Te Puna

Te Puna
Town
St Joseph's Church
St Joseph's Church
Map
Coordinates: 37°41′45″S 176°04′22″E / 37.695823°S 176.072806°E / -37.695823; 176.072806
CountryNew Zealand
RegionBay of Plenty
Territorial authorityWestern Bay of Plenty District
WardKaimai
Electorates
Government
 • Territorial authorityWestern Bay of Plenty District Council
 • Regional councilBay of Plenty Regional Council
Area
 • Total24.71 km2 (9.54 sq mi)
Population
 (June 2023)[2]
 • Total3,710
 • Density150/km2 (390/sq mi)

Te Puna is a rural community near Tauranga in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is located on State Highway 2, north of Bethlehem and south of Katikati.

The local Te Puna Quarry has been redeveloped by volunteers into a park.[3]

Former National Party leader Todd Muller was raised in Te Puna in the 1970s, where his parents started a kiwifruit orchard.[4] He attended Te Puna Primary School.[5] He entered parliament at the 2014 general election as the MP for Bay of Plenty, and was National Party leader and the Leader of the Opposition from 22 May to 14 July 2020.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Area was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Population estimate tables - NZ.Stat". Statistics New Zealand. Retrieved 25 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Te Puna Quarry Park Open all day, every day. Free admission". quarrypark.org.nz. Te Puna Quarry Park.
  4. ^ Braae, Alex (15 September 2019). "The increasingly uncompromising Todd Muller". The Spinoff. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  5. ^ Braae, Alex. "Here's what you need to know about new National leader Todd Muller". The Spinoff.
  6. ^ Ensor, Jamie (14 July 2020). "Live updates: Todd Muller resigns as National Party leader". Newshub. Retrieved 14 July 2020.