Tairua

Tairua
Tairua from Paku Hill
Tairua from Paku Hill
Tairua is located in New Zealand
Tairua
Tairua
Coordinates: 37°00′23″S 175°50′56″E / 37.00639°S 175.84889°E / -37.00639; 175.84889
CountryNew Zealand
RegionWaikato
Territorial authorityThames-Coromandel District
Namedaround 1800
Founded byHongi Hika
Named forTairua translates to Two Tides
Electorates
Area
 • City
4.17 km2 (1.61 sq mi)
 • Urban
5.45 km2 (2.10 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2024)[2]
 • City
1,479
 • Urban
1,610
 • Urban density300/km2 (770/sq mi)
 • District
33,300
Time zoneUTC+12:00
 • Summer (DST)UTC+13:00 (NZDT)
Postcode(s)
3508
Area code07
Local iwiNgāti Hei
Mount Paku

Tairua is a beachside town located on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula in the North Island of New Zealand in the Thames-Coromandel District. It is located 150 kilometres (93 miles) east of Auckland and 125 kilometers (78 miles) north of Tauranga. It lies at the mouth of the Tairua River on its north bank and on the small Paku Peninsula.[3] As the 2023 census, the town had a permanent population of 1,630. Tairua is a Māori name which translates literally as tai: tides, rua: two.[4]

Directly opposite Tairua on the south bank of the river's estuary is the smaller settlement of Pauanui. The two settlements are 30 kilometres east of Thames although the town has closer connections with the sea side resort town Whangamatā. Several islands lie off the mouth of the river, notably Slipper Island to the southeast and the Aldermen Islands 20 kilometres to the east. Mount Paku is an extinct volcano that lies by Tairua Harbour. It was thought to have formed the Alderman Islands.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Aotearoa Data Explorer". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  3. ^ Peter Dowling, ed. (2004). Reed New Zealand Atlas. Reed Books. pp. map 17. ISBN 0-7900-0952-8.
  4. ^ Wises New Zealand Guide, 7th Edition, 1979. p. 412.