Waipawa is the second-largest town in Central Hawke's Bay in the east of the North Island of New Zealand.

[2] The town is located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) northeast of Waipukurau and 46 km (29 mi) southwest of Hastings, on the northern bank of the Waipawa River, a tributary of the Tukituki River.

It holds the main office of the Central Hawke's Bay District Council, and is New Zealand's oldest inland European settlement.

In 1980 it merged to become the CHB Mail,[11] which is now a free weekly paper, published in Waipukurau.

The Mataweka Marae and Nohomaiterangi meeting house are affiliated with the hapū of Ngāi Toroiwaho and Ngāti Whatuiāpiti.

[14][15] In October 2020, the Government committed $887,291 from the Provincial Growth Fund to upgrade the two marae and three others, creating 12 jobs.

From at least 1870[24] Waipawa was served by mail coaches running between Napier and Waipukurau.