History:

Waipipi has always been used as a place to fish and gather food. The tangata whenua of the area, Nga Rauru and Pakakohe, have traditionally used the coastal strip from Waitotara to the Patea River since pre European times, as a place to sustain and nourish their people.

Waipipi also has an industrial history. The reservoir was formed as part of an ironsand mining operation which ran from 1971 to 1987 and extracted iron ore from ironsand deposits some kms along the coast.    Water from the Wairoa Stream was collected in the reservoir, pumped to larger reservoirs further up the road, then mixed with the ironsand to  make a slurry which was pumped to a ship anchored 3 kms offshore. 

Since the closure of the ironsand operation, the land at Waipipi has been farmed as drystock grazing.