Wairoa

"This article is about the New Zealand town. For the river, please refer to the Wairoa River article" Wairoa is a town in New Zealand's North Island. It is the northernmost town in the Hawke's Bay region, and is located on the northern shore of Hawke Bay at the mouth of the Wairoa River and to the west of Mahia Peninsula. It is 70 kilometres northeast of Napier, and a similar distance southwest of Gisborne.

Early settlement in the area included a whaling station and trading post, dealing largely in flax. Its initial name was Clyde, but this was changed largely to avoid confusion with Clive near Napier and Clyde in the South Island. The town rose to prominence during the Maori Wars, during which time it was a garrison town.

Today, the town has a population (2006 census) of 4,272,cite web|url=http://www.stats.govt.nz/census/2006-census-data/final-counts/hawkes-bay-region.htm|title=Final counts – census night and census usually resident populations, and occupied dwellings - Wairoa District|publisher=Statistics New Zealand] and is a manufacturing and farming service town. It is the seat of the Wairoa District Council. The Wairoa District covers the northern half of the bay's coast, and extends from Mahia Peninsula to Lake Waikaremoana, and south to the mouth of the Waikare River. It has a population of 8,484 inhabitants (2006 census). The District has a land area of 4,119.18 km² (1,590.42 sq mi).

Wairoa has one secondary school, Wairoa College. [cite web|url=http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/display_school_info.php?school_id=214|title=Te Kete Ipurangi - Wairoa College|publisher=Ministry of Education]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.wairoanz.com/ Wairoa i-SITE Visitor Information and Travel Centre]
* [http://wairoa.info/radio/ Wairoa's Radio Station. Listen Live Online.]
* [http://wairoa.net/ Wairoa Help and Centre]
* [http://www.wairoadc.govt.nz/ Official website] of Wairoa District Council
* [http://homepages.paradise.net.nz/pdg/Wairoa.htm A look at Wairoa]