][10] With the local government reorganisation that occurred in 1989, Twizel came under the auspices of the Mackenzie District Council.

[8] With the construction phase completed of the Upper Waitaki hydroelectricity scheme, the makeup of the town in the late 1980s was significantly different.

In 1999, Meridian Energy, which had inherited the local assets, moved its operations base from Twizel to Christchurch.

[8] In 2009, the community were consulted in a workshop to identify issues and gaps in services that residents felt existed.

[16][17] The captive breeding programme in Twizel (and Christchurch) was a success in 2021 with 150 juvenile black stilt (kakī) being released into the wild.

[18] The 2021 breeding season was also deemed a success with eighteen black stilt chicks hatching over the Christmas period.

By this stage, tourists had spent one million overnight stays in the town, unemployment was sitting at less than 1% and employers could not recruit for jobs.

Local residents provided negative feedback to the plans with complaints that they were too similar and said that the population growth was underestimated.

[23][24]In January 2021, there were concerns that the display of earth moving vehicles, that was used in the Waitaki hydroelectric power projects, at the entrance to the town were unsafe.

[30][31][32] A trout caught in the Ōhau canal in October 2020 weighing 20.1 kg was a world record catch.

[37] The nearby Ōhau Skifield and the Round Hill Ski Area attract winter tourists.

The Twizel Snow Club supports local children to build on skills and knowledge and train for skiing and snowboarding competitions.

This 38 kilometre section takes riders along the canal roads to the edge of Lake Ōhau.

It also crosses Rhoboro, Pukaki Downs, and Ben Ohau stations on public easements.

[49] The area has one of the world's cleanest, driest, and darkest skies, and has long drawn astronomers to Twizel and the surrounding area, with several existing astro-tourism ventures, such as at Lake Tekapo and Omarama, catering to their needs during the development of two additional observatories in Twizel and at Mount Cook Village.

[62] Twizel is part of the Waitaki electorate with the current member of parliament being Miles Anderson of the National Party.

[72] The Twizel Community Library is located on Mount Cook Street, just off Market Place.

[82] In July 2020, the New Zealand government announced a $21 million rebuild of the Twizel Area School.